Rudy Giuliani’s former lawyers said they quit working for him because he refused to share records and access to cellphone as part of a defamation lawsuit against him, court records show.
Attorneys Kenneth Caruso and David Labkowski wanted out of the job of representing the 80-year-old former city mayor in the case which ended with Giuliani ordered to fork over a whopping $148 million to Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss.
Freeman and Moss are now seeking Giuliani’s assets — including his World Series rings — as part of the massive judgment, but the man once known as America’s Mayor “would not participate” in the case’s discovery process, his former lawyers said.
The lawyers’ letter begging off the case was heavily redacted, masking the details of the pair’s behind-the-scenes disagreement with Giuliani, the Trump attorney and disbarred former Manhattan US attorney.
But Manhattan federal Judge Lewis Liman issued a ruling Monday that some of the letter’s redactions should be unsealed to reveal the lawyers’ claims that Giuliani told them “he would not participate in discovery … and that he would not identify or provide access to his electronic devices for purposes of discovery.”
Giuliani has argued his lawyers were to blame for the fact he missed deadlines for to turn over records in the case, which Liman said was contradicted by Caruso and Labkowski’s letter — which must now be unsealed, Law & Crime first reported.
Freeman and Moss have asked Liman to hold Giuliani in contempt for repeatedly flouting court orders, including deadlines.
Giuliani must appear in court on Jan. 3 to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt.
A trial has also been set for Jan. 16 over whether his Yankees World Series rings and his Florida home should be handed over to help pay down his debt to the women.
Giuliani and his son Andrew are slated to be the two main witnesses at the trial. Andrew has claimed the women can’t collect the World Series rings since his dad gifted them to him in 2018.
The troubled mayor has already been ordered to relinquish his Mercedes and his Manhattan pad to Freeman and Moss.
At a November hearing in the case, Giuliani exploded at Liman for allegedly unfairly making implications against him.
A jury ordered Giuliani last year to pay the whopping sum to Freeman and Moss for defaming them when he falsely claimed the duo tried to swindle Donald Trump out of a 2020 presidential election victory — which was actually won by Joe Biden.
A spokesperson for Giuliani didn’t immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.
In a recent development, former lawyers of Rudy Giuliani have revealed that the former mayor of New York City would not “participate” in turning over information in a defamation case. This news comes as a surprise to many, as Giuliani has been embroiled in legal battles and controversies in recent months.
It remains to be seen how this refusal to cooperate will impact Giuliani’s legal defense and his overall strategy in the defamation case. Stay tuned for more updates as this story unfolds.
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Rudy Giuliani, defamation case, ex-lawyers, participation, turning over information, legal battle, former attorney, lawsuit, court proceedings
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