Rudy Giuliani held in contempt in case brought by two former Georgia election workers he defamed

CNN

By Lauren del Valle and Katelyn Polantz, CNN

(CNN) — A federal judge on Monday held Rudy Giuliani in contempt for failing to turn over information to two former Georgia election workers he defamed after the 2020 presidential election, as they continue to try to collect $150 million in damages.

The sanctions add to a pile of significant consequences the former New York mayor, US attorney and Donald Trump attorney has faced in court in recent years.

It comes less than two weeks before a scheduled trial where Giuliani will fight to keep ownership of a $3.5 million Palm Beach, Florida, condo he says he lives in. He was accused of failing to respond to requests for information from election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss as they prepare for the trial.

Judge Lewis Liman said Giuliani’s noncompliance was willful and accused him of “running the clock” to stall until the trial date.

The judge said he put very little weight on Giuliani’s “self-serving” testimony claiming any noncompliance was innocent.

“He has testified that he did not respond because he suspected the motives of plaintiff’s counsel. That is not an excuse for violating the court’s orders,” Liman said in court Monday.

“More important, as the court informed the defendant, if there was reason to believe the plaintiff’s counsel misused discovery or would misuse discovery, he could raise that with the court. It was not an excuse to take the law into his own hands,” the judge added.

Giuliani had been delaying paying or handing over his valuables, including by entering into bankruptcy for several months, but began the process of turning over some of his assets to Moss and Freeman after Liman ordered him to do so in October. Though he turned over some of the items he owed, including more than a dozen luxury watches, furniture and baseball memorabilia, and began the process of transferring ownership of his $6 million New York apartment to them, not all of the transfers are complete.

For instance, he gave Moss and Freeman the 1980 convertible Mercedes itself, but not the car’s title. Giuliani testified Monday that he turned over the title to his Mercedes over the weekend and that he couldn’t find it earlier.

He admitted on the stand that he’s held on to his grandfather’s pocket watch. He waved the pocket watch in the camera during his virtual appearance Monday, telling the court he will give it to the lawyers who he hopes will keep it safe.

Giuliani has also been ordered to relinquish a collection of sports memorabilia but has insisted he cannot find a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey that once hung over the mantle in his New York City apartment.

“The only one I’m having difficulty with is the Joe DiMaggio jersey because I do not know where it is and it’s hard to re-create who took it,” Giuliani testified. “I am personally conducting my own investigation.”

Giuliani on his podcast Monday evening criticized the judge’s decision to hold him in contempt. The former mayor slammed the ruling, saying, “I’ve already been deposed for hours on this case. I’ve given him and them hundreds and hundreds of pages of discovery. It’s literally this high, but they want more. And they want me held in contempt because I haven’t given them enough.”

Giuliani argued on the podcast it was a waste of time for him to testify, claiming the judge “had already made up his mind.” He also argued the court’s request for information in the case was “enormously burdensome.”

Giuliani’s spokesperson, Ted Goodman, responded to the judge’s contempt finding by attacking Freeman and Moss’ attorneys, whom Goodman said “might be happy to fight to take away Mayor Giuliani’s most cherished personal belongings, including his signed baseball jersey of his childhood hero and his grandfather’s pocket watch, but they can never take away his extraordinary record of public service.”

More than four years ago, Giuliani defamed Moss and Freeman while working for Trump after the 2020 election, when he repeatedly and falsely claimed they had switched votes to hurt Trump in Atlanta, in a state where the then-president lost the popular vote.

A jury in Washington, DC, decided a year ago that the former mayor’s statements about Moss and Freeman harmed them so much, he should owe them $150 million.

Moss and Freeman are also trying to have Giuliani held in contempt of court for failing to turn over assets that he was ordered to months ago.

In his ruling Monday, the judge limited defense arguments and evidence Giuliani can use at trial – penalties that could make it more difficult for him to keep his Florida condo.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Rashard Rose contributed to this report.

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