Giuliani in contempt of court for continued lies about Georgia election workers

奥础厂贬滨狈骋罢翱狈&苍产蝉辫;—&苍产蝉辫; Rudolph W. Giuliani was found in contempt of court Friday for the second time this week — by a second federal judge — after he continued to spread lies about two former Georgia election workers after a jury awarded the women a $148-million defamation judgment.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., found Giuliani violated court orders barring him from defaming Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman. She ordered him to review trial testimony and other materials from the case, and warned him that future violations could result in possible jail time.

Moss and Freeman sued Giuliani — a former New York City mayor and a supporter of Donald Trump — for defamation for falsely accusing them of committing election fraud in connection with the 2020 election that Trump lost to Joe Biden. Giuliani’s lies upended their lives with racist threats and harassment.

Shortly before the hearing began, Giuliani slammed the judge in a social media post, calling her “bloodthirsty” and biased against him and the proceeding a “hypocritical waste of time.”

Giuliani smiled and chuckled as the judge explained why she was holding him in contempt of court. Howell said it is “outrageous and shameful” for Giuliani to suggest that he is the one who has been treated unfairly in this case.

World & Nation

Giuliani is found in contempt of court in $148-million defamation case

Rudolph W. Giuliani was found in contempt of court for failing to properly respond to information requests in a $148-million defamation judgment against him.

Jan. 6, 2025

“This takes real chutzpah, Mr. Giuliani,” she said.

After the judge finished reading her decision from the bench, Giuliani asked her when she wrote it. He asked her why he had to travel to Washington to attend the hearing if she had already reached a decision in advance.

“Remarkable,” he said.

“It is remarkable,” the judge replied.

“Remarkable that you can do that in three or four minutes,” Giuliani added.

Giuliani continued to complain about the judge and the proceedings as he left the courtroom.

“It was a farce,” he said.

Giuliani briefly testified during Friday’s hearing, only to authenticate records about his personal finances.

The judge didn’t fine Giuliani for his most recent defamatory comments about the case, but she said she would impose daily fines of $200 if he doesn’t certify within 10 days that he has complied with her order to review trial testimony and other case-related material.

“I don’t care what she did. She is a completely farcical judge,” he said outside the courtroom. “She didn’t consider a damn thing I said. She wrote it beforehand.”

A jury sided with the mother and daughter, who are Black, in December 2023 and awarded them $75 million in punitive damages plus roughly $73 million in other damages.

“Mr. Giuliani started lying about Plaintiffs in December of 2020, and refused to stop after repeatedly being told that his election-rigging conspiracy theory about Plaintiffs was baseless, malicious, and dangerous,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote.

Giuliani’s attorneys argued that the plaintiffs haven’t presented “clear and convincing” evidence that he violated a court order in the defamation case in comments that he made on November podcasts about alleged ballot counting irregularities in Georgia.

“Giuliani acted with the good faith belief that his comments did not violate the [judgment] and he should not be subject to contempt sanctions,” his lawyers wrote.

On Monday in New York, Judge Lewis Liman found Giuliani in contempt of court for related allegations that he failed to turn over evidence to help the judge decide whether he can keep a Palm Beach, Fla., condominium.

Giuliani, who testified in Liman’s Manhattan courtroom Jan. 3, said he didn’t turn over everything because he believed the requests were overly broad, inappropriate or even a “trap” set by plaintiffs’ lawyers.

Giuliani, 80, said in a court filing that he was attending Friday’s hearing before Howell despite having travel-related concerns about his health and safety. He said he gets death threats and has been told to be careful about traveling.

“I had hoped the Court would understand and accommodate my needs. However, it appears I was mistaken,” he said in the filing.

On the witness stand, Moss and Freeman described fearing for their lives after becoming the target of a false conspiracy theory that Giuliani and other Republicans spread as they tried to keep Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election. Moss told jurors she tried to change her appearance, seldom leaves her home and suffers from panic attacks.

“Money will never solve all my problems,” Freeman told reporters after the jury’s verdict. “I can never move back into the house that I call home. I will always have to be careful about where I go and who I choose to share my name with. I miss my home. I miss my neighbors, and I miss my name.”

Kunzelman writes for the Associated Press.