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By: Benyamin Davidsons
On Monday, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was held in contempt of court and accused of trying to “run out the clock” to avoid paying the $148 million defamation verdict. As reported by the NY Post, Manhattan federal court Judge Lewis Liman found
Giuliani in contempt twice for missing deadlines and not providing key information ahead of a Jan. 16 trial, regarding whether he will need to give up his Florida home and his prized Yankees World Series rings in order to pay the hefty settlement. The court has ordered him to pay two Georgia election workers— Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss —$148 million, after he defamed them with false claims that they tried to steal the 2020 election from Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
Giuliani, 80, who formerly served as US Attorney for the Southern District of NY and who had acted as Trump’s lawyer during the 2020 election, has argued that the two women should not be able to take his $3.5 million condo in Palm Beach, Florida., as it is his main residence. Judge Liman, however, found him in contempt for not turning over a key piece of evidence in the case — a list of his “professional service providers,” including doctors and financial advisors, and the addresses where they are based, in time for the Dec. 20 deadline. The judge also said that Giuliani did not respond to a court order to produce texts and emails related to his “travel, or whether Florida is indeed his homestead.” “The defendant willfully violated a clear and unambiguous order of the court,” Liman said, reading his ruling in Manhattan federal court.
Per the Post, the court can potentially issue fines or even order jail time to people found in contempt, but the judge did not hint to this. Instead, Judge Liman said that in absence of the timely response he would assume, at the trial later this month, that the list of his service providers will show that “none of them” are based in Florida — which may potentially cost Giuliani his right to keep the Palm Beach home. The judge’s ruling follows two days of testimony by Giuliani on Friday and early Monday, in which Giuliani said he did “his best” to comply with the court’s discovery rules in turning over information on time. “The court puts very little weight on that self-serving testimony,” Liman said.
The court will also still need to rule on the Georgia election workers’ separate bid to hold Giuliani in contempt for failing to swiftly turn over assets, like the title to a 1980 Mercedes convertible. Formerly hailed as “America’s Mayor” for is leadership during the September 11 attacks, Giuliani has been asked to liquidate his assets so as to pay the $148 million.
Giuliani, who testified via a video feed on Monday, said that he finally located the title to the luxury vehicle, the Post reported. His lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, explained to the judge that the deed was not yet forked over to the election workers because Giuliani still needs to obtain a new version from the local DMV, after having his ex-wife’s name removed from it.
“It’s not non-compliance, it’s cutting through a lot of red tape,” Cammarata pleaded. Liman was not moved by the argument. “It’s not hard,” the judge shot back.
