Rudy Giuliani Found in Contempt of Court for Failing to Comply with Requests
A New York judge has found Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for failing to properly respond to requests for information as he turned over assets to satisfy a $148 million defamation judgment granted to two Georgia election workers.
Judge Lewis J. Liman made the ruling on Monday after Giuliani testified for a second day at a contempt hearing called after lawyers for the election workers said the former New York City mayor had failed to properly comply with requests for evidence over the last few months. Liman stated that Giuliani “willfully violated a clear and unambiguous order of this court” by “blowing past” a December 20 deadline to turn over evidence that would help the judge decide at a trial later this month whether Giuliani can keep a Palm Beach, Florida, condominium as his residence or must turn it over because it is deemed a vacation home.
Liman also excluded Giuliani from offering testimony about emails or text messages to establish that his homestead was in Florida, saying that Giuliani produced only a dozen and a half “cherry-picked” documents and no phone records, emails, or texts related to his homestead. The judge also said he can make inferences during the trial about “gaps” in evidence that resulted from Giuliani’s failure to turn over materials.
Giuliani’s lawyers had previously argued that he sometimes did not turn over everything requested in the case because he believed what was being sought was overly broad, inappropriate, or even a “trap” set by lawyers for the plaintiffs. However, Liman labeled one of Giuliani’s claims “preposterous” and said that being suspicious of the intent of lawyers for the election workers was “not an excuse for violating court orders.”
The trial over whether Giuliani must surrender his Florida condominium and World Series rings is set for January 16. His lawyers have predicted that he will eventually win back custody of his personal items on appeal.