Rudy Giuliani's Odd Courtroom Behavior

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani seemed to have showed odd behavior in court on Monday as part of a defamation trial involving Georgia election workers, according to court reporters.

Giuliani, the former personal lawyer to former President Donald Trump, appeared as part of a lawsuit filed by mother-daughter duo Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who sued him following a series of false statements he made about their work related to the 2020 presidential election at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta where ballots were counted. He and other close allies of Trump's have falsely accused election workers of committing fraud by processing "suitcases" of illicit ballots.

Last week, Judge Beryl Howell, who presides in Washington D.C., scolded Giuliani's attorney, Joseph Sibley, after the ex-mayor failed to appear at a hearing prior to the trial's commencement. She questioned whether Sibley was "falling on his sword" for Giuliani, and whether he took the proceedings seriously considering that a jury will decide damages to punish Giuliani for his "willful failure" and "willful shirking" of his obligations to hand over documents in the case.

Ted Goodman, a political adviser to Giuliani, released a statement ahead of the trial.

"In the fullness of time, this will be looked at as a dark chapter in our nation's history, as those in power attempt to destroy their partisan political opposition in ways that cause great, irreparable harm to the U.S. justice system," Goodman said, CBS News reported. "I urge members of the legal community and all Americans—across the partisan political spectrum—to stand up and speak out against the weaponization of our justice system against political opponents."

Newsweek reached out to Giuliani via his website for comment.

Meanwhile, court reporters on Monday said that Giuliani exhibited strange behavior that included showing up about eight minutes after Howell had already taken the bench.

Politico's Kyle Cheney wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that there was "minimal eye contact between Giuliani and anyone else in the courtroom," including with Moss, Freeman and Howell.

"Notably, Rudy remained seated when the courtroom deputy asked everyone to rise for the judge as they took a 10 minute break," Cheney added.

NBC News' Ryan Reilly wrote on X that after entering the court building and going through security, Giuliani's "belt was still undone, hanging at his waist."

"Someone just told him," Reilly wrote. "He fixed it in the elevator."

Prior to the beginning of the proceedings, which commenced with jury selection to find eight individuals who will decide damages, the conservative website The Gateway Pundit posted a link to a story on X on Monday claiming that "late-night ballot fraud in Georgia in 2020 exonerates Giuliani and implicates FBI Director Christopher Wray."

The article was written by Jim Hoft, who along with his brother, Joe, founded The Gateway Pundit. They are also being sued by Freeman and Moss as part of a separate defamation lawsuit.

In October, lawyers for Freeman and Moss filed a motion in St. Louis Circuit Court, asking a judge to set an August 2024 trial date for a defamation case initially filed in 2021 that alleges that the website published a series of stories accusing the plaintiffs of election fraud.

The brothers are also accused of purposely delaying discovery to stall a trial, according to the Missouri Independent.

Newsweek reached out to the brothers via the website and to the FBI for email for comment.

Aside from the defamation case, Giuliani, Trump and 17 others have been indicted in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of a sweeping racketeering case alleging that they attempted to overturn Joe Biden's electoral victory in the state in 2020. Giuliani and Trump have maintained their innocence in the case.

Giuliani has reportedly hemorrhaged millions of dollars defending himself in various criminal cases, listing his Manhattan Upper East Side abode for sale for $6.5 million. An invitation-only event attempting to raise money on the ex-mayor's behalf, as part of the Rudy Giuliani Freedom Fund, took place in September and was put on at Trump's Bedminster, New Jersey, club. The former president headlined the $100,000-per-person event.