A federal judge on Friday found Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for his continued defamation of two former Georgia election workers, just days after a different federal judge held him in contempt for failing to turn over his assets to them as ordered.
In a courtroom in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell excoriated Giuliani for continuing to defame Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, noting multiple statements he made on his online show that she found had violated a permanent injunction he agreed to in May.
Howell ordered Giuliani to sign a sworn declaration that affirms he has seen all the evidence refuting his claims against the Georgia women, giving him 10 days to do so, with a penalty of $200 a day and potential jail time if he fails to complete it.
In issuing her ruling, the judge pointed to complaints Giuliani made on his show that the injunction was unfair, calling it “outrageous and shameful that Mr. Giuliani suggests that he is the one being treated unfairly.”
“This takes real chutzpah, Mr. Giuliani,” Howell told him.
In November, attorneys for Freeman and Moss asked Howell to find Giuliani in contempt for allegedly violating the injunction to stop claiming that the women engaged in fraud during the 2020 election or repeating any of the statements about them for which he was found liable for defamation. Their attorney said in a motion that the former New York City mayor has continued to accuse the women of wrongdoing on his online show, “America’s Mayor Live,” citing examples in two of his episodes.
Giuliani has in turn argued that out of his “hundreds of hours” of broadcast, he only briefly referenced “alleged ballot counting irregularities” in the Georgia location where Freeman and Moss counted ballots. He also said he did not name the women.
Giuliani attorney Eden Quainton argued in court Friday that his client sincerely believed that the Georgia women had engaged in election fraud, an argument Howell dismissed.
“So, what? You’re saying this defamation is never going to stop? He’s never going to stop saying this because he thinks he’s right?” she asked. “That’s chilling.”
Quainton also pointed out that Giuliani had complied with the agreement until his public statements in November. Howell was unimpressed. “So because he was good for a few months, we ought to excuse any bad behavior after that?” she asked. As he did in his contempt hearing last week, Giuliani tried to get permission to attend Friday’s hearing remotely, claiming in a motion filed Wednesday that he has multiple medical conditions and that he has safety concerns due to being an “outspoken critic of the Iranian regime.” On Thursday, Giuliani withdrew his request to appear remotely after Howell asked for a sworn declaration that he has not left his Florida house in the past 30 days and will not do so in the next 30 days due to his stated medical and security concerns. Giuliani has faced nonstop legal troubles due to his allegations against Freeman and Moss. He is set to make another court appearance on Jan. 16, when he goes to trial over the handover of some of his assets, including his World Series rings and his Palm Beach condominium, to the Georgia women.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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