Defiant Giuliani says he's a victim of 'political persecution' as he's told again to give up assets

NEW YORK (AP) — A defiant Rudy Giuliani was ordered Thursday to quickly turn over prized assets including a car and a watch given to him by his grandfather as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, leading the former New York City mayor to emerge from court saying he expects to win on appeal and get everything back.

After the hearing in Manhattan federal court, Giuliani said he was the victim of a “political vendetta” and he was “pretty sure” the judgment could be reversed.

“This is a case of political persecution,” he told reporters, citing the size of what he described as a punitive judgment. “There isn’t a person (who) doesn’t know the judgment is ridiculous.”

Judge Lewis J. Liman ordered the one-time presidential candidate to report to court after lawyers for the two former Georgia election workers who were awarded the massive judgment visited Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment last week only to discover it had been cleared out weeks earlier.

Lawyers for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, say Giuliani has mostly dodged turning over assets by an Oct. 29 deadline, enabling the longtime ally of once-and-future President Donald Trump to hang on to many of his most treasured belongings.

The possessions include his $5 million Upper East Side apartment, a 1980 Mercedes once owned by movie star Lauren Bacall, a shirt signed by New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio, dozens of luxury watches and other valuables.

During Thursday's hearing, Giuliani attorney Kenneth Caruso said he believed the plaintiffs were being “vindictive” in demanding that items to be turned over include a watch that belonged to Giuliani's grandfather.

That comment drew a scoff and rebuke from Liman, who said individuals are forced to give up family heirlooms all the time to satisfy debts.

“They have to pay the debt. It doesn't matter that it's in the form of a watch or a watch that somebody passes down to him,” the judge said.

Caruso also claimed that the car was worth less than $4,000, an amount that might exempt it from the turnover order. But the judge said he'd already ordered that the car be turned over.

“Your honor has ample discretion to change an order,” Caruso said.

When he arrived at the courthouse, Giuliani told reporters that he has not stood in the way of the court's orders.

“Every bit of property that they want is available, if they are entitled to it,” he said. “Now, the law says they’re not entitled to a lot of them. For example, they want my grandfather’s watch, which is 150 years old. That’s a bit of an heirloom. Usually you don’t get those unless you’re involved in a political persecution. In fact, having me here today is like a political persecution.”

Aaron Nathan, an attorney for the election workers, told Liman that most of the New York apartment's contents, including art, sports memorabilia and other valuables, had been moved out about four weeks prior to an attempt to recover the materials. Some of was believed stored on Long Island in a container Giuliani's lawyer said they could not access.

At the hearing, Nathan complained that efforts to get assets were met by “delay and then evasion” and that Giuliani had only recently revealed the existence of new bank accounts containing about $40,000 in cash.

Giuliani spoke directly to the judge at one point, saying he'd been “treated rudely” by those trying to take control of his assets.

His lawyers have so far argued unsuccessfully that Giuliani should not be forced to turn over his belongings while he appeals the judgment.

Giuliani was found liable for defamation for falsely accusing Freeman and Moss of ballot fraud as he pushed Trump's unsubstantiated election fraud allegations during the 2020 campaign.

The women said they faced death threats after Giuliani accused the two of sneaking in ballots in suitcases, counting ballots multiple times and tampering with voting machines.

Asked Thursday by a reporter if he had any regrets about defaming the women, Giuliani bristled, saying: “First of all, I didn't defame them. I did not defame them.”

Caruso, his lawyer, stepped in, saying: “Everything that’s been ordered today, will — in my professional judgment — be temporary. ... We're going to have that verdict reversed. It's all going to come back.”

Giuliani also said he had spoken to Trump since his reelection, prompting a reporter to ask if they had discussed the possibility he might join the new administration.

“That’s a discussion between me and the president-elect. And the fact is of course I would if that’s what he wanted. I’m not offering myself or anything, but I would. You know I’m very dedicated to him,” Giuliani said.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media as he leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks the media as he leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media as he leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the members of the media as he leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media as he leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Rudy Giuliani, center, arrives to federal court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Rudy Giuliani, center, arrives to federal court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

This photo provided by the Financial Times shows Rudy Giuliani in the passenger seat of a Mercedes convertible at the same polling place where Donald Trump cast his ballot on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (Alex Rogers/Financial Times via AP)

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

NEW YORK (AP) — A helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront Thursday, killing six people in the latest high-profile aviation disaster in the U.S., according to witnesses and a law enforcement official.

The New York Fire Department said it received a report of the crash at 3:17 p.m. All six people aboard were killed, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.

Witness Bruce Wall said he saw the helicopter “falling apart” in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. The propeller was still spinning without the aircraft as it fell, he said.

Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, New Jersey, said she saw the helicopter spinning uncontrollably before it slammed into the water.

“There was a bunch of smoke coming out. It was spinning pretty fast, and it landed in the water really hard,” she said in a phone interview.

Video posted to social media showed parts of the chopper splashing into the water, and the overturned aircraft was submerged, with rescue boats circling it.

The skies were overcast at the time, but visibility over the river was not substantially impaired. Rescue crews had to deal with 45-degree water temperatures.

The Federal Aviation Administration identified the helicopter as a Bell 206. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board planned to investigate.

The rescue craft were near the end of a long maintenance pier for a ventilation tower serving the Holland Tunnel on the New Jersey side of the river. Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles were on streets near the scene with their lights flashing.

The skies over Manhattan are routinely filled with both planes and helicopters, both private recreational aircraft and commercial and tourist flights. Manhattan has several helipads that whisk business executives and others to destinations throughout the metropolitan area.

Over the years, there have been multiple crashes, including a collision between a plane and a tourist helicopter over the Hudson River in 2009 that killed nine people and the 2018 crash of a charter helicopter offering “open door” flights that went down into the East River, killing five people.

A medical transport plane killed seven people when it plummeted into a Philadelphia neighborhood in January. That happened two days after an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter collided in midair in Washington — the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation.

The crashes and other close calls have left some people worried about the safety of flying.

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene where a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

First responders from New Jersey and New York respond to the scene where a helicopter crashed in the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

First responders walk along Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)

A New York Fire Department Marine 1 boat departs from Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)

First responders walk along Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)