[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. 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.
Judge Lewis Liman said Giuliani’s noncompliance was willful and accused him of “running the clock” to stall until the trial date. The judge put very little weight on Giuliani’s “self-serving” testimony claiming any noncompliance was innocent.
Giuliani had been delaying paying or handing over his valuables, including by entering into bankruptcy for several months. He 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.
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. He testified that he’s conducting his own investigation to find the jersey.
Giuliani criticized the judge’s decision to hold him in contempt on his podcast Monday evening, slamming the ruling and saying he’s already given hundreds of pages of discovery to the court. He argued that the court’s request for information in the case is “enormously burdensome.”
A jury in Washington, DC, decided a year ago that Giuliani’s statements about Moss and Freeman harmed them so much that 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.
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