Giuliani no-shows D.C. court appearance in defamation case
Rudy Giuliani blew off his scheduled court appearance Tuesday in Washington, D.C., his latest dismissive action toward the defamation case brought by two Georgia election workers.
Giuliani, 79, and his attorney Joseph Sibley were ripped by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, according to The Hill.
“How could you have missed that?” Howell asked, noting that she had specifically requested all parties be present.
Giuliani lost the case by default in August after failing to provide any evidence. A trial will begin next week to determine how much money he owes.
The former New York mayor has taken various actions and non-actions in futile attempts to avoid the lawsuit.
“This performance has served only to subvert the normal process of discovery in a straight-forward defamation case, with the concomitant necessity of repeated court intervention,” Howell wrote in her August decision.
Atlanta election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss sued Giuliani for defamation after he and other Republican operatives claimed they had rigged the 2020 election against Donald Trump. Instead, Freeman was just sharing a mint with her daughter, Moss.
Freeman and Moss testified to the House Jan. 6 committee about the harassment they faced. Their horrific experience is also part of the racketeering case against Trump, Giuliani and others in Fulton County, Georgia.
“There is nowhere I feel safe. Nowhere,” Freeman said. “I have lost my name and I have lost my reputation.”
In July, Giuliani admitted to spewing dangerous lies about Freeman and Moss. However, he attempted to skirt any consequences in a court filing that claimed his statements “did not carry meaning that is defamatory, per se.”
Judge Howell was not amused, writing that Giuliani’s claim had “more holes than Swiss cheese.” She ordered Giuliani to pay $130,000 for Moss and Freeman’s legal fees.
However, the former mayor is still facing a trial to determine how much he owes the two women for his defamatory statements. The case will be heard by a jury next week.
Giuliani is expected to testify, and Howell asked Sibley on Wednesday if he plans to plead the Fifth, according to The Hill. Sibley said he believed the answer was no.
“If he were here, we could find out,” Howell shot back.
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