Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was ordered by a federal jury on Friday to pay more than $148 million to two Atlanta election workers found to have defamed him by claiming they worked to cheat former President Donald Trump out of the 2020 election.
The DC panel awarded $75 million in punitive damages to Andrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman, as well as $20 million to each woman for emotional distress after deliberating for two days.
Moss was also awarded just under $17 million for defamation, while Freeman received nearly $16.2 million.
“I don’t regret anything,” Giuliani declared following the verdict, vowing to appeal the decision.
“The disparity of the numbers only underscores the absurdity of the entire proceeding, where I am not allowed to offer a single piece of evidence for the defense, of which I have plenty.”
“I’m pretty sure when this case goes to a fair tribunal, it will be overturned so quickly it will make your head spin, and the ridiculous numbers that just came in will help,” he added.
Giuliani had skipped testifying in his own defense on Thursday and told reporters after the damages decision that US District Judge Beryl Howell had told him in advance.
Rudy Giuliani was ordered by a federal jury on Friday to pay more than $148 million to two Atlanta election workers. AP Georgia election worker Shaye Moss, left, and her mother Ruby Freeman, right. AP
“I didn’t testify because the judge made it clear that if I did anything wrong or did anything wrong he was considering contempt, and this judge certainly has a reputation for putting people in jail. And I think, honestly, it doesn’t do any good,” he said.
“I have no doubt that my comments were made and they can be supported and can be supported today.”
The Associated Press reported gasps could be heard in the courtroom as the $75 million award was read by the foreman.
Giuliani was found to have defamed employees by claiming they worked to cheat President Trump out of the 2020 election. Getty Images
Giuliani’s attorney Joseph Sibley had said Thursday that the $48 million initially demanded by the two women would be “the end” of his client financially and told jurors to “remember this is a great man.”
Michael Gottlieb, an attorney for Moss and Freeman, played a video of Giuliani claiming the woman was “involved in vote-switching” outside court on Monday.
“Mr. Giuliani has shown over and over again that he won’t take our client’s name out of his mouth,” Gottlieb said. “Facts won’t stop him. He says he’s not sorry and he’s telegraphed he’ll do this again. Trust him.”
Rudy Giuliani was seen arriving at the courthouse on Friday. JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Fulton County employees filed a lawsuit against the man who was once billed as “America’s Mayor” in 2021, saying his false claims that they processed fraudulent ballots during the 2020 presidential election left them feeling “terrorized” and subjecting them to frequent threats and racially charged verbal attacks.
“Money is not going to solve all my problems,” Freeman told reporters outside court. “I can’t go back to the house I call home. I have to always be careful about where I go and who I choose to share my name with. I miss my home. I miss my neighbors and I miss my name.”
“Our biggest wish is that no one, no election worker, or voter or school board member or anyone else ever goes through anything like what we went through,” Moss added. “You all matter, and you all matter.”
In August, Giuliani was found liable for defamation by default after refusing to disclose evidence to attorneys Moss and Freeman that included his private communications and complete financial records.
Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, a former Georgia election worker, is comforted by her mother Ruby Freeman, during a hearing in 2022. AP Giuliani left court following the verdict on Friday. Getty Images
Trump’s personal attorney once targeted the mother-daughter pair after the general election, saying they had been passing USB drives around “like bottles of heroin or cocaine” to sway the Georgia election.
Former President Donald Trump also mentioned Freeman in his January 2, 2021, phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump demanded that Raffensperger “find” the 11,780 votes needed for him to win the state from Joe Biden.
Moss and Freeman said they were subjected to death threats and harassment after Giuliani selected them. JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Moss later testified to a House select committee investigating the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021 that he gave his mother gingerbread, and the Georgia state board of elections in June dismissed the fraud allegations as “baseless and found to have no merit.”
Giuliani is also one of 18 co-defendants in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ case against Trump over his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in the Peach State.
A spokesman for the 79-year-old did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
