Rudy Giuliani, Slow to Transfer Assets to Election Workers, Can Be Held in Contempt

Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, was jailed for hours in federal court Friday after missing several deadlines to hand over $11 million of his wealth to two defiant operatives after the 2020 election.

Mr. Giuliani avoided, for the time being, being held in contempt of court – a charge he was threatened with at various times during the trial and which could have included jail time.

But most of the time in the scene, Mr. Giuliani frustrated the judge and the plaintiffs’ lawyers with a hazy memory and vague answers that slowed down a process that was already jam-packed with minutiae.

For much of the seven-hour hearing, attorneys on both sides were preoccupied with the question: Where did you go, Joe DiMaggio?

One of the important things in the collection of Mr. Giuliani commemorative sports jersey signed by Mr. DiMaggio, a Yankees legend, hangs over the former mayor’s fireplace. On Friday, Mr. Giuliani said he did not know where it was.

That wasn’t the only Yankees loss.

“There is no picture of Reggie Jackson,” said Mr. Giuliani, referring to the right-winger known as Mr. October. He has previously stated in court papers that the photo will be given to the plaintiffs. But now, the picture was not there, according to Mr. Giuliani. “The picture was Derek Jeter,” he said. “I was confused about it.”

The judge, Lewis J. Liman, appeared skeptical of Mr. Giuliani, noting that such a rare collection, especially for a well-known Yankees fan, will be top of mind.

“I’m sorry,” said Mr. Giuliani answered questions about the collection of items, and the number of other items expected to be found in his New York apartment. “When I looked, this is what I found.”

The crux of the contempt charges he continues to face is whether Mr. Giuliani, 80, has been cooperating with the release of his assets, which will be a small payment on a $148 million defamation judgment he owes to the plaintiffs, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss. Mr. Giuliani has said, repeatedly and without evidence, that women helped steal the presidential election from Donald J. Trump more than four years ago.

Assets include a 10-room apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side; a 1980 Mercedes-Benz convertible; a collection of 26 designer watches; and rare Yankees collectibles, the most valuable of which may be a signed and framed DiMaggio jersey.

Two months after the court judge ordered Mr. Giuliani to hand over these goods, the former mayor and his lawyers argue that he has tried to comply fully, but the process is difficult.

“Mr. Giuliani is an 80-year-old man who has been hit by a storm of discovery,” said Joseph M. Cammarata, Mr. Mr. Giuliani also faces civil and criminal charges in other cases, dating back to his time as Mr.

About three hours at the station on Friday, Mr. Giuliani has repeatedly responded that he does not remember details about his personal belongings or their whereabouts.

When he pressed Mr. Giuliani, Meryl Governski, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, turned his attention to the checking account associated with the seizure.

“Where did you say you took the money out?” asked Mr. Giuliani, pointing to an omission in a recent letter he wrote to the court.

Mr. Giuliani, flipping through the massive assembly line, appeared distraught. “Are we talking about Mercedes now?” he said.

As the case continued, lawyers for both sides appeared to be testing Judge Liman’s patience. After a long series of objections from Mr. Cammarata, almost everything he dismissed, Judge Liman punished the accused.

“If you have any objections, sir, you will have to sit down,” he said. “You know the rules.”

On Thursday, the lawyer of Mr. Giuliani questioned whether his client would appear physically, given medical problems related to his left knee, and breathing problems caused by Mr. Giuliani spent at the World Trade Center after the September 11 attacks.

But Judge Liman, who consulted with Mr. Giuliani regarding this case in November, said that he will not accept the testimony of Mr. Giuliani unless he goes in person. So the former mayor, wearing a blue suit and dark glasses, entered the 15th-floor courtroom Friday with a visible limp and a dry cough.

The transfer was scheduled to take place in late October. But the deadline has passed, and the women’s lawyers say they received only a small portion of the property.

These women have not officially found the house of Mr. Giuliani, who was once listed at more than $6 million, because the documents have not been updated since his separation from his ex-wife Judith Giuliani, according to court documents. The title of Mr. Giuliani, who he said once belonged to Lauren Bacall, is yet to be transferred.

But Mr. Giuliani raised eyebrows on Election Day, when he showed up in the passenger seat of the same convertible, more than a week after the original deadline for the switch. On Friday, he said he has asked for a copy of the car’s license plate three times, but he has not received it.

In November, the first lawyers of Mr. Giuliani dropped the case, citing an undisclosed reason for moral turpitude.

In a recently closed letter explaining their departure, one of the lawyers, Kenneth Caruso, who is a friend of Mr. Giuliani for a long time, said that his client was not cooperating with the discovery process related to the condom he owns in Palm Beach, Fla. refraining from using his electronic devices.

The judge will decide on Monday whether Mr. A separate hearing will be held to discuss his for-profit efforts.

Later this month, Mr. Giuliani is also facing contempt of court charges in Washington, DC, where he is accused of continuing to make public false claims about two Georgia employees.

On Jan. 16, Mr. Giuliani is expected to return to court to argue that his Palm Beach condo, along with three personal Yankees World Series rings, should be excluded from the offer.

Outside the courtroom, at a prepared microphone stand, Mr. Giuliani, who seemed energetic and combative, became discouraged.

“It would be inappropriate and unwise to say anything bad about this case right now,” he said.