Rudy Giuliani, Slow to Transfer Assets to Election Workers, Could Be Held in Contempt

Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, was grilled for hours in federal court on Friday after missing several deadlines to hand over $11 million of his prized possessions to two poll workers he defamed after the 2020 election.

Mr. Giuliani avoided, for now, being held in contempt of court — a charge he has been threatened with at various times during the case and that could include jail time.

But for most of his time on the stand, Mr. Giuliani frustrated the judge and the plaintiffs’ lawyers with a spotty memory and vague answers that slowed to a crawl proceedings that were already bogged down in minutiae.

For much of the seven-hour hearing, lawyers on both sides were preoccupied with the question: Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?

One of the central items of Mr. Giuliani’s collection of sports memorabilia is a jersey signed by Mr. DiMaggio, the Yankees legend, that hung over the former mayor’s fireplace. On Friday, Mr. Giuliani said he had no idea where it was.

That was not the only missing Yankees great.

“There is no Reggie Jackson picture,” Mr. Giuliani said, referring to the right-fielder known as Mr. October. He had previously said in court documents that the picture would be handed over to the plaintiffs. But now, the photo didn’t exist, according to Mr. Giuliani. “The picture was Derek Jeter,” he said. “I was kind of confused about it.”