A federal judge granted the request of two former Georgia election workers to expedite their $148 million payment from Rudy Giuliani – claiming the couple had “good reason” to worry the former New York City mayor might be trying to stiff them.
A jury last week ordered Giuliani to pay mother and daughter Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss millions for defamation after he falsely accused them of voter fraud during the Fulton County vote count during the 2020 election.
Freeman and Moss asked the judge to “authorize immediate enforcement” of the judgment, saying they feared Giuliani would “find a way to eliminate [his] assets before the plaintiff can recover,” ABC News reported.
Judge Beryl Howell on Wednesday ruled in favor of both, writing that Giuliani has a reputation as an “unwilling and uncooperative litigator.”
On Friday, a DC panel awarded Moss and Freeman $75 million in punitive damages, plus an additional $20 million to each woman for emotional distress after deliberating for two days during a week-long trial.
Giuliani said he did not “regret a thing” after the verdict, which he plans to appeal, decrying the “absurdity of the numbers” given to the plaintiffs.
Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani was ordered last week to pay a very large sum to mother and daughter Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss. AP
The former mayor told The Post on Friday that he doesn’t have the assets to pay even the $43 million in damages initially sought by the workers and vowed “to fight this case until I die.”
Giuliani’s lawyer, Joe Sibley, said that the ruling was the “civil equivalent of the death penalty” and “will be the end of Mr. Giuliani” if he fails to win an appeal.
Freeman and Moss first filed their lawsuit against Trump’s former personal attorney in 2021, alleging that his false allegations of election fraud made them targets of violent threats and racist attacks.
A jury ordered Giuliani to pay millions to mother and daughter Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss for defamation after he falsely accused them of voter fraud during a Fulton County vote count during the 2020 election. AP
Giuliani was found liable for defamation by default in August after refusing to disclose evidence to plaintiffs’ lawyers that included his personal communications and complete financial records.
He said that the two passed USB drives back and forth “like bottles of heroin or cocaine” to change the outcome of the Georgia election.
Moss later testified before a House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots that he gave his mother peppermints.
Judge Beryl Howell on Wednesday ruled in favor of the two employees, writing that Giuliani had a reputation as an “unwilling and uncooperative litigant.” The Washington Post via Getty Images
In June, Georgia’s state board of elections dismissed the fraud allegations as “baseless and found to lack merit.”
Freeman and Moss sued Giuliani again on Monday, seeking a permanent injunction against him to prevent him from speaking publicly about them, claiming he “continues to spread the same lies for which he has been held accountable.”
The Post has reached out to Giuliani’s attorney for comment on Wednesday’s decision.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
