Two Georgia election officials who won a $146 million defamation judgment against Rudy Giuliani for his baseless claims of mass election fraud in 2020 have accused him of defaming them again on two recent nightly shows .
Attorneys for poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss asked the judge overseeing last year’s defamation trial to hold Giuliani in civil contempt and sanction him for his comments.
The development comes after Giuliani baselessly claimed last week during two episodes of his “America’s Mayors Live” show that workers had their ballots “quadrupled” in 2020.
Lawyers for election officials say the former New York mayor is “brazenly violating” a court order blocking him from continuing to claim that Freeman and Morse engaged in illegal activity.
“These statements repeat the same lies that Mr. Giuliani has already taken responsibility for and agreed to be bound by a court order to stop repeating,” attorneys for the two men wrote in court papers. “These constitute a clear violation of the consent order.”
“The court should find Mr. Giuliani in civil contempt and, if necessary, hold a hearing and impose sanctions calculated to force Mr. Giuliani to comply with the consent decree,” they added.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, a former President Obama appointee, ordered Giuliani to respond in writing by December 2 and will hold an in-person hearing in Washington, D.C., on December 12. Giuliani must attend.
Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s spokesman, called the new effort a “dishonest and duplicitous attack.”
“Mayor Giuliani has every right to defend himself under the First Amendment. “This is especially true when the other side is constantly leaking information to the press,” Goodman said. “The ongoing litigation against Mayor Giuliani must end. “It is completely disgusting and outrageous to see these people trying to destroy a good, honest man who dedicated his life to serving others.”
He added, “Mayor Giuliani took down the Mafia, cleaned up New York City, and comforted the nation after the September 11 attacks.”
The push for civil contempt comes after election officials began receiving some of Giuliani’s assets after a months-long fight to win a $146 million judgment. Given that President-elect Trump’s former personal attorney only has about $10 million in publicly disclosed assets, he is expected to recover a much smaller amount.
One of Giuliani’s lawyers said in court papers that he turned over a Mercedes-Benz, watches, rings and cash currently in his bank accounts. The parties are still fighting over whether Giuliani should turn over his other properties, including his Florida condo.
Attorneys for Freeman and Moss have indicated that Giuliani has additional assets that do not need to be turned over to satisfy the defamation judgment, which could result in a new penalty if he is found in civil contempt.
