Embattled Giuliani facing 2 new contempt hearings as problems rage on

03 January

For many years, Republican and former Democrat Rudy Giuliani was known for his law-and-order image — first as a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, later during his two terms as a GOP mayor in heavily Democratic New York City. But in recent years, Giuliani has been inundated with legal problems — some criminal and some civil.

Now, according to Politico reporters Erica Orden and Kyle Cheney, two federal judges are considering holding Giuliani in contempt for defying court orders that have followed a judgement against him in a civil defamation lawsuit.

Giuliani has been facing major financial problems since former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss won a $148 million civil defamation lawsuit against him in 2023.

After Democrat Joe Biden won Georgia in the 2020 presidential race, Giuliani falsely claimed that the election was stolen from Republican Donald Trump (who he represented as a lawyer) in that state through voter fraud — a claim that was repeatedly debunked. And Freeman and Moss, in their lawsuit, said they faced threats and intimidation as a result of being falsely accused of wrongdoing by Giuliani.

In an article published by Politico on January 3, Orden and Cheney explain, "Giuliani also remains under criminal indictment in Arizona and Georgia for his efforts to help Donald Trump subvert the 2020 election. He has been disbarred in New York and Washington, D.C. But so far, his biggest legal burdens have stemmed from the civil judgment in the defamation case. The women who won that judgment — former election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss — have already taken possession of much of Giuliani’s property, including watches, a ring and a vintage Mercedes-Benz convertible."

Orden and Cheney add, "The former New York City mayor is in the process of turning over his Manhattan apartment, too. But he has fought the collection efforts tooth and nail, and he has even continued to denigrate Freeman and Moss."

Freeman and Moss, according to the Politico reporters, are asking Judge Lewis Liman and Judge Beryl Howell to hold Giuliani in contempt.

"Freeman and Moss have not explicitly asked for jail time," Orden and Cheney note, "but they have said that any fine would be an insufficient punishment, because Giuliani's debt to the two women already far exceeds his assets."

Read Politico's full article at this link.

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