On Friday, the judge overseeing the next trial on damages against Rudy Giuliani announced her desire to inform the jurors that the former counsel for Donald Trump purposefully concealed financial paperwork and other data, so disregarding court directives.
In a ruling spanning five pages, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell deemed the action imperative in light of Giuliani’s persistent and overt defiance of the Court’s August 30 Order, which mandated the submission of financial records pertaining to his personal assets and those of his businesses, as well as other relevant information.
This implies that the jurors responsible for determining the appropriate compensation for the two Georgia election workers defamed by Giuliani would be instructed to consider the most unfavorable assumptions regarding his failure to comply with the court’s directive to produce the required documents.
“The jury will be instructed that it must, when determining an appropriate sum of compensatory, presumed, and punitive damages, infer that defendant Giuliani was intentionally trying to hide relevant discovery about the Giuliani Businesses’ finances for the purpose of shielding his assets from discovery and artificially deflating his net worth,” the judge wrote.
Additionally, Giuliani and his lawyer will be prohibited “from making any argument, or introducing any evidence, stating or suggesting that he is insolvent, bankrupt, judgment proof, or otherwise unable to defend himself” since he failed to hand over evidence that would show that’s true, the judge wrote.
“The jury will be instructed that it must, when determining an appropriate sum of compensatory, presumed, and punitive damages, infer that defendant Giuliani was intentionally trying to hide relevant discovery about the Giuliani Businesses’ finances for the purpose of shielding his assets from discovery and artificially deflating his net worth,” the judge wrote.
The attorney and publicist for Giuliani did not promptly provide a response to the inquiries for comment.
Giuliani was sued for slander by Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss. This is the second time in two months that the judge has found against Giuliani for consistently disobeying court orders and regulations.
Giuliani falsely and frequently accused Freeman and Moss of election fraud in Fulton County while advancing his client and then-President Donald Trump’s baseless allegations of a rigged 2020 election.
While counting votes, Giuliani had said that the two were “passing around USB ports like they were vials of heroin or cocaine.” According to a House committee report released on January 6, they were passing a ginger mint.
In addition, he owes the IRS about $550,000 in back taxes. According to Ted Goodman, a spokesman for Giuliani, he “has a formal agreement with the IRS to pay off the liability,” as of last week.
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