Giuliani was under pressure to hand over assets to pay a $148 million fine to Georgia poll workers he allegedly defamed.
A judge in the United States has found that Rudy Giuliani, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, was in contempt of court for failing to fully respond to inquiries about his assets.
Monday was the second day of Giuliani’s contempt hearing, and U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman ultimately ruled that he “willfully violated a clear and unambiguous order of this court.”
It was the latest chapter in an ongoing civil case in which Giuliani, a former New York mayor, was found liable for defamation over allegations made after the 2020 presidential election.
In December 2023, a jury in Washington, D.C., ruled that Giuliani should pay $73 million in restitution and $75 million in penalties to two election officials he falsely accused of rigging the vote.
Giuliani had repeated Trump’s own baseless claim that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread voter fraud.
Lawyers say Giuliani’s allegations made the two campaign workers, mother Ruby Freeman and daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, the target of repeated harassment and death threats.
On Monday, Judge Liman said Giuliani had “missed” the Dec. 20 deadline to provide details of his Palm Beach, Fla., condo that could be used as an asset to pay the penalties.
Lawyers for Moss and Freeman have also accused Giuliani of ignoring their requests for information as they tried to collect the money owed.
For example, they said that although Giuliani gave authorities a Mercedes-Benz car and a New York apartment, he failed to provide the documents required for monetization.
They also claimed Giuliani failed to turn over sports memorabilia, watches and money from his “non-exempt cash accounts” that could be used to pay the multimillion-dollar fine.
Monday’s decision focused largely on the Palm Beach condominium that Giuliani has claimed as his primary residence to protect it from seizure.
But Aaron Nathan, a lawyer for the mother-daughter campaign workers, has accused Giuliani of withholding documents that could show Palm Beach was not his permanent residence – making it another possible source of wealth for the punishment.
However, Giuliani’s lawyer Joseph Cammarata argued that the time frame was too tight to provide all the information needed – although he emphasized that Giuliani tried.
“There was significant compliance,” Cammarata said. “There is no opposition to the court.”
Giuliani himself admitted that he was hesitant to release some documents because he feared the requests were too broad or could even constitute a legal “trap.”
He also noted the heavy toll taken by the numerous lawsuits he is facing.
In Georgia, for example, Giuliani is part of a stalled but ongoing criminal case in which he accuses Trump and his allies of leading a criminal enterprise to overturn the 2020 election.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, the former mayor is part of another criminal complaint, also for spreading false election claims.
Giuliani, 80, estimated that the competing demands made it “impossible to function officially” in a third of cases. He said he had not “willfully disobeyed” any court orders.
But Judge Liman appeared to reject the argument that Giuliani was simply overworked.
“The fact that he is a busy person who has relied on others in the past is no excuse for noncompliance,” Liman said.
