Former New York Mayor and Trump ally Rudy Giuliani found in contempt of court | Court Affairs

Giuliani was under pressure to turn over his assets to pay a $148m fine to Georgia election officials he accused of defrauding.

A judge in the United States has found Rudy Giuliani, a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, in contempt of court by failing to fully respond to requests regarding his assets.

Monday was the second day of Giuliani's contempt hearing, with US District Judge Lewis J Liman finally ruling that he “willfully violated a clear and unequivocal order of this court”.

It was the latest chapter in an ongoing lawsuit in which Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, is charged with defamation over allegations made after the 2020 presidential election.

In December 2023, a judge in Washington, DC, ruled that Giuliani must pay $73m in compensation and $75m in punitive damages to two election workers who falsely accused him of tampering with the vote.

Giuliani went along with Trump's baseless claims that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread election fraud.

According to the lawyers, Giuliani's allegations caused the two election workers, mother Ruby Freeman and daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, to be victims of repeated harassment and death threats.

On Monday, Judge Liman said Giuliani had “missed” a December 20 deadline to provide information about his Palm Beach, Florida, home that could be used as collateral to pay the fines.

Attorneys for Moss and Freeman also accused Giuliani of ignoring their requests for information as they tried to collect money owed to them.

For example, they said Giuliani had given the authorities a Mercedes-Benz car and an apartment in New York, but failed to provide the necessary documents to make money from them.

They also said Giuliani did not hand over sports memorabilia, watches and money to his “non-taxable cash accounts” that could have been used to pay the millions of dollars in fines.

Monday's ruling focused on the Palm Beach condo, which Giuliani said is his primary residence, in an effort to protect it from foreclosure.

But Aaron Nathan, the attorney for the mother-daughter election staff, accused Giuliani of withholding documents that would show Palm Beach was not his permanent home — making it another source of the fine.

However, Giuliani's lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, said that time was too short to provide all the necessary information – although he insisted that Giuliani had tried.

“There was a huge following,” Cammarata said. “There is no contempt of court.”

Giuliani himself admitted he was reluctant to hand over more documents, fearing the requests were too broad or a legal “trap”.

He also mentioned the heavy burden caused by the number of cases he is facing.

In Georgia, for example, Giuliani is part of a suspended but ongoing criminal case, accusing Trump and his associates of leading a criminal enterprise to subvert the 2020 election.

Meanwhile, in Arizona, the former mayor is part of another criminal case, similarly for spreading false election claims.

The 80-year-old Giuliani estimated that competing demands made it “impossible to function in a legitimate way” a third of the time. He said he never “willfully violated” any court orders.

But Judge Liman seemed to reject the argument that Giuliani is burdened.

“The fact that you are a busy person who depends on others is not an excuse for non-compliance,” said Liman.