After not turning over assets, Rudy Giuliani faces contempt of court in defamation suit

Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Former Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani faces federal contempt of court on Friday for failing to give $11 million worth of assets to two Atlanta-based election poll workers he defamed in the 2020 presidential election.

It was not clear if the former mayor of New York City during the 9/11 terror crisis would appear in U.S. district court in lower Manhattan, where he is expected to explain why he has refused to turn over a penthouse apartment, luxury watches and a vintage Mercedes-Benz convertible among other items to satisfy the judgment against him.

Giuliani, 80, had asked to attend the hearing virtually because of his health. The items were supposed to be a downpayment on the total $148 million he was ordered to pay Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss.

The former federal prosecutor had claimed without proof that Freeman and Moss helped steal the presidential election in Georgia from President-elect Donald Trump in 2020. Giuliani is accused of failing to meet repeated deadlines to turn over the items.

While not ordering him to attend the hearing, federal Judge Lewis Liman expressed skepticism over Giuliani's ability to attend the meeting.

"He has presented no evidence why for this hearing, where the court has been asked to hold him in contempt, where his credibility has been called into question, and where plaintiffs have asked for an opportunity to cross-examine him in person, he should be permitted to deny plaintiff that opportunity and to appear remotely," Liman wrote.