Rudy Giuliani could be held in contempt of court for repeating false claims about two former election workers who won nearly $150 million for his defamatory statements about them.
Attorneys for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss — who are also pressing a federal judge in New York to force the cash-strapped former New York City mayor to turn over his property — are asking the judge who presided over their initial defamation trial to sanction Giuliani for his ongoing baseless claims.
On recent livestreams, Donald Trump’s former attorney accused the women of “quadruple counting the ballots” and “passing hard drives that we maintain were used to fix the machine” during the 2020 presidential election — claims that landed him in a trial court for defamation last year.
“Well, you look at it, looks like a hard drive to me, and they told me it was a hard drive, and there’s no proof that it was candy,” Giuliani said on a recent broadcast, according to a transcript in court documents. The women have testified that they were passing a ginger mint.
“I’m sorry they’re going to sue me again for saying it but what am I going to do but tell the truth,” he said.
Giuliani’s latest statements “repeat the exact same lies for which [he] has already been held liable, and which he agreed to be bound by court order to stop repeating,” attorney Michael Gottlieb wrote in court filings in Washington DC on Tuesday.
He is now “brazenly violating” those terms, according to Gottlieb.
“Given all that has transpired since then, one might have thought that Mr. Giuliani would have stopped, and moved on to other pursuits during his ample time online,” he added.
On Wednesday, Judge Beryl Howell said Giuliani must respond to the complaint by December 2, or risk being held in contempt. His failure to respond “will be treated as conceding that motion,” the judge said.
There will be an in-person hearing on December 12.
Last December, a jury found Giuliani owes the women nearly $150 million for his false claims that the women had manipulated the outcome of the 2020 election — claims that fueled a wave of abuse and death threats against them. Giuliani then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which has since been dismissed.
The mother-daughter duo are now sparring with his legal team over a court order that allows them to begin seizing a long list of his property and valuables. He has already turned over his 1980 Mercedes Benz convertible, a watch collection, cash and a diamond ring, according to court documents.
Asked outside a federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan this month whether he regretted defaming the women, he told reporters “no” before quickly backtracking.
“First of all, I didn’t defame them,” he said. “I did not defame them.”
Giuliani is scheduled to go to trial in January surrounding enforcement of the $150 million judgment, but he has asked the court to delay the proceedings so he can attend Trump’s inauguration.
His spokesperson has called the latest court filing a “dishonest and duplicitous attack meant to deprive [Giuliani] of his First Amendment right to freedom of speech.”
“The ongoing lawfare against Mayor Giuliani must end,” spokesperson Ted Goodman said in a statement shared with The Independent. “It’s a complete abomination, and totally outrageous, to watch these people try and destroy this good and honest man who has dedicated his life to serving others.”
