Giuliani Found in Contempt of Court Over Continued Defamation of Election Workers

A federal district judge found Rudolph W. Giuliani in contempt of court on Friday for continuing to defame two Georgia women after the 2020 election.

In May, Mr. Giuliani agreed to stop repeating lies about the women, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, a mother-daughter team of election workers in Fulton County, Ga., during the 2020 race.

That agreement, the judge, Beryl A. Howell, of the District of Columbia, said was “clear and unambiguous.”

In November, Mr. Giuliani repeated accusations against the women at least four times, after Donald J. Trump won the 2024 presidential election.

Judge Howell ordered that Mr. Giuliani file a sworn declaration that he had read all of the testimony and depositions in the first defamation case and was given due process throughout all of the proceedings. She gave him a deadline of 10 days to file the sworn statement and said he would be charged $200 a day for each day past the deadline.

She also said that Mr. Giuliani should have to reimburse Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss for the cost of bringing the contempt case. She said she had little confidence, based on his past behavior, that he would pay what he owes and warned him that he could face jail time in the future.

Mr. Giuliani’s lawyer, Eden P. Quainton, said the fact that Mr. Giuliani did not defame the women for several months and did so only briefly last November should count for something.

Judge Howell replied, “Because he was good for a few months, we ought to excuse any bad behavior after that?”

The judge presided over the original defamation case, where Mr. Giuliani refused to respond to routine discovery requests. She ultimately ruled that he was liable for defaming the women by spreading baseless lies that they had cheated as they counted votes in Fulton County. He spun the narrative as part of his efforts to help Mr. Trump overturn the results. At the time, Mr. Giuliani was acting as Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer.

A federal jury last year determined he owed the women $148 million for the harm he caused to their reputations. His accusations brought a torrent of violent threats against the women, upending their lives.