Bon voyage Rudy Giuliani!

It’s 2025, and Rudy Giuliani is wasting no time humiliating himself in court. Appearing on Friday in Manhattan federal court, Giuliani was trying to defend himself against claims he should be held in contempt. Just over a year ago, a court found Giuliani liable for the defamation of two former Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, after falsely accusing them of ballot tampering during the 2020 election, and he was ordered to pay $148 million in damages.

The hearing, which will continue at least through Monday, has so far seen Giuliani promote himself as a confused victim who is trying his best to comply. Giuliani told the judge, “I get confused about what I have and don’t have,” worried that an item “could get lost if it was turned over,” and complained that the compliance period “was very short.” In the meantime, Freeman and Moss contend that Giuliani has displayed a “consistent pattern of willful defiance” of the court’s order to turn over assets.

Giuliani’s legal calendar for January does not end there. In addition to this contempt hearing, Giuliani has a second one on January 10, in Washington D.C. in front of a different judge. This next hearing is also about Freeman and Moss asking the court to hold Giuliani in contempt, but it is for violating an agreement not to continue defaming them. According to Freeman and Moss, Giuliani continued promoting falsehoods against them in two recent podcast appearances.

Then, there’s Giuliani’s trial set for January 16 regarding his Florida condo and whether that asset, valued at over $3 million, can be shielded from collection efforts as his primary residence under state law. Just days later, January 20, is Inauguration Day, but Donald Trump, Giuliani’s former client, won’t be able to serve as a deus ex machina and provide a magic escape hatch for Giuliani and his legal woes.

According to legal experts interviewed by Business Insider, if Giuliani loses any of these civil contempt battles with Freeman and Moss, Trump would be powerless to set the judgments aside. Although the proceedings are in federal courts, a President’s federal pardon and commutations power is limited to criminal contempt convictions. So, Trump cannot nullify any sentence Giuliani receives (whether it involves fines or even jail time) as long as it relates to civil contempt. Happy New Year, Rudy Giuliani.

Ron Leshnower

Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month