What’s New
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is promoting his Rudy Coffee brand in a new ad posted to his account on X, formerly Twitter, in which he’s dressed as Santa Claus and talking to an enthusiastic Mrs. Claus who’s sitting on his lap while sharing her Christmas wish list.
Why It Matters
The Rudy Coffee commercial released Monday comes as Giuliani—also former attorney of President-elect Donald Trump—faces mounting legal and financial troubles related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Seth Wenig/AP
What To Know
In the ad posted to his social media account, the former Trump lawyer is dressed as Santa Claus, while a woman dressed like Mrs. Claus sits on his lap.
“Ho, ho, ho!” Giuliani says in the commercial. Two staffers dressed as elves are seen standing next to him and the woman dressed as Mrs. Claus.
“Merry Christmas!” Giuliani says to the woman perched on his lap. “What would you like for Christmas, darling?”
“Rudy Coffee!” the woman exclaims.
“Not diamonds? Not a necklace?” Giuliani asks.
“No, just Rudy Coffee!” she says.
“Give her all the coffee she wants!” the former mayor says to the elves, who hand bags of Rudy Coffee to the woman.
According to a website associated with the product, customers can buy 2-pound bags of morning coffee, bold coffee and Swiss water decaf coffee for $29.99 each.
The site also advertises a canned Rudy Bold Cold Brew, which features a photo of a young Giuliani on the can.
The former Trump lawyer was dealt a devastating defeat when a judge ruled against him in a $148 million lawsuit filed by two former Georgia election workers. He was found liable for defaming Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss by falsely accusing them of tampering with ballots in the Peach State during the 2020 election.
Last week, he was ordered to appear at a contempt hearing on January 3 because he failed to turn over his assets as mandated by the defamation judgment. The assets in question include a lease for his New York apartment, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, luxury watches and a shirt signed by New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio.
Giuliani has turned over some portion of the assets but says that some delays are out of his control. He engaged in a contentious back-and-forth with U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman over asset forfeiture last month.
“I don’t have a car,” Giuliani told Liman at a pretrial hearing last month. “I don’t have a credit card. They have put a stop order on, for example, my Social Security account,” he added, referring to Freeman and Moss.
But Liman, who was appointed by Trump, cut Giuliani off. “I have permitted Mr. Giuliani to speak,” he said. “Next time, I will not permit him to speak and the court will have to take action.”
A legal expert previously told Newsweek that the two former election workers could also potentially go after Giuliani’s profits from Rudy Coffee because the judge said the company that holds its profits, Giuliani Communications, is the former Trump lawyer’s “alter ego.”
“Rudy Giuliani organized Giuliani Communications, LLC to receive his profits from Rudy Coffee,” Eric Chaffee, business law professor at Case Western Reserve University, told Newsweek in October. “The judge in his case has held that the company is the mere ‘alter ego’ of Giuliani based on how it functions.”
Giuliani also faces other legal and professional strife. In July, he was disbarred in New York over efforts to nullify President Joe Biden‘s victory in the 2020 election.
The former mayor made “demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers, and the public at large in his capacity as lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump and the Trump campaign in connection with Trump’s failed effort at reelection in 2020,” the New York appeals court wrote in its ruling.
Two months later, Giuliani was disbarred in Washington, D.C.
Giuliani is also grappling with criminal cases in Georgia and Arizona over election subversion efforts.
Newsweek reached out to a representative for Giuliani for comment via email on Monday.
What People Are Saying
Chaffee also told Newsweek in October: “When a company is the mere alter ego of an individual, a court will view the assets of the company as belonging to the individual. That is what is occurring in Giuliani’s case.”
Referring to his asset forfeiture proceedings, Giuliani said at his pretrial hearing last month: “The implication I’ve been not diligent about it is totally incorrect … The implication you make is against me and every implication against me is wrong.”
What Comes Next
Giuliani has two major court proceedings next month. The January 3 contempt hearing will determine whether he will be penalized for failing to turn over some of his assets as mandated. Punishment could include imprisonment or fines.
He will also appear before Liman on January 16 related to the status of his Florida home and World Series rings.
Update 12/23/24, 10:34 p.m.: This article has been updated to include further information.
