NEW YORK (AP) — Two attorneys say they can no longer represent Rudy Giuliani in a legal battle over property he must give up to satisfy part of a $148 million defamation judgment against him. They asked a judge to remove them from the case, citing disagreements with the former mayor of New York City.
The request in federal court comes a week after a judge ordered Giuliani to hand over by Friday a Mercedes once belonging to actress Lauren Bacall, an heirloom watch and other prized possessions to two former Georgia election workers who sued him over his comments about them. he fought to overturn newly elected President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.
The women received the verdict last year. Giuliani then filed for bankruptcy, but a judge put an end to that after finding that the ex-mayor had ignored 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 attorneys may withdraw from representing clients when there is a “fundamental disagreement,” or when a client insists on pursuing a claim that is not justified by law and cannot be supported by an argument good faith, or when the client fails. to collaborate.
Several paragraphs of the publicly posted dossier have been blacked out. The edited version does not contain details about possible problems.
A representative for Giuliani did not immediately respond to an email and phone call seeking comment.
Giuliani has until Monday to oppose the motion.
The mass defamation judgment stems from Giuliani’s role in pushing Trump’s baseless 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 in the collection efforts, which stretched past the Oct. 29 deadline. He told reporters outside court last week that he was the victim of a “political vendetta.” On Election Day, Giuliani was seen driving near a polling place in Palm Beach, Florida, in a Mercedes that appeared to be the car he was supposed to return.
Giuliani, who has since been suspended in New York and Washington, had falsely accused Freeman and Moss of voter fraud, saying they smuggled in ballots in suitcases, counted the ballots multiple times and tampered with voting machines.
