Former New York mayor and Trump ally Rudy Giuliani found guilty of contempt of court court news

Giuliani is under pressure to turn over assets to pay a $148 million fine to Georgia election workers he allegedly defamed.

A judge in the United States has found Rudy Giuliani, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, in contempt of court for his failure to fully respond to requests about his assets.

Monday was the second day of Giuliani’s contempt hearing, and US District Judge Lewis J. Lyman ultimately ruled that he “willfully violated a clear and unambiguous order of this court”.

It was the latest chapter in an ongoing civil case that sees former New York City Mayor Giuliani held liable for defamation over allegations made following the 2020 presidential election.

In December 2023, a jury in Washington, DC determined that Giuliani should pay $73 million in compensation and $75 million in punishment to two election workers whom he falsely accused of vote tampering. Was accused.

Giuliani had reiterated Trump’s own baseless claims that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread election fraud.

According to lawyers, Giuliani’s allegations made two election workers, mother Ruby Freeman and daughter Vandria “Shay” Moss, the targets of repeated harassment and death threats.

On Monday, Judge Lyman said Giuliani “missed” the Dec. 20 deadline to provide details about his condominium in Palm Beach, Florida, which was used as an asset to pay the penalty. could go.

Attorneys for Moss and Freeman have also accused Giuliani of ignoring their requests for information as they attempted to collect money owed.

For example, he said that Giuliani had indeed turned over a Mercedes-Benz car, as well as a New York apartment, to authorities, but he failed to provide the necessary documents to monetize them.

They also alleged that Giuliani had not turned over sports memorabilia, watches and money from his “non-exempt cash accounts” that could have been used to pay millions of dollars in fines.

Monday’s decision focused largely on the Palm Beach condo that Giuliani has claimed as his primary residence in an effort to protect it from seizure.

But Aaron Nathan, the attorney for the mother-daughter election activists, has accused Giuliani of hiding documents that could show Palm Beach was not his permanent home — making it another potential source of wealth for punishment.

However, Giuliani’s lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, argued that the deadline was too short to provide all the necessary information – although he stressed that Giuliani had tried.

“There has been substantial compliance,” Camerata said. “There is no contempt of court.”

Giuliani himself admitted that he was hesitant to hand over some documents, fearing that the requests were too broad or even a legal “trap”.

He also cited the huge loss he is facing due to the numerous legal cases pending against him.

In Georgia, for example, Giuliani is part of a stalled but ongoing criminal case accusing Trump and his associates of leading a criminal enterprise to overturn the 2020 election.

Meanwhile, in Arizona, the former mayor is part of another criminal indictment, also for spreading false election claims.

Giuliani, 80, estimated that competing demands made it “impossible to act in an official manner” one third of the time. He said he had not “willfully disobeyed” any court order.

But Judge Liman appeared to reject the argument that Giuliani was burdened with excessive burden.

“The fact that he is a busy individual who has depended on others in the past is not an excuse for noncompliance,” Lyman said.