On Friday, a jury granted $148 million in damages to two former Georgia election workers who filed a defamation lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani. The false information spread by Giuliani in 2020 caused significant harm to their lives, leading to racist threats and harassment.
The damages verdict comes after a powerful testimony from Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman. They emotionally recounted their experience of being falsely targeted by Giuliani and other Republicans, who propagated a conspiracy theory in an attempt to support then-President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud after his loss in the 2020 election.
The courtroom fell silent as the jury foreperson announced the staggering $75 million punitive damages awarded to the women. Moss and Freeman received an additional $36 million each in other damages.
Giuliani remained stoic as the verdict was announced, following approximately 10 hours of deliberations. After the jury exited the courtroom, Moss and Freeman embraced their attorneys, paying no attention to Giuliani as he departed alongside his own legal counsel.
The former New York City mayor expressed his intention to appeal, stating to reporters that the sheer magnitude of the number only serves to highlight the overall absurdity of the entire proceeding.
“It will be reversed so quickly it will make your head spin, and the recent influx of numbers will actually assist in that,” he stated.
It was already established that Giuliani was found liable in the case and he admitted in court documents that he made false accusations against the women regarding ballot fraud. Despite this, the former mayor persisted in making unfounded accusations about the women in his comments to reporters outside the Washington, D.C., courthouse this week.
According to Giuliani’s lawyer, while acknowledging his client’s wrongdoing, they argue that Giuliani should not bear full responsibility for the hostility the women encountered. The defense attempted to shift most of the responsibility onto a right-wing website that released surveillance footage of the two women tallying votes.
The defense in Giuliani’s case concluded on Thursday morning without presenting any witnesses, as the former mayor ultimately chose not to testify. The lawyer representing Giuliani assured the jurors in his opening statement that they would have the opportunity to hear from his client. However, following Giuliani’s remarks outside of court, the judge prohibited him from asserting in his testimony that his conspiracy theories were accurate.
