Rudy Giuliani, like his former boss Donald Trump, is used to getting his way. The lawsuit he just lost for defaming two Georgia election workers in 2020 was a huge blow to him, since he’s being forced to surrender many of his prized possessions to the pair as a down payment on the $148 million judgment against him.
But if you’re going to ask a judge for special dispensation to go to your hero’s inauguration, it’s probably best not to make that judge angry. You can’t ask a favor of someone who’s annoyed with or mad at you.
The problem is, Rudy’s not very good at not pissing people off.
Well, that’s part of the problem. The other part of the problem, in the case of Rudy asking to go to Trump’s shindig, is that what he’s really concerned with is moving his next court date. The request was transparently an effort to delay his impending trial, and the judge saw right through it, telling him that his “social calendar” wasn’t a good enough excuse to have his way with the legal system.
Compounding those issues is the fact that Rudy’s temper was on full display on Tuesday. Judge Lewis Liman got more and more upset as Rudy interrupted him repeatedly during the proceedings, eventually telling him basically to sit down and shut up.
Judge Liman had been questioning why the title to the 1980 Mercedes once owned by Lauren Bacall hadn’t been turned over to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the Georgia election workers Giuliani spread lies about. He told the former top federal prosecutor for Manhattan that he considered Giuliani’s prior job experience as proof that he was smart enough to obtain a duplicate title as he’d been required by the court.
Rudy snapped at him. From Reuters:
Giuliani’s lawyer Joseph Cammarata told Liman that his client had turned over 90% of the assets.
But the judge questioned Giuliani’s alleged struggle to secure paperwork to hand over his 1980 Mercedes vehicle, saying Giuliani’s prior job as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan was a sign he was fully competent.
That prompted Giuliani, 80, to speak up, complaining that his day-to-day life had been hamstrung by the election workers.
“Your implication that I have been not diligent about this is totally incorrect,” Giuliani said from the defense table, pointing at the judge.
Ooh, Rudy. Don’t point at a judge. The AP had more:
The implication you make against me and every implication against me is wrong.
I’m not impoverished. Everything I have is tied up. I don’t have a car! I don’t have a credit card! I don’t have cash! I can’t get to bank accounts that truly would be mine because they have put … stop orders on, for example, my Social Security account, which they have no right to do.
You’re a lawyer, Rudy. You know they have the right. Well, you’re not a lawyer in New York or Washington D.C. anymore, because they disbarred you. But still.
Anyway, Liman shut the old codger down, saying “I permitted Mr. Giuliani to speak. Next time, I will not permit him to speak and the court will have to take action.”
Giuliani’s antics weren’t just apparent to the judge and to reporters. Even the courtroom sketch artist gave an interview to CNN after the hearing, and told them “He’s losing it. He was wild, he — I feel bad for anyone who represents him. He blurts out orders at his lawyers or at the podium and, you know, he’s interrupting all the time.”
That sounds like another irritable New Yorker who’s lost a lawsuit or two.
The “down payment” of $11 million toward the $148 million judgment is all assets: The Mercedes, a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey, a luxury watch collection [1], and his New York apartment. And the trial that Rudy was trying to delay by claiming he was an advisor to Trump who should be in attendance at the inauguration? That’s to see whether he’s going to have to give up more sports memorabilia and his residence in Florida.
Rudy carried on in the hallway outside the courtroom, calling Judge Liman an “activist Democrat,” according to Politico.
“Have you figured out what side he’s on? Are you too dumb to see what side he’s on? I’ve been a lawyer for 55 years. I can figure out what side he’s on.”
Maybe he should have said all of that inside in front of Liman, because it might have made him look incompetent enough to excuse not having turned over the car yet. It already makes him look dumb, since Liman was appointed by Trump.
If Rudy’s dead broke and can’t pay his bills, though, I wonder how he planned to pay for the trip to the inauguration.