More than two hours after he was scheduled to appear, Rudy Giuliani is a no show for his own trial.
The former New York City mayor was nowhere to be seen at a federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan, where he was scheduled to appear Monday morning for a brief trial to determine whether a pair of election workers he defamed can seize his Florida condo and World Series rings.
But two and a half hours later, it wasn’t clear if Giuliani was even in the building.
His attorney Joseph Cammarata and attorneys for the women he defamed met briefly in the judge’s chambers. As Cammarata raced past a row of reporters on his way out of the room, he muttered a terse “no comment.”
District Judge Lewis Liman is reconvening at 1 p.m. ET.
A court sketch depicts an empty seat where Rudy Giuliani was scheduled to appear for a trial on January 16 with his Florida condo and World Series rings at stake. (REUTERS)
Donald Trump’s former attorney is also hoping to block a court’s order to relinquish three World Series rings that he claims were gifted to his son Andrew.
Giuliani’s son Andrew — who claims that the World Series rings were a gift to him from his father — was spotted in the courthouse lobby before the trial was scheduled to start.
But his attorney was patiently waiting by himself inside the courtroom.
Giuliani has been desperately trying to keep his multi-million dollar Palm Beach condo out of the hands of two women he defamed in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
A brief trial in federal court will determine if he can exempt his Florida property from a long list of assets he has been ordered by a court to begin chipping away at the nearly $150 million he owes the women after a blockbuster defamation verdict.
He is expected to testify.
Last week, the judge overseeing the case found him in contempt of court after he blew multiple deadlines and failed to turn over documents. A few days later, a separate judge in a separate court in Washington, D.C., found him in contempt for repeatedly lying about the women he defamed.
The judges are determining appropriate penalties.