Rudy Giuliani has been found in contempt of court after repeatedly defying court orders and blowing deadlines as a pair of election workers he defamed seek to recover tens of millions of dollars he owes for his false claims in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
A two-day contempt hearing in federal court in Manhattan sought to determine whether the former New York City mayor had willfully evaded discovery requests and ignored questions about his properties in a lengthy legal battle for control of his assets.
Giuliani showed a “blithe disregard” for completing two requests for documents, including sending over the names of his doctors, financial firms and lawyers, and another for his phone numbers, email accounts and messaging apps, according to District Judge Lewis Liman.
Attorneys for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss sought information to determine whether Donald Trump’s former attorney lived full time at his Florida condominium, which they hope to seize as part of a property turnover case to begin chipping away at the $148 million he owes as part of a blockbuster defamation judgment.
Giuliani routinely came up with “meritless” excuses for failing to answer those questions, and ultimately only partially answered them, Liman announced from the bench inside a federal courtroom in Manhattan on Monday.
On Friday, attorneys for Freeman and Moss repeatedly reminded Giuliani that he is under an “unequivocal obligation” to hand over his property or risk facing potentially severe sanctions.
Giuliani now claims that he doesn’t know where some of that property is, or if he even had some of it to begin with.
A long list of Giuliani’s assets — including a 1980 Mercedes Benz, his New York penthouse apartment and signed sports memorabilia — was initially included in Giuliani’s short-lived bankruptcy case, which he filed after a jury found him liable for defaming the two women in 2023.
Last month, attorneys for Freeman and Moss told the court that Giuliani “has not turned over a single dollar,” nor has he turned over a “number of specific items of personal property that he has been unambiguously ordered” to hand over — including the title to his convertible, keys to his Manhattan apartment, and valuable sports memorabilia,
“It is unclear at this point even where those possessions are located,” they wrote in court filings.
Giuliani has already delivered the car, more than a dozen watches, and a “single diamond ring,” as well as access to his New York penthouse apartment, “but no keys or ownership documents,” leaving the women “to sort through significant logistical obstacles to a sale, including the presence of his ex-wife’s name on the title,” attorneys wrote in court documents.
In a series of court filings on Christmas Eve, Giuliani implored Liman to reject a demand for sanctions and argued he had already turned over “everything” he was ordered.
But last week, Giuliani admitted that he did not hand over his grandfather’s gold pocketwatch, saying that he feared it would get “lost,” and he said he doesn’t know where he stored his Joe DiMaggio Yankees jersey, which at one point was pictured hanging in his Manhattan penthouse.
The jersey wasn’t there when attorneys for election workers showed up last October — and neither was most of the furniture in the apartment, which had been cleared out days earlier. Post-It notes reading “take all” were posted on several pieces of furniture throughout the apartment.
Giuliani said it’s “possible” that the jersey was moved out in that time frame.
He also said there were “inconsistencies” in the bankruptcy filings, and “some things I didn’t have,” according to Giuliani.
Giuliani said he also “just can’t find” a signed picture of former New York Yankees legend Reggie Jackson, among the pieces of memorabilia in court documents.
“I get confused about what I have and don’t have,” he testified on January 3. “I know you find that hard, your honor, but I was blessed with a tremendous amount of Yankees memorabilia … I’m not hiding anything.”
Following Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election, Giuliani launched a spurious bid to reject election results in states Trump lost. In Georgia, he falsely accused Freeman and Moss of manipulating election results, which fueled a wave of harassment and abuse directed at the women.
They sued him for defamation in Washington, D.C., and in December 2023, a jury awarded them $148 million in damages.
He then filed for bankruptcy, but after a protracted legal battle, the case was dismissed earlier this year to let Giuliani and his many creditors battle for control of his assets in separate courtrooms overseeing the lawsuits against him.
He will appear at a separate contempt hearing in Washington on January 10 for allegedly breaking a court order against repeating defamatory statements about the women.
A trial in Liman’s courtroom later this month will determine whether Giulaini can claim a homestead exemption for his multi-million dollar Florida condominium.
