A federal judge on Friday ordered Rudy Giuliani to pay $146 million for defamation charges against two Georgia election officials for avoiding an agreement not to make new false claims. He was charged with civil contempt.
This is the second time in less than a week that a judge has found Giuliani in contempt on matters related to the case.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell granted claims by Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss, who have long falsely alleged that Giuliani engaged in massive election fraud while working in Atlanta on election night 2020. Ta.
The agreement barred the former New York mayor from making further claims that he “engaged in fraud” during the election. The mother-daughter duo said they were violated during two broadcasts of the evening show.
At a hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., Mr. Howell began the hearing by slamming Mr. Giuliani for continuing to disparage Mr. Freeman and Mr. Moss, calling out Mr. Giuliani's wide audience and “respected public servants.'' They criticized him for spreading “fabricated lies'' based on his “history.''
“I really wanted it to be over,” Howell said.
Mr. Giuliani quickly rejected the judge's remarks, shaking his head and mockingly speaking from the defense bench. He also addressed the judge from his seat, but his commentary was inaudible.
At issue are two statements Giuliani made on Nov. 12 and 14, in which he claimed he “never made me see the tape showing the four ballots being counted.” , claimed that his tapes “showed that these few votes passed.” The hard drives we maintain were used to repair machines. ”
Lawyers for Mr. Freeman and Mr. Moss said Mr. Giuliani was “specifically referring to them.”
“I can't believe he's referring to other people in the world…beyond our clients,” attorney Michael Gottlieb said.
Mr. Gottlieb on Friday added two other examples of what he said constituted additional defamation from statements made on Mr. Giuliani's show on Nov. 19 and 21.
Mr. Giuliani's lawyer, Eden Quinton, argued that the public could not tell who his client was referring to in the video.
“He said, 'Everyone knows this is about Georgia,'” Quinton said. “That's a complete lie.”
Mr. Quinton also said that Mr. Giuliani truly believes that Mr. Freeman and Mr. Moss committed fraud. It took “a lot of restraint and restraint” for Mr. Giuliani to refrain from attacking the women, the lawyer said, noting that the former mayor did not make any negative comments about them in the months after the deal was signed. pointed out. .
“So just because he was good for a few months, his bad behavior after that should be excused?” Howell asked incredulously.
Mr. Gottlieb proposed a $20,000 fine against Mr. Giuliani for any future violations of the agreement, but that fine would specifically limit the amount of money that campaign officials had, including some of Mr. Giuliani's cash and retirement accounts. The $146 million judgment will be paid out of assets exempted from collection.
Mr. Giuliani briefly took to the stage and detailed the assets he considered exempt from taxation.
Mr. Howell asked for testimony to assess whether such fines would be punitive, rather than forcing compliance with the agreement. Mr. Giuliani admitted to having more than $1 million in two IRAs and a 401k account, in addition to a Florida condo worth about $3.5 million.
“I'm claiming they're exempt, but you're trying to take them away from me,” Giuliani said.
The ruling in Washington followed a separate ruling in Manhattan in which Mr. Freeman and Mr. Moss held Mr. Giuliani in contempt for failing to comply with court orders in their efforts to collect the judgment.
Mr. Giuliani was forced to hand over some of his most prized possessions, including his Mercedes-Benz, his watch and his New York City apartment. But election officials claim efforts to recover his remaining non-exempt assets, including key ownership documents and an autographed Joe DiMaggio jersey, have stalled.
Giuliani said the delay was the result of a breakdown in his relationship with his former lawyer, who he says is mired in other pending legal battles and refused to cooperate in providing electronic discovery to election officials. Explained.
A separate federal judge in Manhattan has not yet decided on the full scope of the sanctions, but drew a “narrower” adverse inference against Mr. Giuliani in the future as he seeks to maintain control of his Florida condominium. He said he would block certain evidence from being introduced at the trial. month.
Giuliani was initially Attempted to attend DC hearing virtuallyclaimed that his health problems and safety concerns would make it difficult to travel to the capital. Howell expressed skepticism about the former New York mayor's claims, shortly after withdrew the request.
As the hearing began later than expected, Giuliani criticized the judge in a statement from social media platform X and its spokesperson Ted Goodman.
Goodman criticized Howell as “politically motivated” and suggested he was “keeping him waiting for hours in connection with a contempt hearing that Mayor Giuliani has already decided on.”
“This is another clear example of process being punishment,” Goodman said.
Zach Schonfeld contributed reporting.
