Judge holds Giuliani in contempt for defaming Georgia election workers

A federal judge on Friday held Rudy Giuliani in civil contempt for skirting an agreement not to make new false claims about two Georgia election workers he was ordered to pay $146 million for defaming. 

It was the second time in less than a week a judge found Giuliani in contempt in matters involving the case.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell granted the request from Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, whom Giuliani has falsely claimed for years engaged in mass election fraud while working in Atlanta on election night in 2020.   

The agreement barred the ex-New York City mayor from making any further claims they “engaged in wrongdoing” during that election. The mother-daughter duo said he violated it in two broadcasts of his nightly show.  

The judge determined that Giuliani violated the order he agreed to in at least six ways, calling his accusations that the women engaged in election crimes the “worst kind of defamation.” 

“This takes real chutzpah, Mr. Giuliani," Howell said while reading her order. 

The judge gave Giuliani 10 days to submit a filing under oath affirming he reviewed the record of the case and a Georgia report which concluded all allegations against Freeman and Moss were unsubstantiated. He must also acknowledge his statements contradict those findings. And he must acknowledge he had the opportunity to fully participate in the case. 

He’ll be fined $200 every day after the deadline if he fails to comply, she said. If after 30 days, he continues to make false statements about the women, Howell suggested she may consider more serious penalties, like jail time.  

“I am very concerned based on the statements made during this hearing that Mr. Giuliani may not be persuaded to stop making statements that violate the consent judgment in this case without even more severe sanctions," Howell said.

Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman said in a statement that the contempt ruling was “designed to prevent Mayor Giuliani from exercising his constitutional rights,” claiming that he was not given the opportunity to defend himself on the facts during the defamation case, which lawyers for Freeman and Moss — and the judge — dispute.  

Howell, during a federal court hearing in Washington, D.C., began the hearing by ripping into Giuliani for continuing to defame Freeman and Moss, criticizing him for spreading “fabricated lies” given his expansive public audience and “respected public service history.” 

“I really hoped we were done,” Howell said. 

Giuliani immediately rebuffed the judge’s remarks, shaking his head and scoffing at the defense table as she spoke. He also talked back to the judge from his seat, though his commentary was not audible.  

At issue are two remarks Giuliani made on Nov. 12 and 14, where he claimed that “they never let me show the tapes that show them quadruple counting the … ballots,” and that his tapes showed them “passing these little … hard drives that we maintain were used to fix the machines.” 

An attorney for Freeman and Moss said Giuliani was “unambiguously referring” to them.  

“It’s impossible to believe that there’s some other reference he’s making to some other people out there in the world … other than our clients,” said attorney Michael Gottlieb. 

Gottlieb added two other examples Friday he said constituted additional defamation, from Nov. 19 and 21 statements on Giuliani’s show. 

Giuliani’s attorney, Eden Quainton, argued that the average person would not know to whom his client was referring in the clips.  

“He says, ‘Everybody knows this is about Georgia,’” Quainton said. “That’s just flat out false.” 

Quainton also said Giuliani truly believes Freeman and Moss committed fraud. It takes “a lot of self-discipline and self-control" for Giuliani to refrain from taking aim at the women, the attorney said, noting that the ex-mayor did not make any negative comments about them for several months after signing the agreement.  

“So, because he was good for a few months, we’ve got to excuse bad behavior after that?” Howell asked incredulously. 

Gottlieb proposed fining Giuliani $20,000 per any future violation of the agreement, which would specifically be paid out of assets exempt from the election workers' collection of their $146 million judgment, like some of Giuliani's cash and retirement accounts. 

Giuliani briefly took the stand to detail the assets he believes are exempt from collection. 

Howell asked him to testify to assess whether such a fine would verge on punitive, instead of serving to coerce him to comply with the agreement. Giuliani confirmed he has more than $1 million across two IRAs and a 401k account, in addition to his roughly $3.5 million Florida condo.

“I claim they’re exempt, and you’re trying to take them from me,” Giuliani said. 

The judge further ordered Freeman and Moss’s lawyers to calculate the cost of the contempt proceeding, and within 45 days of conferring with Giuliani’s counsel, the ex-mayor must pay that amount.  

The decision in Washington comes on the heels of a separate decision in Manhattan finding Giuliani in contempt for failing to comply with court orders in Freeman and Moss’s efforts to collect the judgment. 

Giuliani has been forced to turn over some of his most prized possessions, including his Mercedes-Benz, watches and his New York City apartment. But the election workers say he’s stalling their efforts to collect his remaining, nonexempt assets, including critical ownership documents and a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey.  

Giuliani explained the delays as a result of being bogged down with other pending legal battles and the collapse of his relationship with his former attorneys, who claimed he refused to cooperate in providing electronic discovery to the election workers.  

A different federal judge in Manhattan has not yet decided the full extent of sanctions but said he would draw a “narrower” adverse inference against Giuliani and prevent him from offering certain evidence as he seeks to keep control of his Florida condo at a trial later this month.  

Giuliani initially sought to attend the D.C. hearing virtually, contending his health problems and security concerns would make traveling to the nation's capital a challenge. Howell signaled skepticism about the ex-New York City mayor’s assertions, and he soon after withdrew the request.  

The hearing began later than expected, for which Giuliani castigated the judge in statements on the social platform X and from Goodman, his spokesman.  

Goodman criticized Howell as “politically motivated” and suggested she was “forcing Mayor Giuliani to wait around for hours in relation to a contempt hearing that she’s already made her decision on." 

“This is yet another glaring example where the process is the punishment,” Goodman said. 

Zach Schonfeld contributed. 

Updated 4:50 p.m.