Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was snubbed by a judge on Friday and threatened with prison terms for missing court dates and delaying divorce payments to his ex-wife when she failed to pay him $262,000 in child support. Dollar sued.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Katz apparently ran out of patience with Giuliani and threatened him with jail time.
“This is a very serious matter,” Katz said to an apologetic Giuliani who missed a hearing last month.
Giuliani claimed he wrote down the wrong date for the hearing and called the absence “very stupid” when he showed up with his ex-wife Judith Giuliani.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared in court Friday and was threatened with jail by Judge Michael Katz for missing court dates and delaying child support payments
Giuliani claimed he wrote down the wrong date for the hearing, calling the absence “very stupid.”
Judith Giuliani, pictured here, alleges in a lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court that Rudy was “inconsistent and sporadic” with the payments he was required to give her
But Katz pushed back the apology, saying, “You repeated the date to me, so you knew about it.”
‘I said everyone must be here by the 23rd and you repeated it to me. I don’t understand your apology,’ he scolded.
Giuliani claimed he “put it wrong as I left the courthouse.”
Donald Trump’s embattled ally also handed over copies of the checks he paid his ex-wife for child support payments.
Judith alleges in a lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court that Rudy was “inconsistent and sporadic” with the payments he was required to make to her under their divorce settlement.
While Giuliani now claims the checks he presented in court proved he paid his ex-wife, Katz again urged him that the process was taking so long.
“I don’t understand why it takes two months to get checks from Citibank,” the judge said.
“I can access my bank records by entering a passcode on the computer. I don’t understand why there is such a delay,” he added.
“I’m in a dramatically different position than before,” Giuliani replied. “These amounts of money are catastrophic, but they are also completely wrong.”
Judith’s attorney said they had just received the evidence and would take some time to review the checks and calculate how much more is owed.
She demands Rudy pay the $262,000 he allegedly owes her with interest, but says he disagreed with the payments and even claimed that a check he paid her in July for $10,000 had been rejected.
Judith and her attorney continued to call for Giuliani to be held for contempt of court, but Katz said he would see how much Giuliani still had to pay before making a decision.
“I have no desire to remand anyone until I am certain that they have genuinely failed in their commitment,” Katz said.
Outside the courthouse, Giuliani told reporters the hearing “went very well” and even said he may have overpaid his ex-wife.
“The judge reversed the error [contempt] order that was based on false testimonies from her,” Giuliani said.
“As you can see, it’s not true that I owe $200,000 or $300,000. At most, it’s probably closer to $20,000 — if that’s it,” he added.
Judith and her attorney continued to call for Giuliani to be held in contempt of court, but Katz said he needed further evidence that Giuliani had failed in his obligation
Donald Trump’s embattled ally also handed over copies of the checks he paid his ex-wife Judith Giuliani for child support payments
Outside the courthouse, Giuliani told reporters the hearing “went very well” and even said he may have overpaid his ex-wife
The lawsuit also found that their divorce settlement required both of them to pay their own country club dues and Rudy allegedly “failed to pay his half of the annual club dues.”
“I had no choice but to pay his share of the fees,” Judith said of the $70,000 she allegedly paid for Rudy. “To stay in good standing with the clubs.”
The legal battle comes as Rudy was ordered to testify before a special jury in Georgia investigating former President Donald Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Rudy’s license to practice law has been suspended in both New York and Washington DC as he faces ethics lawsuits over his false election claims. He was also sued by Dominion Voting Systems for $1.3 billion after alleging their voting machines had been tampered with.
Despite his recent legal troubles, Judith is “confident” Rudy can afford to pay her the amount claimed.
“He owns several properties in New York City and Palm Beach [and it seems] He has significant income from his media-related deals and deals,” he has claimed.
The couple had a controversial divorce in April 2018 after 15 years of marriage. They fought for their combined fortune, which was estimated at $30 million.
During the divorce, Judith’s attorneys accused Rudy of working for free as Trump’s attorney to reduce his income and reduce his monthly child support payments, which were then $42,000.
Judith also accused Rudy of stealing her heirloom Christmas decor collections. He accused her of stealing the TV remotes and cable box so he couldn’t watch TV.
Their divorce was finalized in December 2019, but details of the agreement were not released. Judith was awarded the couple’s Hamptons home, which she later sold for $5 million.
Meanwhile, Rudy has been ordered to testify before a grand jury investigating Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
“It is hereby ordered that Rudolph William Louis Giuliani appear and testify,” said the order, filed July 20, after Rudy tried to block the subpoena. She failed to appear at a hearing in New York.
The Georgia special grand jury has issued subpoenas for Senator Lindsey Graham and members of Trump’s former legal team, including Rudy.
The investigation was launched after Trump was recorded in a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call pressuring Georgia’s foreign minister to overturn the state’s election results due to unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud.
Rudy led Trump’s legal effort to overturn election results won by President Joe Biden in several swing states, including Georgia.
In the call, Trump urged Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another Republican, to “find” enough votes to reverse his defeat by Democrat Biden in Georgia.
The transcript quotes Trump on Raffensperger: “I just want to find 11,780 votes” — the number Trump needed to win Georgia.
Trump denied wrongdoing in the call.
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