NEW YORK (AP) — In an angry outburst in a New York courtroom, Rudy Giuliani accused a judge Tuesday of making wrong assumptions about him as he tries to comply with an order requiring him to turn over most of his assets to two election poll workers who won a libel case against him.
U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman responded by saying he’s not going to let the former New York City mayor and onetime presidential candidate blurt things out anymore in court unless he’s a sworn witness.
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Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The interruption to an otherwise routine pretrial hearing in Manhattan came as the judge questioned Giuliani's lawyer about why Giuliani has not yet provided the title to a car he has relinquished in his effort to satisfy a $148 million defamation judgment won by two former Georgia election workers.
“Your client was the U.S. attorney for this district,” the judge said, referring to Giuliani's years in the 1980s as the head of the federal prosecutor's office in the Southern District of New York, as he suggested it was hard to believe that Giuliani was incapable of getting a duplicate title to the car.
Giuliani learned forward and began speaking into a microphone, telling the judge he had applied for a duplicate copy of the car's title but that it had not yet arrived.
“The implication I’ve been not diligent about it is totally incorrect,” Giuliani said in a scolding tone. “The implication you make is against me and every implication against me is wrong.”
Giuliani went on: "I’m not impoverished. Everything I have is tied up. I don’t have a car. I don’t have a credit card. I don’t have cash. I can’t get to bank accounts that truly would be mine because they have put ... stop orders on, for example, my Social Security account, which they have no right to do.”
Liman responded by warning defense lawyers that the next time Giuliani interrupts a hearing, “he's not going to be permitted to speak and the court will take action.”
The judge said Giuliani could either choose to represent himself or let lawyers do so, but “you can't have hybrid representation.”
If Giuliani wants to speak in court again, he can be put on the witness stand and be sworn as a witness, Liman added.
The exchange came at a hearing in which the judge refused to delay a Jan. 16 trial over the disposition of Giuliani’s Florida residence and World Series rings.
Those are two sets of assets that Giuliani is trying to shield from confiscation as part of Liman's order to turn over many prized possessions to the poll workers.
Earlier in the proceeding, defense attorney Joseph M. Cammarata asked Liman to delay the trial, which will be heard without a jury, for a month because of Giuliani's “involvement" in inauguration planning for President-elect Donald Trump.
“My client regularly consults and deals directly with President-elect Trump on issues that are taking place as the incoming administration is afoot as well as (the) inauguration," Cammarata said. "My client wants to exercise his political right to be there.”
The judge turned down the request, saying Giuliani's “social calendar” was not a reason to postpone the trial.
Giuliani, who once served as Trump's personal attorney, was found liable last year for defaming two Georgia poll workers by falsely accusing them of tampering with ballots during the 2020 presidential election. The women said they faced death threats after Giuliani falsely claimed they sneaked in ballots in suitcases, counted ballots multiple times and tampered with voting machines.
Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters as he leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A prominent Bangladeshi Hindu leader who has been leading rallies demanding security for Hindus in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation was ordered detained on charges of sedition Tuesday.
The magistrate court of Kazi Shariful Islam denied bail to Krishna Das Prabhu and ordered him detained pending further proceedings.
One lawyer was killed and scores were injured after clashes broke out following Tuesday's court order.
As police attempted to transport the Hindu leader to jail, hundreds of his supporters surrounded the van carrying him, forcing it to stop for over an hour before security officials fired teargas to disperse the crowd. Protesters threw stones at police during a brief confrontation, before the way was cleared and Prabhu was taken to jail.
As the tension grew, live TV showed dozens of Muslims joining the security officials, chasing Hindu protesters and throwing stones at them.
The United News of Bangladesh news agency quoted a police official as saying that lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was hacked to death during the melee. Some reports blamed the Hindu protesters for the killing, but details were sketchy.
Hindus and members of other minority groups say they have faced more attacks than ever since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid a mass uprising in August and an interim government took over. The government says the threat to Hindus has been exaggerated.
Around 91% of Bangladesh’s population is Muslim, with Hindus making up almost all of the rest.
Prabhu, also known as Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, faces charges of sedition filed in October after he led a huge rally in Chattogram in which he was accused of disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag.
He was arrested in Dhaka’s main airport on Monday while traveling to Chattogram in southeastern Bangladesh.
Kushal Baran Chakrabarty, who was accompanying Prabhu at the time of his arrest, said that several detectives took the Hindu leader to a police car at the airport.
“Chinmoy Prabhu gave his phone to me as he was forcefully taken to the police car. The police detectives jostled with us to forcefully take his phone and they took it away. We then followed the police car that headed for the headquarters of the Detective Branch at Minto Road in Dhaka,” he said. “We stayed outside the Detective Branch’s office.”
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, an umbrella organization of the country's minority groups, denounced the arrest of Prabhu in a statement and demanded his release.
India's Ministry of External Affairs expressed “deep concern” in a statement on Tuesday.
“This incident follows the multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities by extremist elements in Bangladesh. There are several documented cases of arson and looting of minorities’ homes and business establishments, as well as theft and vandalism and desecration of deities and temples,” the statement said.
It also condemned attacks on peaceful protests by Hindus.
“We urge Bangladesh authorities to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all minorities, including their right of freedom of peaceful assembly and expression,” the ministry wrote.
Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday night criticized the reaction by India, saying that the issue was the “internal affairs” of Bangladesh.
“It is with utter dismay and deep sense of hurt that the government of Bangladesh notes that the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das has been misconstrued by certain quarters since Chinmoy Krishna Das has been arrested on specific charges,” its statement said.
Bangladesh also said that India's statement misrepresents facts and contradicts the spirit of friendship and understanding between the neighboring countries.
Also, India's statement does not reflect the harmony that exists among the peoples of all faiths and the commitment and the efforts of the government and the people in this regard, said the statement by Bangladesh.
Prabhu faces charges of sedition filed in October after he led a huge rally in Chattogram in which he was accused of disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag. Dhaka-based leading Prothom Alo daily reported that Prabhu would be produced before a court on Tuesday, and that two other people have been arrested in the case.
On Tuesday, the Hindu leader was brought before the magistrate court of Kazi Shariful Islam in southeastern city of Chattogram, the United News of Bangladesh agency reported. The court was packed and dozens of lawyers stood for him to seek bail.
Since August, Prabhu has led several large rallies demanding safety for the Hindus, as the interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus said reports of attacks have been exaggerated.
Many in the interim government see the rallies by Hindus as a threat to stability and a ploy to rehabilitate Hasina and her Awami League party.
The long-ruling secular party is seen as a protector of the Hindu minority and has close ties to neighboring India. Hundreds of Hasina’s supporters, including many close aides, are believed to have fled to India after her fall.
Prabhu is a prominent Hindu leader and a respected figure. He is a member of the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatan Jagaran Jote group. He is also associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, widely known as the Hare Krishna movement, and acts as a spokesman for the group in Bangladesh.
On Tuesday, authorities in Dhaka and Chattogram deployed paramilitary border guards, apparently to avert any violence.
Prabhu's followers took to the streets in Chattogram and Dhaka to demand his release on Monday.
In Dhaka, a mob armed with sticks attacked Hindu protesters on Monday night at Shahbagh intersection near the Dhaka University.
Kalbela, a Bengali-language daily, said in a video report on Monday night that the attackers drove the Hindu protesters away from the area.
Hasina fled the country on Aug. 5 after a student-led protest morphed into a mass uprising, ending her 15-year rule. The country's security agencies are struggling to keep order as the police agencies remained demoralized after dozens of their members were killed during the mass uprising in July and August.
Supporters of Bangladeshi Hindu leader Krishna Das Prabhu surround the van carrying the leader after court ordered him detained pending further proceedings in Chattogram in southeastern Bangladesh, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP photo)
Policemen charge baton to disperse the supporters of Bangladeshi Hindu leader Krishna Das Prabhu after they surrounded police van carrying their leader at the court premises, in Chattogram in southeastern Bangladesh, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP photo)
Bangladeshi Hindu leader Krishna Das Prabhu shows a victory sign as he is taken in a police van after court ordered him detained pending further proceedings in Chattogram in southeastern Bangladesh, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP photo)
