Rudy Giuliani, once a key figure as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, found himself back in a federal courtroom in Manhattan on Friday. The hearing was about whether Giuliani should be held in contempt after allegedly ignoring multiple court orders. These orders were tied to a defamation case brought by two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who were awarded $148 million in damages.
Last month, Judge Lewis J. Liman, appointed by Trump in 2019, ordered Giuliani to attend the January 3 hearing in person. The judge cited Giuliani’s repeated failures to comply with court orders, including turning over personal property and providing essential information for the case.
Giuliani had tried to attend the hearing virtually, claiming health issues involving his knee and lungs. He even linked his lung problems to being at the World Trade Center site during 9/11. However, Judge Liman rejected this last-minute request.
The hearing, which started at 10 a.m., was packed with drama. It lasted all day and will resume on Monday, though Giuliani has been allowed to appear virtually moving forward since he won’t be questioned by the plaintiffs’ lawyers again.
At the hearing, Giuliani raised eyebrows with a surprising statement. When asked about why he hadn’t produced certain evidence, he claimed he didn’t think emails were considered “communications.” A lawyer for Freeman and Moss questioned him under oath: “Do you understand that the term ‘communications’ would include emails?” Giuliani replied, “I don’t think so, no.” When pressed further, Giuliani insisted emails were more like “documents” than actual communication.
This wasn’t the first time Giuliani’s courtroom behavior stirred controversy. Judge Liman previously warned he might punish Giuliani for not following court orders. The judge also criticized him for filing court documents with information that wasn’t true. In a past hearing, Giuliani even interrupted the judge, shouting, “You are against me!” After that hearing, Giuliani spoke to reporters outside, accusing the judge of being biased and calling him an “activist Democrat.” This accusation was particularly striking since Liman was nominated by Trump himself.
Giuliani’s legal troubles are piling up. He’s also scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C., next week for another contempt hearing before Judge Beryl Howell. This case revolves around claims that Giuliani continued to spread defamatory statements about Freeman and Moss, despite a court order telling him to stop. The election workers accused Giuliani of violating the injunction by repeating the same falsehoods that initially got him into trouble. They pointed out that his defamatory campaign continued even after he declared bankruptcy.
Giuliani hasn’t had much luck with Judge Howell either. He missed a filing deadline in December, blaming her for making it hard for him to hire a lawyer. In a letter, Giuliani claimed multiple attorneys refused to take his case because they felt Howell was too biased against Trump-related cases, calling her “unreasonable” and “ideological.”
And there’s more ahead for Giuliani. Later this month, he’ll be back in Judge Liman’s courtroom to determine whether he’ll have to hand over personal items like his Yankees World Series rings and a Florida condo to Freeman and Moss as part of the judgment.
For someone who’s spent decades as a prominent lawyer and politician, Giuliani’s current courtroom battles paint a dramatic and, at times, chaotic picture of his fall from grace. The legal saga is far from over, with more hearings and potentially harsher consequences on the horizon.
