Former ‘America’s Mayor’ Faces Contempt Over Defamation Penalties

United States: Two Georgia election workers will seek a Manhattan federal judge’s order for Giuliani to be found in civil contempt for failure to produce property to satisfy their $148 million defamation damages.

Defamation Case Against Giuliani

The election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea Moss sued Giuliani in 2021, alleging that the former personal lawyer to Republican President-elect Donald Trump brought a false narrative that Freeman and her daughter sought to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election in favor of the current U.S. President Joe Biden, as reported by Reuters.

🚨🇺🇸GIULIANI FACES CONTEMPT HEARING OVER UNPAID $146M JUDGMENT

Rudy Giuliani, former NYC mayor, risks contempt charges for not handing over assets tied to a $146M defamation case.

Election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who won the case after Giuliani falsely accused them… pic.twitter.com/yQbZYc4bdL

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 3, 2025

Two years later, Giuliani admitted that he made libelous statements regarding them, and the court held they were libelous per se against Giuliani for their defamation due to his failure to produce electronic records to Moss and Freeman.

A Washington, D.C., jury later ordered he pay Freeman and Moss roughly $73 million in compensation and $75 million as punitive damages.

Failure to Comply with Court Orders

Counsel for Freeman and Moss have also submitted that Giuliani continues to defy U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman’s orders requiring him to surrender his Manhattan apartment together with title deeds of a 1980 Mercedes as well as sports memorabilia and to answer questions concerning Palm Beach, Florida condominium he owns.

Rudy Giuliani is facing a daunting challenge as he fights to save his Yankees World Series rings amid a $148 million verdict. The former NYC mayor’s legal battles may overshadow his legacy, raising questions about the intersection of fame, fortune, and a… https://t.co/0wEBrnuaqI

— Global News Report (@robinsnewswire) January 2, 2025

They have encouraged Liman to have him held in contempt of court and penalized by a finding that he did not reside in the Palm Beach condominium permanently, which could have been surrendered.

Giuliani’s Response and Legal Challenges

Giuliani, 80, said that the two election workers disrupted his day-to-day life, and he has not willfully disobeyed any court orders and has alleged that he cannot get any necessary paperwork.

He has also stated that he complied with the information requests by Freeman and Moss by consulting his previous lawyers in the case.

Judge to weigh holding Giuliani in contempt in Georgia election workers case – https://t.co/G50S8UMXoL #Judge #weigh #holding

— Insight Chainz (@InsightChainz) January 3, 2025

Kenneth Caruso and David Labkowski were among the lawyers who left in November, citing that Giuliani had failed to agree to honor those demands.

During a Dec. 19th filing, A new lawyer representing Giuliani, Joseph Cammarata, said that the case had now become political.

“This case is not really about the judgment,” Cammarata wrote. “This is a battle between the left and the right.”

Potential Consequences

A contempt citation in the district where he had been the top federal prosecutor would be the next stage of degradation for Giuliani, who was once called “America’s Mayor” because of his actions following the September 11, 2001 attacks, as reported by Reuters.

Giuliani has also been removed from the practice of law for lying to the public about election fraud in the 2020 election and entered a not-guilty plea in Georgia and Arizona to charges that he propped up Trump’s failed coup.