A judge has found Rudy Giuliani to be in civil contempt of court in a case brought by two Georgia election workers who the former New York City mayor falsely accused of trying to help steal the 2020 US presidential election.

US District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan said Giuliani had not complied with requests from the election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea Moss, for information that could help them determine which of his assets may be turned over to pay off the defamation judgment.

The contempt citation in the district where Giuliani had been the top federal prosecutor marks a further fall from grace for the man once known as “America’s Mayor” for his response to the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit Freeman and Moss brought against Giuliani in 2021.

They accused the former personal lawyer to Republican president-elect Donald Trump of destroying their reputations by lying that they tried to help steal the 2020 election.

Giuliani made repeated false claims that a surveillance video showed the pair concealing and counting suitcases filled with illegal ballots at a basketball arena in Atlanta that was used to process votes.

Giuliani has been disbarred for making false claims about the 2020 election, and pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona that he aided Trump’s failed attempt to overturn his loss.

In July 2023, Giuliani conceded he made defamatory statements about Freeman and Moss. In August, a judge ruled he was liable for defamation as a sanction against him for failing to turn over electronic records to the two election workers.

A Washington DC jury later ordered he pay Freeman and Moss roughly $US73 million ($A117 million) in compensation and $US75 million as punishment.

The women’s lawyers have urged Liman to hold Giuliani in contempt for ignoring his orders to give up his Manhattan apartment, title to a 1980 Mercedes and sports memorabilia, and respond to questions about an apartment he owns in Palm Beach, Florida.

The lawyers asked the judge to punish Giuliani by finding he did not treat the Palm Beach property as his permanent residence, meaning it could be turned over.

Giuliani, 80, has claimed that his day-to-day life has been upended by the two election workers, making it difficult to obtain necessary paperwork, and that he has not “wilfully disobeyed” any court orders.

He has also said he relied on his previous lawyers in the case to comply with information requests from Freeman and Moss.

Those lawyers, Kenneth Caruso and David Labkowski, withdrew in November. In part, they blamed Giuliani for refusing to comply with the requests.

Giuliani’s new lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, said in a court hearing on Monday (US time) that the time frame for Giuliani to respond to the election workers’ demands was tight but that he sought to comply.

“There’s been substantial compliance,” Cammarata said.

“There is no defiance to the court.”

-AAP