Listen To Story Above
A federal judge in Manhattan is set to evaluate a request from two Georgia election workers seeking to hold Rudy Giuliani in civil contempt for failing to surrender assets as payment toward a $148 million defamation judgment.
Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss initiated legal proceedings against Giuliani in 2021, claiming his statements connecting them to alleged 2020 presidential election fraud caused significant harm to their reputations.
In the subsequent legal developments, Giuliani acknowledged making defamatory statements about the pair in 2023. A judge found him liable for defamation after he failed to provide electronic evidence to the plaintiffs.
.@RudyGiuliani says NO he didn’t work with anyone to get dirt on Joe Biden. The dirt was handed to him from Ukrainians that was shocked The FBI wouldn’t even look at it.
.@KashPatelX I sure hope
you expose the Biden corruption as we all know he was getting kickbacks from… pic.twitter.com/7bo2pWG74E— 🦅 Eagle Wings 🦅 (@CRRJA5) January 1, 2025
Subsequently, a Washington, D.C. jury determined Giuliani must pay $73 million in compensatory damages and an additional $75 million in punitive damages to Freeman and Moss.
The plaintiffs’ legal team now asserts that Giuliani has disregarded U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman’s directives to surrender his Manhattan residence, a 1980 Mercedes, sports collectibles, and provide information about his Palm Beach, Florida property.
Their attorneys are pressing Judge Liman to issue a contempt ruling and impose penalties by determining that Giuliani’s Palm Beach condominium does not qualify as his primary residence, potentially making it available for seizure.
Giuliani, at age 80, maintains that disruptions to his daily routine have impeded his ability to gather required documentation, and denies willfully disobeying court orders.
He has attributed compliance issues to his previous legal representation’s handling of information requests from the plaintiffs.
These former attorneys, Kenneth Caruso and David Labkowski, stepped down in November, partly citing Giuliani’s unwillingness to comply with the plaintiffs’ requests.
America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani just called out Republicans in Congress for doing absolutely nothing to help him, Steve Bannon, the J6 defendants or any conservatives who’ve been persecuted by Biden’s DOJ.
I stand with @RudyGiuliani.
Why won’t the GOP?pic.twitter.com/OyxcCCEtka
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) May 11, 2024
Giuliani’s current attorney, Joseph Cammarata, argued in a December 19 filing that political motivations have overtaken the case.
“This case is not really about the judgment,” Cammarata wrote. “This is a battle between the left and the right.”
A contempt finding in his former jurisdiction would add to Giuliani’s mounting legal difficulties, which stand in stark contrast to his celebrated role as “America’s Mayor” following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Giuliani currently faces potential disbarment connected to his 2020 election claims and has entered not guilty pleas to criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona related to Trump’s election result challenge efforts.
