Two former Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who won a nearly $150 million defamation lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani, are now asking a judge to hold him in contempt of court. This comes after Giuliani, the former lawyer for Donald Trump, continued making false accusations about them even though he had agreed not to.
Back in May, Giuliani had signed a deal to stop spreading false claims about Freeman and Moss. The agreement included a permanent order barring him from repeating statements that had already been proven false. But just six months later, Giuliani started making the same defamatory claims again—this time on his live show, “America’s Mayor Live.” He falsely accused Freeman and Moss of manipulating votes and tampering with election machines.
Freeman and Moss’ lawyers say these new claims clearly break the court’s order, and they want Giuliani fined and warned that future violations will result in even bigger penalties. They also believe the court may need to hold a hearing to figure out the proper fine to make sure Giuliani follows the rules from now on.
Giuliani’s representative, Ted Goodman, fired back, calling the motion an attack on Giuliani’s First Amendment rights and saying it’s part of a bigger campaign against him.
Judge Beryl Howell has ordered Giuliani to respond to the motion by December 2 and to appear in court on December 12. If he doesn’t respond by then, it could be seen as an admission of guilt.
Last year, a jury found Giuliani guilty of defaming Freeman and Moss after he ignored court orders to turn over evidence in their lawsuit. The two women had sued him for spreading false claims about their involvement in election fraud in 2020. The accusations led to racist threats and forced them out of their jobs. In the end, they were awarded $148 million in damages, though the amount was later reduced to $146 million. Giuliani is appealing this decision.
After filing for bankruptcy, Giuliani failed to provide the necessary financial information, leading to his case being dismissed. More recently, Freeman and Moss have had to sue him again to collect the judgment. His lawyers say he has started handing over some assets, like luxury watches and a Mercedes-Benz, but Freeman and Moss’ attorneys say he’s still not cooperating fully and still hasn’t turned over all his property.
Giuliani is also fighting back on a few items, like his Florida condo and some Yankees memorabilia, claiming they were gifts to his son. There will be a trial in January to resolve these issues, though Giuliani is trying to delay the trial because of Trump’s upcoming inauguration. Freeman and Moss’ lawyers are pushing to keep the current trial date, saying Giuliani’s request to delay it isn’t reasonable.
