Key Takeaways:
* Rudy Giuliani did not respond to a court motion suggesting he should be held in civil contempt.
* Lawyers representing Georgia poll workers insist that Giuliani should face contempt charges due to his incessant false claims.
* This potential contempt charge is related to a defamation case for which Giuliani owes $148 million.
* Contempt sanctions could allow courts to seize assets, even those exempt from the massive civil judgment.
Giuliani’s Unanswered Deadline
Giuliani, a long-standing ally of former President Donald Trump, recently overlooked an important court deadline. A court motion was sent to him implying that he should be held in civil contempt. Despite being aware of the motion and its scheduled hearing date on December 12, 2024, Giuliani neglected to respond.
Legal Insiders Shed Light on Giuliani’s Dilemma
Podcast host P. Andrew Torrez explained why it matters that Giuliani failed to heed the court-mandated deadline. In a lengthy thread on Bluesky, the host of the Law and Chaos podcast questioned how Giuliani, who has a team of lawyers on hand, missed this major deadline. Giuliani recently hired new legal representation to defend him against a collection action filed by Georgia poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. Giuliani owes these workers a lofty sum of $148 million for defamation following the 2020 election.
Torrez further explained that in one particular case, Giuliani chose to represent himself. This self-representation was part of a second defamation action brought against him by Freeman and Moss after the workers won the initial $148 million case. Despite being stripped of many of his assets to repay this massive sum, Giuliani continued dishing out the same baseless claims about Freeman and Moss. This led the disgruntled poll workers to ask the judge to hold Giuliani in civil contempt.
Giuliani’s Repeated Failures
About two weeks ago, Freeman and Moss filed for contempt and sanctions, specifically calculated to ensure Giuliani’s compliance with the injunction. The court set a deadline of December 2 for Giuliani to respond. Giuliani, however, missed the deadline. According to Torrez, this happened because Giuliani’s lawyer, Joe Cammarata, who had been vocal about the collection case, does not actually represent Giuliani in the defamation action.
What This Could Mean for Giuliani
Last month, Judge Beryl Howell warned Giuliani that if he failed to respond to the motion, the court would assume his inaction as a nod to being held in civil contempt. This would make him susceptible to any sanctions Freeman and Moss deem necessary.
What makes matters worse for Giuliani is that contempt sanctions could give the court permission to seize assets otherwise exempt from the $148 million civil judgment. Since all these proceedings are civil and not criminal, former president Trump can’t save Giuliani from this predicament with a pardon.
Torrez concluded his analysis stating that Giuliani’s failure to uphold his legal agreement not to defame Freeman and Moss may lead to more punishment. Ultimately, by not responding to the court motion in time, Giuliani could be diving headfirst into more legal problems. Not least among them is the potential of losing more assets to cover the damages incurred from his defamatory declarations against Freeman and Moss.