Rudy Giuliani was found in contempt of court Monday for failing to respond to requests for information as he turned over assets to satisfy $148 million defamation judgment granted to two Georgia election workers. Judge Lewis Liman ruled after hearing Giuliani testify for a second day at a contempt hearing called after lawyers for the election workers said the former New York City mayor failed to comply with requests for evidence, the Associated Press reports. Liman said Giuliani “willfully violated a clear and unambiguous order of this court” when he “blew past” a Dec. 20 deadline to turn over evidence that would help the judge decide at a trial whether Giuliani can keep a Palm Beach, Fla., condominium as his residence or must turn it over because it is deemed a vacation home.
Because Giuliani failed to provide the full names of his doctors or of his other professional services providers, the judge said he will conclude that none of them were in Florida or had been changed after Jan. 1, 2024. That was the date Giuliani says he established Palm Beach as his permanent residence. The judge said Giuliani produced only a dozen and a half “cherry picked” documents and no phone records, emails or texts related to his homestead. On Friday, Giuliani testified for three hours in Liman’s Manhattan courtroom. The judge permitted him to finish testifying remotely on Monday for over two hours from his Palm Beach condominium.
Joseph Cammarata, Giuliani’s attorney, said, “This case is about lawfare and the weaponization of the legal system in New York City." Giuliani conceded that he sometimes did not turn over everything requested in the case because he believed what was being sought was overly broad, inappropriate or even a “trap” set by lawyers for the plaintiffs. Giuliani, 80, said the legal demands he faces made it “impossible to function in an official way” about 30% to 40% of the time.
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