A federal judge in New York has found Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for failing to comply with an order to turn over information about his assets to two former Georgia election officials he vilified.
Over two days, Giuliani tried to answer questions about why he didn’t turn over assets or court-ordered discovery information to satisfy Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shay” Moss’ $146 million settlement. After testifying, U.S. District Judge Louis Lehman found him in contempt Monday afternoon. libel judgment against him.
Mr. Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and U.S. attorney, “deliberately violated the court’s express orders” by failing to provide information when he should have, Mr. Lehman said.
“The defendant stalled and tried to run the clock,” he said.
“Discovery shouldn’t be a shell game where you move hidden balls around,” he added.
He said he would decide later on “appropriate sanctions” against Giuliani.
Giuliani testified remotely from his Florida home early in the day, telling his lawyer Joseph Cammarata that he was trying to comply with court orders in the case and blaming his former lawyer for not doing so. Ta. He also complained of difficulty juggling various lawsuits, including two criminal cases and two other defamation lawsuits related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. Ta.
“Some days it’s just not possible because there are conflicting requests for material and appearances on the same day,” Giuliani said.
He also said he found some important documents that Freeman and Moss had been waiting for: the exclusive title to a multimillion-dollar Manhattan apartment and the title to his Mercedes-Benz convertible.
However, the titles on both documents include Divorced Wife and would need to be amended for use by Freeman and Moss’s attorneys.
Mr. Freeman and Mr. Moss asked a judge to hold Mr. Giuliani in civil contempt for failing to provide information and to pay a $146 million judgment on an autograph signed by Hall of Fame outfielder Joe DiMaggio. He was asked to hand over a number of valuable assets, including a New York Yankees jersey.
Both men win damages in defamation suit against Giuliani, claiming Giuliani spread falsehoods about Trump’s 2020 election loss, resulting in an onslaught of racist and violent threats did.
In a court filing, lawyers for the two companies urged Lehman to apply “appropriate sanctions” to encourage Giuliani to comply with court orders after he repeatedly violated deadlines to turn over assets and financial data. was.
Mr. Giuliani said Friday that DiMaggio’s jersey was “missing,” and a friend, Monsignor Alan Alan, said he had seen it framed at Mr. Giuliani’s property in Palm Beach, Florida, within the past two years. denied Plaka’s claims.
Giuliani said Monday he was still looking for the jersey. “We don’t know where it is, it’s difficult to reconstruct who took it, and I’m conducting my own investigation into this,” he said.
Testifying in court Friday, Giuliani denied withholding any other Yankees memorabilia and said he was not “hiding” an autographed image of Reggie Jackson, another Hall of Famer. , the election board’s attorney argued, was listed as an asset in bankruptcy documents.
Lawyers for Mr. Freeman and Mr. Moss argue that Mr. Giuliani has shown a “consistent pattern of willful defiance of court extradition orders,” and that Mr. Giuliani has owned an estimated $6 million exclusive lease on a Manhattan apartment and a co-op. He cited the failure to hand over the stock but not the cash. his bank account and the deed to a Mercedes that once belonged to Hollywood icon Lauren Bacall.
“It is tragic to see our nation’s justice system turned into a complete mockery, with shams being substituted for actual hearings and trials,” Giuliani’s spokesman Ted Goodman said in a statement. said.
The New York case will go to trial on January 16 to determine the ownership of Giuliani’s Florida mansion and the Yankees World Series ring he claims he gave to his son several years ago.
Mr. Giuliani was in Washington, D.C., this week arguing over whether he should be sanctioned for continuing to defame Mr. Freeman and Mr. Moss on his livestream show “America’s Mayor’s Mayor Live,” in violation of a court-ordered agreement. He is facing a second contempt action.
Katherine Koretzki also contributed.
