By Larry Neumeister, Associated Press

NEW YORK — A provocative Rudy Giuliani was ordered Thursday to quickly return valuable possessions, including a car and a watch given to him by his grandfather as part of a $148 million defamation judgmentwhich caused the former New York City mayor to walk out of court saying he hoped to win the appeal and get everything back.

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

“This is a case of political persecution,” he told reporters, citing the scale of what he described as a punitive ruling. “No one knows that this judgment is ridiculous.”

Judge Lewis J. Liman ordered the former presidential candidate showed up in court after lawyers for the two former Georgia election officials who won the massive judgment visited Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment last week to find that he had summer empty weeks earlier.

Lawyers for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, say Giuliani essentially avoided handing over his assets before the Oct. 29 deadline, allowing the longtime ally to once and for all all. President Donald Trump to preserve many of its most precious possessions.

The belongings 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 watches from luxury and other valuable items.

At Thursday’s hearing, Giuliani’s lawyer, Kenneth Caruso, said he believed the plaintiffs were being “vindictive” in demanding that the items to be returned include a watch that belonged to Giuliani’s grandfather.

The comment drew mockery and reprimand from Liman, who said individuals are constantly forced to give up family heirlooms to honor debts.

“They have to pay the debt. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in the form of a watch or a watch that someone passes on to him,” the judge said.

Caruso also claimed the car was worth less than $4,000, an amount that could exempt him from the sales order. But the judge said he had already ordered the car returned.

“Your honor has sufficient discretion to modify an order,” Caruso said.

Upon arriving at the courthouse, Giuliani told reporters that he did not object to the court’s orders.

“Every piece of property they want is available, if they qualify for it,” he said. “Now the law says they’re not entitled to many of them. For example, they want my grandfather’s watch, which is 150 years old. It’s a bit of a legacy. Usually you don’t get one unless you’re involved in political persecution. In fact, having me here today amounts to political persecution.

Aaron Nathan, a lawyer for the election workers, told Liman that most of the contents of the New York apartment, including artwork, sports memorabilia and other valuables, were moved about four weeks before an attempt to recover the documents. Some of it was reportedly stored on Long Island in a container that Giuliani’s lawyer said he could not access.

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

Giuliani addressed the judge directly at one point, saying he had 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 return his assets while he appeals the ruling.

Giuliani was found guilty of defamation for falsely accusing Freeman and Moss of election fraud while pushing Trump’s unsubstantiated election fraud claims during the 2020 campaign.

The women said they were threatened with death after Giuliani accused them of sneaking ballots into suitcases, counting the ballots multiple times and tampering with voting machines.

Asked by a reporter Thursday if he regretted defaming the women, Giuliani bristled, saying: “First of all, I didn’t defame them. I did not defame them.

Caruso, his lawyer, intervened, saying: “Everything ordered today will be – in my professional judgment – ​​temporary. …We are going to have this verdict overturned. Everything will come back.

Giuliani also said he had spoken to Trump since his re-election, prompting a reporter to ask if they had discussed the possibility of him joining the new administration.

“This is a discussion between me and the president-elect. And the thing 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 devoted to him,” Giuliani said.