On Monday, Rudy Giuliani was held in contempt of court because he didn’t respond properly to requests for information while trying to hand over assets to cover a hefty $148 million defamation ruling that was made in favor of two Georgia election workers.
After listening to Giuliani testify for the second day at a contempt hearing—called by the lawyers representing the election workers who claimed he hadn’t complied with evidence requests—Judge Lewis J. Liman made his decision.
The judge pointed out that Giuliani clearly ignored an explicit court order when he missed a December 20 deadline to provide evidence needed for an upcoming trial. This trial will determine whether Giuliani can keep his Palm Beach, Florida, condo as his main residence or if it’s classified as just a vacation home.
Giuliani’s failure to provide full names and a complete list of his doctors and other service providers led the judge to conclude that none were based in Florida or had changed after January 1, 2024—the date Giuliani claims he made Palm Beach his permanent home.
Additionally, Judge Liman ruled that Giuliani wouldn’t be allowed to present any testimony about emails or text messages to prove his residency in Florida.
The judge noted that Giuliani only submitted around 18 selective documents and didn’t provide any phone records or relevant emails related to where he lives. He also mentioned that during the trial, he could draw conclusions based on the missing evidence due to Giuliani’s lack of compliance.
Liman said he’d hold off on deciding any further penalties for now. On Friday, Giuliani spent about three hours testifying in Liman’s Manhattan courtroom but was allowed to finish up remotely from his Palm Beach condo on Monday for over two hours. By the time Judge Liman announced his decision, however, Giuliani wasn’t even there anymore!
In a follow-up email, Joseph Cammarata, Giuliani’s lawyer, pointed out that the election workers weren’t present in the courtroom and said he wasn’t surprised by the outcome.
He described this situation as a case of lawfare and how New York City’s legal system is being weaponized. Cammarata drew parallels between the criminal charges against President-elect Donald Trump and the civil case involving Giuliani, claiming it’s all part of a strategy by left-leaning Democrats to manipulate liberal judges in New York to win cases they should actually lose based on their merits.
At the beginning of the hearing, Giuliani stood in front of an American flag backdrop—something he claimed was for an online program he runs—but the judge asked him to switch it out for something more neutral.
At one point during proceedings, he even showed off his grandfather’s pocket watch and mentioned he was ready to hand it over. Giuliani admitted that there were times when he didn’t provide everything requested because he felt those requests were too broad or even set up as traps by opposing lawyers.
He also mentioned having difficulty sharing details about his assets due to multiple ongoing criminal and civil cases that require him to produce factual information.
Judge Liman called one of Giuliani’s arguments ridiculous, stating that being wary of what lawyers for the election workers intended was no excuse for ignoring court orders. At 80 years old, Giuliani expressed frustration with how these demands made it nearly impossible for him to operate officially about 30 to 40 percent of the time.
After the decision was made, the former mayor released a statement through his spokesperson, expressing his sadness over how our justice system has become a complete joke.
He feels like we’re witnessing more of a show than real hearings and trials. The attorneys representing the election workers pointed out that Giuliani has shown a clear pattern of ignoring Liman’s order from October to hand over certain assets after being found liable for defaming their clients in 2023 by falsely accusing them of ballot tampering during the 2020 presidential election.
In their court documents, they noted that while Giuliani did give up a Mercedes-Benz and his New York apartment, he hasn’t provided the necessary paperwork to sell those assets. They also mentioned he’s yet to return watches and sports memorabilia, including a Joe DiMaggio jersey, and hasn’t given up any cash from his nonexempt accounts.
On Monday, Giuliani said he’s looking into what happened to the DiMaggio jersey, admitting he doesn’t currently know its whereabouts or who might have it. Aaron Nathan, one of the lawyers for the election workers, chose not to comment following Monday’s ruling.
There’s a trial scheduled for January 16 regarding whether Giuliani will need to surrender his Florida condo and World Series rings. His legal team believes he will ultimately regain possession of his personal items on appeal.