A judge ordered Rudy Giuliani to appear in a New York courtroom Thursday to explain why he missed a deadline to turn over his assets as part of a $148 million defamation judgment.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman issued the order late Monday after attorneys for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss — two former Georgia election workers who were given massive sentences — reported to the court last week that they went at Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment. to see what goods were there, but that he had been released.

Liman set an Oct. 29 deadline for Giuliani to turn over many of his possessions to representatives of Freeman and Moss, but none of the items have yet been turned over, attorneys for the former campaign workers said Monday.

These possessions include his $5 million Upper East Side apartment, a 1980 Mercedes once owned by movie star Lauren Bacall, and a variety of other possessions — from his television to a shirt signed by New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio, up to 26 luxury watches.

The judge originally scheduled a telephone status conference for Thursday, but changed it to an in-person hearing and specifically ordered Giuliani to appear in person in response to the report from attorneys for Freeman and Moss.

Ted Goodman, a spokesman for Giuliani, said Tuesday that Giuliani made his holdings available to Freeman and Moss. He did not directly answer questions about why assets have not been handed over so far.

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“Opposing councilors, acting either negligently or deliberately in a deceptive manner, are simply trying to further bully and intimidate Mayor Giuliani until he is penniless and homeless,” said Goodman in a statement. “This is just another way they have weaponized our once sacred justice system. They should be watching every American.”

Goodman added that Giuliani had put “a few items” in storage over the past year and “everything else that was removed was related to his two live programs that air every weeknight on his social media platforms.”

Lawyers for Giuliani did not return email messages seeking comment Monday night or Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday afternoon, Liman rejected an earlier request by Giuliani’s lawyer, Kenneth Caruso, to either postpone the in-person hearing until next week or hold it Thursday by phone, as originally planned. Caruso said in a court filing that Giuliani had a “contractual commitment” to do a live radio show Thursday and Friday nights.

“To keep this commitment, he must be in his Palm Beach condo where he has his broadcast equipment,” Caruso wrote, referring to Giuliani’s Florida property. “We note that broadcasts such as those described above currently provide Mr. Giuliani’s sole source of income.”

Liman denied the request, saying in a ruling posted on the court docket that “no good cause has been provided.”

Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was found guilty of defamation for falsely accusing Freeman and Moss of ballot fraud during the 2020 election. accused of sneaking ballots into suitcases, counting ballots multiple times and tampering with voting machines while supporting Trump’s baseless allegations of voter fraud.

Freeman and Moss said the lies led to death threats against them that made them fear for their lives. A jury awarded them $148 million last year, and they sought to seize many of Giuliani’s assets in the New York lawsuit.

Aaron Nathan, a lawyer for the former election workers, said in court documents that Giuliani and his lawyers refused to answer basic questions about the location of most of the valuables that are the subject of a court order.

“This silence is particularly egregious given the revelation that Defendant apparently took affirmative action to move property out of the New York apartment in recent weeks while a restraining order was in effect and while a motion redirect was pending on that property,” Nathan wrote.

On Thursday, the women’s lawyers were given access to Giuliani’s New York apartment to assess, with a representative of the moving company, the transportation and storage needs for the property to be turned over.

Nathan, in his letter, said the residence was already “substantially empty” when the group arrived and that they were told most of the apartment’s contents had been moved about four weeks prior.

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“Except for some rugs, a dining table, a few stray pieces of small furniture and cheap wall art, and a handful of smaller items such as dishes and stereo equipment, the apartment was emptied of all its contents,” he wrote he.

That, Nathan said, includes the “vast majority” of valuables known to be stored there, including art, sports memorabilia and expensive furniture.

He said Giuliani’s lawyers have since said some of the property has been moved to a storage facility in Ronkonkoma, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Manhattan on Long Island.

Nathan said it’s unclear what property is stored there because the former mayor’s attorneys have not provided an inventory.

Giuliani’s lawyers have argued — so far unsuccessfully — that Freeman and Moss should not be allowed to obtain and sell his assets while his appeal is pending in a federal court in Washington.