Judge signals contempt hearing might end badly for Giuliani
28 December 2024, 02:54
Two Georgia election poll workers are trying to collect a £117 million defamation award.
A federal judge has signalled that Rudy Giuliani’s contempt hearing on January 3 might not end so well for the former New York City mayor.
Two Georgia election poll workers are trying to collect a 148 million dollar (£117.7 million) defamation award they won against the one-time personal lawyer for President-elect Donald Trump.
Judge Lewis J Liman in Manhattan issued an order on Friday in which he was dismissive of what he described as attempts by Mr Giuliani and his lawyer to dodge providing information to the election workers’ lawyers.
He said the litigants should be ready at the contempt hearing to explain why he should not grant a request by lawyers for the two election workers that he makes adverse inferences from the evidence in the case that would put Mr Giuliani’s Palm Beach, Florida, condominium in danger of being surrendered to satisfy the defamation award.
The judge also said he may rule on the contempt request at the hearing.
Mr Giuliani has maintained that the Palm Beach property is his personal residence and should be shielded from the judgment. He faces a January 16 trial before Judge Liman over the disposition of his Florida residence and World Series rings.
Lawyers for the election workers filed the contempt request after saying Mr Giuliani had failed to turn over a lease to his Manhattan apartment, a Mercedes, various watches and jewellery, a signed Joe DiMaggio shirt and other baseball memorabilia.
The judge ordered Mr Giuliani to turn over the items in October.
Mr Giuliani’s lawyers have predicted he will eventually win custody of the items on appeal. A request for comment was sent to a lawyer for Mr Giuliani, who was supposed to be deposed on Friday.
The contempt hearing follows a contentious November hearing in which Mr Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor, became angry at the judge who he said was treating him unfairly.
Mr Giuliani was found liable last year for defaming the two Georgia poll workers by falsely accusing them of tampering with ballots during the 2020 presidential election.
The women said they faced death threats after he falsely claimed they sneaked in ballots in suitcases, counted ballots multiple times and tampered with voting machines.
