Credit: REUTERS/Alamy
Thomas Girardi attended a court hearing on Wednesday amid questions about the legitimacy of his dementia diagnosis and was met with a couple of reporters, who bombarded him with questions.
After prosecutors suggested the disbarred attorney was faking his mental health struggles to evade trial and punishment for the alleged $18 million he embezzled from former clients, video showed Thomas at court as an insider shared details about the hearing, during which it was said that Thomas no longer recognizes estranged wife Erika Jayne of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
In one of many posts shared on Twitter on August 23 by legal affairs journalist Meghann Cuniff, she wrote, “Update: We’re on a 15-minute break and Girardi called my old Daily Journal colleague [Justin Kloczko] ‘Joe.’”
In another, she said that an IRS agent who also investigated Michael Avenatti was present.
“He appears to have cornered the ‘fraudulent Italian-American plaintiff lawyers in Southern California’ investigative beat for the feds,” Meghann noted.
After then suggesting that the security officer didn’t say anything about turning phones off during the hearing, Meghann revealed prosecutors didn’t seem to think they needed to ask many questions.
“But Girardi’s lawyers are taking a much different approach,” she explained, proceeding to applaud Thomas’ representation.
“Girardi’s lawyer is a good performer – the last time I saw [Craig Harbaugh] in action he was defending Stephen Beal in the first bombing trial before [Judge Josephine Staton]. Harbaugh managed to get a mistrial, and Beal has got to be one of the guiltiest guys to ever walk the face of the Earth.”
Continuing on, Meghann confirmed Thomas had no “outbursts” amid the hearing and that his attorney cross-examined an expert hired by prosecutors who suggested Thomas was “faking or exaggerating his mental condition.”
“No one is sure how long hearing will go,” she stated.
Then, in another tweet during the lunch break, Meghann shared that a neuropsychologist testified that Thomas needed an assistant’s help to recognize Erika in a photo.
“But the assistant later cautioned that Erika ‘wasn’t wearing any makeup and this was pre-plastic surgery,’” she added.
In a video shared by The Real Housewives Zone on Instagram of Thomas arriving at court, male paparazzi were heard asking him questions.
“Tom, welcome back to the courthouse. Do you have anything to say? Do you have anything to say to your former clients? Are you ashamed of yourself?” one wondered.
And another said, “How are you feeling today, Tom? Are you nervous? Tom, are you nervous?”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 13 is expected to premiere on Bravo sometime this fall.
