Federal judge finds Rudy Giuliani in civil contempt for discovery violations
A federal judge has found former Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani in civil contempt for discovery violations.
Trump-appointee Judge Lewis J. Liman ruled Monday that Giuliani failed to properly respond to requests for information in the discovery phase of his $148 million defamation judgment in favor of two Georgia election workers.
Giuliani was permitted to testify remotely from his $3.5 million Palm Beach condominium Monday.
"Judge Lewis J. Liman ruled after hearing Giuliani testify for a second day at a contempt hearing called after lawyers for the election workers said the former New York City mayor had failed to properly comply with evidence production requests over the last few months," The Washington Post reported. The report continued, "Giuliani conceded during Monday’s testimony that he sometimes did not turn over everything requested because he believed the requests were overly broad or inappropriate or even a 'trap' set by lawyers for the plaintiffs."
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According to MSNBC's Adam Klasfeld, who is live tweeting the case, "Liman quotes then-10th Circuit Judge Gorsuch's comments against Giuliani: 'Discovery is not supposed to be a shell game, where the hidden ball is moved round and round and only revealed after so many false guesses are made and so much money is squandered.'
So far, Giuliani has turned over his Mercedes-Benz and New York apartment but "not the paperwork necessary to monetize the assets." Attorneys for Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman also claim that Giuliani "has failed to surrender watches and sports memorabilia, including a Joe DiMaggio jersey, and has not turned over “a single dollar from his nonexempt cash accounts.”
Giuliani was found liable in 2023 for defaming the women by falsely accusing them of tampering with ballots during the 2020 presidential election.
Giuliani was a main proponent of Donald Trump's false "stolen election" claims from 2020 that ultimately led to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. His actions led to disbarment in New York and Washington, D.C.
In a statement to Raw Story on Monday afternoon, his attorney said: "It’s tragic to watch as our justice system has been turned into a total mockery, where we have charades instead of actual hearings and trials. Unfortunately, it’s getting worse and worse because so few members of the legal community are willing to speak up or do anything about the weaponization of our justice system, and that needs to change."
Earlier today, Giuliani's lawyer described adverse inferences as the "death penalty" for the case.
Liman granted adverse inferences, not yet specified.
So far, the Trump appointee slammed Giuliani's "blithe disregard" for the court's holding and "preposterous" conduct.
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) January 6, 2025