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Rudy Giuliani failed to appear at a pre-motion conference in the Southern District of New York after he refused to respond to a subpoena, according to a lawyer for the plaintiffs.
Eight Capitol Police officers filed a civil suit in Washington, DC federal court in December 2021 against Donald Trump over the events surrounding the Capitol riot. Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani was subpoenaed in the case, but has failed to comply, prompting the plaintiffs to file a motion to compel in a separate court in New York. Giuliani failed to attend a conference regarding a hearing compeling him to comply with the subpoena.
The 2021 civil suit accuses Trump and other defendants of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act when he “deliberately and persistently” made false claims of election fraud following the 2020 election made and encouraged false claims and “supported acts of violence, knowing full well that among his supporters were extremist groups and individuals.”
The plaintiffs delivered the subpoena to Giuliani’s doorman on April 26, 2024 at his New York City home. This delivery came after the group “twice attempted personal service on Mr Giuliani” at his Florida residence on October 18, 2023 and on March 28, 2024.
Three months after giving the subpoena to Giuliani’s doorman, on July 19, the plaintiffs said they “have yet to receive any response from him.” The cash-strapped ex-mayor had been required to respond or object to the subpoena by May 10, 2024. Since that date has passed, he can no longer make objections to the subpoena.
The group then contacted four lawyers representing the former mayor in other cases but each of them indicated they would not be representing him in this matter, the lawyers wrote.
“We now have no alternative but to move to compel,” they said in an August 1 letter to the judge in New York’s Southern District Court, requesting a pre-motion conference about the plaintiffs’ intended motion to enforce Giuliani’s subpoena.
“With awareness of Defendant Trump’s strategy to overturn the election results, Mr. Giuliani and other co-conspirators actively participated in spreading Trump’s false claims of election fraud, including by filing baseless lawsuits challenging election results,” the eight officers alleged.
The documents and communications relate to the events surrounding the claims made in the suit against Trump as well as information that the former mayor shared with the January 6 House Select Committee.
This information is “discoverable with minimal burden” to Giuliani but is “crucial to Plaintiffs’ claims,” the August letter stated.
On August 5, the judge ordered the pre-motion conference to be held on August 20 at 10am. The plaintiffs lawyers were required to provide a copy of the order to Giuliani.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs told The Independent that Giuliani was not present for Tuesday’s hearing. It’s not immediately clear if Giuliani’s attendance was required.
The Independent has reached out to a spokesperson and a lawyer for Giuliani.
This legal battle is the latest in Giuliani’s haze of legal cases related to his lies about the “stolen” 2020 election.
He faces criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona related to schemes to overturn Trump’s election loss in the states. Giuliani is also listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal criminal case surrounding Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
After defaming a pair of election workers in Georgia and being ordered to pay them $148 million in damages, the former mayor filed for bankruptcy in December. His seven-month-long bankruptcy case was dismissed last month, resulting in him having to pay $400,000 in administrative expenses.
On top of these suits, Giuliani also is being sued by voting technology companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic for defamation.
