What’s next for Rudy Giuliani?
What’s next for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani after being served with an indictment in the Arizona voter fraud case? FOX 5 NY’s Sharon Crowley explains.
New York (AP) – A federal judge in New York City ruled Monday that Rudy Giuliani properly responded to a request for information when he turned over assets to satisfy a $148 million defamation judgment awarded to two Georgia election officials. He said it would be considered contempt of court because he did not.
Judge Louis J. Lehman gave Mr. Giuliani his second day of contempt hearings, convened after lawyers for the Board of Elections argued that the former mayor had not adequately responded to requests for evidence in recent months. After hearing testimony, the judge issued a verdict.
Mr. Giuliani testified for about three hours in Manhattan’s Lehman courtroom on Friday, but a judge allowed him to finish his testimony remotely from his Palm Beach, Florida, condo on Monday.
At the start of Monday’s hearing, Giuliani had displayed an American flag in the background, which he said he used for his Internet shows, but the judge ordered that it be changed to a plain background.
Mr. Giuliani acknowledged in testimony Monday that he sometimes did not turn over everything requested because he believed the requests were too broad, inappropriate, or even a “trap” set by lawyers for the plaintiffs. .
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 7: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani leaves New York Federal Court on November 7, 2024 in New York City. Mr. Giuliani appeared in court in New York City after a deadline to hand over the property passed.
He also said there were times when it was difficult to hand over information about assets because of the large number of criminal and civil cases in which factual information was required.
Mr. Giuliani, 80, said requests to hand over the materials made it “impossible to function in an official manner” about 30% to 40% of the time.
Lawyers for the election commission said Giuliani had shown “consistent and deliberate defiance of Liman’s order to abandon his assets in October after he was convicted of defaming his clients in 2023.” He claims to have shown a pattern. falsely accuse them Allegations of ballot tampering during the 2020 presidential election.
They stated in court documents that he turned over Mercedes-Benz and his New York apartment, but not a necessary document To monetize assets. And they said that he failed to hand over the watch and watch. sports memorabiliawhich included Joe DiMaggio’s jersey, and not “a single dollar was released from the non-exempt cash account.”
Giuliani said Monday that he is investigating what happened to DiMaggio’s jersey and does not know where it is now or who owns it.
Aaron Nathan, an attorney for the election commission, asked the judge to reason about Giuliani’s failure to provide information, including a list of his doctors for the past four years. That would make it more likely that the court would decide for the Palm Party. The Beach property was not Giuliani’s primary residence, so it is not protected from foreclosure.
Mr. Giuliani’s lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, said reaching such a conclusion would be akin to a civil “death penalty” and that a judge would hear testimony and see evidence beforehand. Even before the trial in mid-January, Giuliani said he would lose his Florida property. Deciding what to do with the condo and World Series ring.
Mr. Giuliani has argued that the Palm Beach property is now his personal residence and should be protected from the judgment.
His lawyers predict he will eventually win custody of the items pending appeal.
