For the second time this week, a judge has found Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court in a case involving two Georgia election workers he baselessly claimed committed election fraud in 2020.
Washington, DC, federal Judge Beryl Howell sided with lawyers for Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman, finding that Giuliani violated the judge’s “unambiguous” prior ruling barring the former New York City Mayor from continuing to defame the two women, according to reporting by The Hill.
On Monday, a Manhattan federal judge similarly held Giuliani in contempt of court, on the grounds that he was trying to “run out the clock” to avoid paying Freeman and Moss a $148 million defamation verdict they won in 2023.
Howell chided Giuliani – President-elect Donald Trump’s one-time personal lawyer who was once regarded as “America’s Mayor” – for using his fame to tarnish the duo with “fabricated lies.”
“You’re the most famous person in this courtroom right now, you’ve got a bigger audience, you’ve got a bigger public following than anyone in this courtroom,” the judge said.
“I really hoped we were done,” the judge said.
Earlier, Michael Gottlieb, a lawyer for Moss and Freeman, told Howell they didn’t want to be back in court but said his clients just want “Mr. Giuliani to stop defaming them,” according to a report by NBC News.
He requested that Giuliani be fined $20,000 for every time he continued to defame the women even after Howell ordered an agreement promising he wouldn’t do so anymore.
Gottlieb specifically requested that the fines come from money that has been deemed off-limits — including an IRA account.
Giuliani’s lawyer, Eden Quainton, claimed a $20,000 fine per violation would be “excessive.”
At one point, Giuliani took the witness stand explaining that he had roughly $163,000 in a 401k account, $100,000 in one IRA account and $1.1 million in another — all of which he claimed should be exempt.
“I claim they’re exempt, and you’re trying to take them from me,” Giuliani testified.
Giuliani allegedly violated the agreement in November on a streaming show repeating claims that the two women committed election fraud against Trump during the 2020 presidential election, but Quainton argued his client had kept his promise for months prior to the slip-up.
Howell shot down the argument.
“Because he was good for a few months, we ought to excuse any bad behavior after that?” she asked.
Quainton also claimed that Giuliani couldn’t have said the comments on his show with malice — a legal standard used in defamation cases — because he actually believes to be true what he’s saying about the women.
Howell was alarmed by the argument suggesting Giuliani would never cease making the claims against the women.
“He’s never going to stop because he thinks he’s right?” Howell said. “That’s chilling.”
Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s political advisor, claimed Giuliani wasn’t able to sufficiently defend himself in the original defamation suit.
“This contempt ruling is designed to prevent Mayor Giuliani from exercising his constitutional rights,” Goodman said.
Manhattan federal Judge Lewis Liman on Monday held Giuliani in contempt for twice blowing off deadlines and failing to turn over critical information ahead of a Jan. 16 trial in the case about whether his Florida home and his cherished Yankees World Series rings should be relinquished to Ross and Freeman to help pay down his debt to them.
“The defendant willfully violated a clear and unambiguous order of the court,” Liman said, also blasting Giuliani’s testimony Monday as “self-serving.”
