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The request in federal court comes a week after a judge ordered
Giuliani to turn over by Friday a Mercedes that once belonged to
actress Lauren Bacall, an heirloom watch and other prized assets
to two former Georgia election workers who sued him over his
remarks about them as he fought to overturn President-elect
Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.
The women were awarded the judgment last year. Giuliani then
filed for bankruptcy, but a judge cut that short after finding
that the ex-mayor had flouted the process. Lawyers for the
election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye”
Moss, say Giuliani has avoided turning over his assets.
In a filing late Wednesday, attorney Kenneth Caruso sought
permission for himself and co-counsel David Labkowski to stop
representing Giuliani.
Caruso wrote that lawyers may withdraw from representing clients
when there is a “fundamental disagreement,” or when a client
insists on presenting a claim that is not warranted under the
law and cannot be supported by a good-faith argument, or when
the client fails to cooperate.
Several paragraphs of the publicly posted filing are blacked
out. The redacted version does not provide details on possible
issues.
A representative for Giuliani didn’t immediately respond to an
email and a phone call seeking comment.
Giuliani has until Monday to oppose the motion.
The massive defamation judgment stems from Giuliani’s role in
pushing Trump’s unfounded claims that the election was stolen
from him. That effort also resulted in pending criminal charges
against Giuliani in Georgia and Arizona.
The ex-mayor and longtime Trump ally has been defiant amid the
collection efforts, which have stretched past an Oct. 29
deadline. He told reporters outside court last week he was the
victim of a “political vendetta.” On Election Day, Giuliani was
seen riding near a polling place in Palm Beach, Florida, in a
Mercedes that appeared to be the car he was supposed to turn
over.
Giuliani, who has since been disbarred in New York and
Washington, had falsely accused Freeman and Moss of ballot
fraud, saying they snuck in ballots in suitcases, counted
ballots multiple times and tampered with voting machines.
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