Last we checked in on the disgraced and disbarred former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, a judge had given him one week to turn over Lauren Bacall’s Mercedes and other valuables to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers he defamed following the 2020 Presidential election. If Giuliani didn’t comply within that time frame, he faced being held in contempt of court. At the time, it seemed unlikely that he would comply, but we also wouldn’t have expected him to be so uncooperative that his lawyers would ask the judge to let them quit as CNN reports.
Ethics rules in New York State allow lawyers to stop representing clients they have “a fundamental disagreement” with, are uncooperative or try to get their lawyers to break the law. The details were reportedly redacted in the released court documents, but Giuliani’s lawyers are definitely trying to get out of representing him. It’s also notable that they filed this request with the court on Wednesday since Giuliani faces a Friday deadline to show he’s made a real effort to turn over his assets to the election workers he defamed. You don’t have to be Perry Mason to figure out that’s probably not going to happen.
Generally, judges really don’t like it when defendants don’t follow their orders, so while it’s hard to know just how hard Judge Liman will come down on him, he will probably have a hard time getting out of this one. It also seems likely that his lawyers don’t want to end up lumped in with their client and punished by the judge either. Don’t worry, though. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the court tomorrow. If Giuliani ends up in jail, we’ll be sure to let you know. And, of course, we won’t rest until Freeman and Moss finally get the keys to the ’80s Mercedes previously owned by Lauren Bacall.