Rudy Giuliani is penalized by the judge for his “continued and flagrant disregard” of court orders

Rudy Giuliani is penalized by the judge for his "continued and flagrant disregard" of court orders

The judge presiding over Rudy Giuliani‘s forthcoming damages trial said on Friday that she will inform the jury that the former Trump attorney withheld financial records and other data on purpose in contravention of court orders.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell stated in a five-page decision that the action was required due to “Giuliani’s continued and flagrant disregard of this Court’s August 30 Order that he generate financial-related documents concerning his personal and his businesses’ past and present assets” and other relevant information.

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Giuliani’s former New York City mayor has not turned over the court-ordered data, so jurors deliberating on how much to award the two Georgia election workers he defamed will be warned to assume the worst.

“The jury will be directed that it must when determining a suitable sum of compensatory, believed, and punitive damages, infer that the defendant Giuliani was purposefully trying to hide pertinent discovery about the Giuliani Businesses’ finances for the sole purpose of shielding his assets from discovery as well as artificially deflating his net worth,” the judge stated.

In addition, the judge ordered that Giuliani and his attorney refrain “from making any argument or bringing any evidence, claiming or implying that he is insolvent, bankrupt, judgment proof, or not able to defend himself” because they failed to provide the evidence that would have demonstrated that this is the case.

Requests for comment from Giuliani’s lawyer and spokesperson were not immediately fulfilled.

The judge criticized Giuliani for frequently disobeying court directives and rules in the defamation case that was brought against him by Georgia election officials Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss. This is the second time in the past two months that the judge has done so.

Giuliani constantly and falsely accused Freeman and Moss of election fraud in Fulton County while supporting his client and then-President Donald Trump’s baseless allegations of a rigged 2020 election.

The two were allegedly “passing around USB ports like they were carrying vials of heroin or cocaine” while they were tabulating the results, according to Giuliani. They were passing a ginger mint, according to a report from the House committee that was released on January 6.

The false claims resulted in death threats for both Freeman and Moss.

Howell decided in August that due to Giuliani’s persistent refusals to provide crucial papers, he was responsible for defaming the election workers. The judge then set a trial for damages for Dec. 11 and required him to give her lawyers all relevant financial information and paperwork. Washington, D.C., will be the site of the trial.

Giuliani “failed to take any of the actions” mandated by the court, including paying $89,000 in legal expenses, according to a filing made by Freeman’s attorneys last month.

“Consistent with the previous track record in this matter, Giuliani did not submit any response,” the court stated.

The decision on Friday comes as Giuliani is dealing with more legal and financial issues. In the Fulton County racketeering case, which includes Trump and more than a dozen other defendants, he has been legally accused. All but one of the 19 accused have entered a not-guilty plea.

Additionally, Giuliani is being sued by his former attorneys, who claim he owes them unpaid legal costs totaling roughly $1.4 million. The bill has been deemed excessive by Giuliani.

Additionally, he owes the IRS outstanding federal taxes totaling roughly $550,000. Last Monday, Ted Goodman, a spokesman for Giuliani, declared that the mayor “has an official arrangement with the IRS to pay off the liability.”

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