Jan. 10 (UPI) — Rudy Giuliani was ruled in contempt of court during a Friday hearing in Washington, D.C., in which he stood accused of continuing to make false and defamatory comments about two Georgia election workers.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell found the former mayor of New York City in contempt for ignoring the terms of the $150 million defamation verdict against him reached in 2023 in which he agreed to stop slandering Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, NBC News and CNN reported.
Howell ordered Giuliani to publicly acknowledge and affirm that he understands all the evidence presented at his trial refutes his unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about the pair and their supposed role in Donald Trump‘s 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden in Georgia.
“Mr. Giuliani engaged in the worst kind of defamation,” Howell said from the bench. “It is outrageous and shameful. This takes real chutzpah, Mr Giuliani.”
The hearing was triggered when the women claimed Giuliani appeared to once again insinuate that they committed election fraud in recent comments on his streaming radio show America’s Mayor Live.
Following the court appearance, the former mayor continued to proclaim his innocence and blasted Howell as “not American” and similar to Nazis while criticizing her role in sentencing Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioters.
“Judges in America consider both sides,” he said. “She only considered one side because she wrote it before she heard from it. If I can’t get this appealed, we’re not just in lawfare, we’re in a system of justice that has no justice.”
It was the second contempt ruling in less than a week for Giuliani. On Monday, Judge Lewis Liman found him in contempt after he failed to turn over $11 million worth of personal assets ordered by the court related to the defamation ruling.
In December 2023, a jury awarded Freeman and Moss $148 million after deciding Giuliani defamed the pair by making false statements about them and spreading allegations of voter fraud during the 2020 election. A judge later reduced the amount to $146 million.
Giuliani has repeatedly said Freeman and Moss were part of a larger fake ballot scheme during the election.
Shortly after the judgement, Freeman and Moss again sued Giuliani, alleging was continuing to disseminate the same lies.
According to court documents, Giuliani has turned over a vintage Mercedes-Benz as ordered by the court, although the vehicle’s title remains outstanding.
The 80-year-old has also failed to turn over a penthouse apartment, luxury watches and shirt signed by former New York Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio, in addition to other items.
Giuliani said he has been unable to locate several of the assets he is required by the court to forfeit.
“The defendant has attempted to run the clock by stalling,” Liman said Monday in his ruling.