A federal decide discovered Rudy Giuliani, former private lawyer to Donald Trump, in contempt of court docket Friday for the second time this week.
U.S. District Decide Beryl Howell’s ruling was in response to Giuliani refusing to show over requested monetary information in a defamation case introduced towards him by former Georgia election staff Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, whom he repeatedly and falsely accused of committing fraud whereas serving as Georgia ballot staff throughout the 2020 presidential election.
It’s “outrageous and shameful that Mr. Giuliani suggests that he is the one being treated unfairly,” Howell mentioned in court docket, in accordance with reporters within the room. “This takes real chutzpah, Mr. Giuliani.”
Howell additionally ordered the previous New York Metropolis mayor to signal a sworn declaration stating he’d seen all of the trial proof. She threatened potential jail time if he fails to signal it inside the subsequent 10 days.
Giuliani was additionally held in contempt of court docket Monday for refusing to give up information and private gadgets to Freeman and Moss, together with paperwork for his Mercedes convertible and his property in New York Metropolis.
Alex Kent by way of Getty Pictures
In December 2023, a jury ordered Giuliani to pay Freeman and Moss $148 million, and in Might, he agreed to a everlasting injunction requiring him to cease claiming the mom and daughter had dedicated fraud.
Giuliani has turned over some possessions to Freeman and Moss, however the ladies are combating for possession papers and the majority of the settlement.
He’s again in court docket now after Freeman and Moss say he violated that injunction by slamming the ladies as fraudsters on his podcast. He even acknowledged the violation in a November episode, saying, “I’m sorry they’re going to sue me again for saying it, but what am I going to do but tell the truth?”
His continued allegations towards Freeman and Moss come despite the Georgia secretary of state declaring in a 2023 ultimate report that no fraud was detected throughout the two ladies’s ballot work.
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Freeman and Moss say Giuliani’s accusations upended their lives, forcing them to stop their jobs and go into hiding as they endured an onslaught of threats and racist assaults.
In court docket Friday, Howell dismissed arguments from Giuliani’s lawyer that his shopper sincerely believed that the ladies had engaged in election fraud.
“So, what? You’re saying this defamation is never going to stop? He’s never going to stop saying this because he thinks he’s right?” she requested. “That’s chilling.”
