Two former Georgia poll workers won a $148 million defamation judgment against former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, claiming he defamed them again and should be held in contempt.
Attorneys for plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss said in a new filing that Giuliani recently repeated false claims that they tampered with ballots during the 2020 presidential election. The comments were allegedly made during two of Giuliani's broadcasts on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.
Aaron Nathan of Willkie Farr & Gallagher asked the judge to hold Giuliani, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, in contempt and impose sanctions.
“It took only six months for Mr. Giuliani to resume his smear campaign,” the filing says.
The contempt petition filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the disbarred and indicted Giuliani had clearly committed “clear violations of the injunction and the court should find him in civil contempt.”
“Determining the appropriate sanction – particularly determining an amount sufficiently 'calibrated' to compel Giuliani to comply with the injunction given his demonstrated willingness to repeatedly violate court orders – may require a finding of fact by this court after a hearing.” Evidence hearing,” the submission states.
The filing comes as Freeman and Moss continue to seek to recover the judgment through an enforcement action in federal court in Manhattan.
A jury awarded the duo $148 million in damages after a trial last year.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman issued a sales order in the Manhattan lawsuit, but Giuliani continues to dispute plaintiffs' claims to numerous items, including his Florida condo and the Yankees World Series rings he allegedly gave to his son.
Earlier this month, Liman threatened to sue Giuliani civilly for failing to meet deadlines in the case.
A lawyer for Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday's filing.
Giuliani spokesman Ted Goodman called the request “ongoing litigation.”
“This is a dishonest and duplicitous attack aimed at depriving Mayor Rudy Giuliani of his First Amendment right to free speech,” he said.
