Judge just called Rudy Giuliani's bluff: Legal analyst

A legal analyst said the judge presiding over Rudy Giuliani's defamation case just called the Trump ally's bluff.

Lisa Rubin noticed an update from Judge Beryl Howell, who is presiding over Giuliani's case in Washington D.C.

Giuliani was due in federal court on Friday to face another contempt motion involving Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the women he falsely claimed stole the Georgia election for President Joe Biden.

Now, Giuliani has filed a notice that he wants to appear virtually because he's ill.

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The docket says Giuliani claimed "severe knee conditions," "a lung condition ... requiring the use of an inhaler," and a "heart condition." There are also security concerns he labeled as "credible death threats."

Rubin said Judge Howell is calling Giuliani's bluff, asking that he sign, "under penalty of perjury," a "sworn declaration ... that, except for travel required for court proceedings, he has been unable to travel and has not traveled from his residence in Florida for the past 30 days."

"Gulp," responded Rubin.

Giuliani held a news conference outside of a New York court on Nov. 26 and shared a video of himself in the studio with Steve Bannon, who is located in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8.