A U.S. district judge on Wednesday granted a motion by the two election workers who won a defamation suit against Rudy Giuliani to force him to immediately pay the damages he owes.
Last week, a jury in Washington, D.C., awarded $148 million to Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss, after a judge had established that Giuliani was liable for defamation earlier this year for baselessly accusing the two women of trying to subvert the 2020 presidential election.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell reduced the award amount by about $2 million due to a 2022 settlement agreement that two plaintiffs reached with the OAN cable network, the other defendant in the case.
Freeman and Moss requested the dissolution of a 30-day period of enforcement of the judgment, saying Giuliani has “demonstrated an unwillingness to comply with judicial process, including orders to pay attorney’s fees and costs.”
They noted that Donald Trump’s former personal attorney “appears to have no assets in the District of Columbia but substantial assets in — at least — both New York and Florida.”
Howell granted their motion, saying it’s “both appropriate and warranted.” In a 13-page filing, she cited several actions suggesting that Giuliani could “conceal and dissipate [his] assets.”
Howell agreed with the plaintiffs’ characterization of Giuliani as an “uncooperative litigant,” and said he has so far not complied with court orders requiring him to cover the plaintiffs’ attorney fees during the discovery process.
“Giuliani has simply ignored the orders directing reimbursement to plaintiffs of attorney’s fees for discovery misconduct, without seeking extensions of time to make reimbursement, requesting any payment schedules or making any excuse for his nonpayment by the deadlines set in court orders,” Howell said.
She added that Giuliani’s failure to meet Freeman and Moss’ discovery requests precluded both them and the court from assessing his claims of being under financial stress. During the trial, Giuliani’s lawyer claimed that the money the two women sought in damages was the “civil equivalent of the death penalty.”
“Such claims of Giuliani’s ‘financial difficulties’ — no matter how many times repeated or publicly disseminated and duly reported in the media — are difficult to square with the fact that Giuliani affords a spokesperson, who accompanied him daily to trial,” Howell wrote.
Giuliani did not immediately comment on Wednesday’s court order, but he urged the audience of his livestream show “America’s Mayor Live” to buy the supplements he advertises to “help me fight the traitors.”
The former New York City mayor could still appeal the decision, but he would have to post bond or explain why he shouldn’t abide by the requirement to do so.
During the four-day trial, Moss testified to how her life was upended by Giuliani’s lies.
“Most days I pray that God does not wake me up and I just disappear,” she said.
The two women sued Giuliani again following Friday’s jury verdict, trying to permanently bar him from spreading falsehoods about them.