Decision by Jury on Giuliani’s Compensation for Defamation of Election Workers

On Monday, Rudy Giuliani appeared at the federal courthouse in Washington for a trial that will establish the financial penalty he may face for defaming two Georgia election workers. Giuliani had falsely implicated them in election fraud during his efforts to support Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations following the 2020 presidential election.

Giuliani, the ex-Mayor of New York City, is already deemed responsible in the defamation case initiated by Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss. The duo faced threats and harassment as a result of being falsely associated with a conspiracy theory circulated by Trump and his allies. The trial, commencing with the selection of a jury, will focus solely on determining the monetary damages Giuliani is obligated to pay.

This lawsuit is one of several legal and financial challenges confronting Giuliani, who gained fame as “America’s mayor” post-9/11 and later emerged as a leading advocate of Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud. Giuliani also faces criminal charges in Georgia, alongside Trump and others, for allegedly attempting to illegally overturn the election results. He has entered a plea of not guilty, asserting his right to question what he believed to be election fraud.

Giuliani’s troubles extend beyond this case. He was recently sued by a former attorney over an unpaid legal bill of approximately $1.6 million, related to his efforts to maintain Trump’s presidency. The judge in the election workers’ lawsuit has also mandated Giuliani and his businesses to pay substantial legal fees.

Moss, who has been part of Fulton County’s elections department since 2012, managed the absentee ballot process in the 2020 election. Freeman was a temporary worker, handling absentee ballot signature verification and preparation for counting.

Giuliani, among other supporters of Trump, promoted a baseless conspiracy theory using surveillance footage, falsely alleging that Freeman and Moss extracted fraudulent ballots from suitcases. These allegations were swiftly refuted by Georgia’s election officials, who found no evidence of improper ballot counting.

The spurious accusations led to Freeman and Moss experiencing a deluge of violent threats and harassment. Freeman was forced to vacate her home for over two months, and Moss shared in a testimony to the U.S. House Committee investigating the Capitol attack, the extent of threatening and racist messages she received.

In a ruling in August, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell held Giuliani accountable, criticizing his superficial compliance with legal requirements and his failure to provide requested information to Freeman and Moss. In October, the judge accused Giuliani of blatantly ignoring an order to disclose details about his personal and business assets, indicating that jurors in the damages trial should infer intentional concealment of financial documents to underestimate his net worth.

Giuliani admitted in July to making public statements falsely accusing Freeman and Moss of fraud during the ballot counting at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, but argued that his statements were protected under the First Amendment.

[Reported by Richer from Boston, with contributions from AP Video journalist Nathan Ellgren in Washington.]

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More about Giuliani defamation trial

• Rudy Giuliani’s Defamation Case
• Giuliani’s Legal Troubles
• Impact on Election Workers
• Giuliani’s Admission in Court
• First Amendment Defense in Giuliani’s Case