Rudy Giuliani faces contempt hearing as lawyers for election workers pursue $148M judgment

NEW YORK (AP) — Rudy Giuliani showed up Friday for a contempt hearing to decide whether he has dodged and deceived lawyers trying to recover a $148 million judgment won on behalf of two Georgia election workers.

Judge Lewis J. Liman has said he may rule at the hearing whether the former New York City mayor faces civil sanctions over his failure to turn over some assets.

Giuliani requested a day earlier to appear remotely at the hearing, but he changed his mind and came to court after the judge indicated that making a remote appearance would limit his options at the proceeding.

The lawyers claim Giuliani has displayed a “consistent pattern of willful defiance” of Liman’s October order to give up assets, after he was found liable in 2023 for defaming the poll workers by falsely accusing them of tampering with ballots during the 2020 presidential election.

They said in court papers earlier this week that he has turned over a Mercedes-Benz and his New York apartment, but not the paperwork necessary to monetize the assets. And they said he has failed to surrender valuable watches and sports memorabilia, including a signed Joe DiMaggio shirt, and not “a single dollar from his nonexempt cash accounts.”

Liman said in an order last week that Giuliani’s lawyer should be ready to explain why Giuliani should not be held in contempt with resulting sanctions that could make it less likely that he gets to keep his Florida residence. A trial over the disposition of the Palm Beach condominium and World Series rings is scheduled for mid-January.

Giuliani has maintained that the Palm Beach property is his personal residence now and should be shielded from the judgment.

Giuliani’s lawyers have predicted that Giuliani will eventually win custody of the items on appeal.