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Rudy Giuliani’s lawyers have abruptly quit representing him in his defamation case after attorneys for the women he defamed accused the disgraced former New York City mayor of hiding property he has been ordered to turn over.
Giuliani’s lead counsel Kenneth Caruso and attorney David Labkowski filed a motion in federal court in New York on Wednesday citing several reasons for their withdrawal, pointing to a “fundamental disagreement” with Donald Trump’s former attorney.
The attorneys invoked a New York rule that allows attorneys to withdraw when a “client insists upon taking action with which the lawyer has a fundamental disagreement” or when a client “insists upon presenting a claim or defense that is not warranted under existing law and cannot be supported by good faith argument,” or when “the client fails to cooperate in the representation or otherwise renders the representation unreasonably difficult for the lawyer to carry out employment effectively.”
Their notice arrived just hours after attorneys for the women — a pair of election workers who faced abuse and harassment after Giuliani falsely accused them of manipulating results in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election — told the court that they received instructions for collecting the property.
But those documents contained “concerning facts” that suggest Giuliani has been moving and hiding his assets to avoid, or delay, handing over his property, while relying on an associate to pay off debts on his behalf, attorneys said.
Last week, District Judge Lewis Liman ordered Giuliani to adhere to court-ordered deadlines for turning over a long list of property or risk severe sanctions, including contempt of court.
Giuliani later issued a plea for cash, raging against the women’s attorneys and claiming that he cannot afford to buy food.
“They have seized all my money, which wasn’t much. I need legal representation against these evil people. I can’t buy food,” he said.
After a jury ordered Giuliani to pay Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss nearly $150 million at the conclusion of a defamation case last year, Giuliani filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, a case that has since been dismissed.
The end of his bankruptcy proceedings reopened the mountain of litigation against him, allowing the women to press the courts to begin collecting on what they are owed.
Judge Liman ordered Giuliani to transfer his $5.6m Madison Avenue penthouse, cash, 26 watches, and a Mercedes Benz that was allegedly previously owned by Lauren Bacall, among other valuables.
After he was ordered to appear in person at a status conference in a federal courtroom in Manhattan last week, Giuliani told reporters outside the building that he had no regrets about defaming the two women before quickly correcting himself to say that he did not believe he ever defamed them.
“Mr Trump doesn’t have to help me get out of this,” he said as he stepped into a car. “All Mr Trump has to do is straighten out the legal system, and you’ll find out who the real criminals are.”
