Legal

Giuliani is held in contempt of court, but avoids jail

District Judge Lewis Liman had the power to jail the former New York mayor.

Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media outside of Manhattan federal court in New York on Jan. 3, 2025. | Adam Gray/AP

By Erica Orden

01/06/2025 04:55 PM EST

Updated: 01/06/2025 05:20 PM EST

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NEW YORK — A federal judge held Rudy Giuliani in civil contempt of court twice Monday for failing to adequately respond to requests for documents and information sought by two Georgia women who won a $148 million defamation verdict against him in 2023.

Although U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman had the power to jail Giuliani for his defiance of court orders, the judge stopped short of that penalty. Instead, Liman declared that Giuliani can no longer present the central legal defense that could have allowed the former New York City mayor to avoid handing over his Palm Beach condo to the two women, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.

Freeman and Moss have spent months trying to seize the condo and Giuliani’s other valuable assets as they attempt to recover the massive sum he owes them. But they say Giuliani has been recalcitrant in responding to mandatory requests about his property.

Freeman and Moss won the defamation judgment when a jury found that Giuliani falsely accused them of election fraud after the 2020 election. The two women, who are mother and daughter, were tormented by harassment and death threats after Giuliani spread lies about them.

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