Topline
Rudy Giuliani will have to pay more than $148 million to Georgia election workers for defaming them by spreading a false conspiracy theory tying them to election fraud, a jury ruled Friday according to multiple outlets, potentially the first in a series of rulings against Giuliani as he faces a slew of litigation for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election—and potentially ruinous financial penalties.
Rudy Giuliani, the former personal lawyer for former U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives to the E. … [+] Barrett Prettyman U.S. District Courthouse on December 15 in Washington, DC.
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Key Facts
After a little more than a day of deliberations, the eight-person jury awarded election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss $16.9 million and $16.2 million in damages for defamation, respectively, according to multiple outlets, along with $20 million for each plaintiff for emotional distress and $75 million total in punitive damages.
Election workers Freeman and Moss sued Giuliani for defamation, emotional distress and civil conspiracy, alleging he “orchestrated a sustained smear campaign” against them that made them the “objects of vitriol, threats, and harassment” by pushing a conspiracy theory that linked them to fraud in the 2020 election.
Giuliani had already been found liable for the allegations against him before the trial began—levied as a sanction against him for failing to turn over evidence in the case—so the jury only had to determine how much he would pay in damages.
The jury’s damages verdict was much higher than anticipated: Freeman’s and Moss’ attorney asked the jury Thursday to make Giuliani pay at least $24 million per plaintiff—more than the $15.5 to $43 million in damages they asked for before the trial—and a reputation expert who testified at the trial estimated Giuliani had caused $47.5 million in total reputational damage to the election workers, based on the reach of his statements about them.
Giuliani did not take the stand during the trial—but did double down on his false claims outside of court—while the election workers testified at the trial how the attorney’s false claims had destroyed their lives and led to widespread threats against them.
Giuliani’s spokesperson Ted Goodman has not yet responded to a request for comment, but Politico reports Giuliani told reporters upon leaving the courthouse after the verdict: “I don’t regret a damn thing.”
Crucial Quote
“Mr. Guliani has shown over and over and over again that he will not take our clients’ names out of his mouth. The facts do not, can not, and will not stop him,” Freeman’s and Moss’ attorney Michael Gottlieb told the jury during closing arguments Thursday, as quoted by Politico. “He says he isn’t sorry. He’s telegraphing that he will do this again. Believe him.”
Contra
Giuliani’s attorney Joe Sibley argued during his closing arguments Thursday the jury should have compassion for his client, claiming Giuliani is a “good man” even though “he hasn’t exactly helped himself with some of the things that have happened in the last few days” with his continued claims of election fraud, as quoted by the Guardian. Sibley asked the jurors to remember Giuliani for his role as New York City’s mayor after the Sept. 11 attacks and argued his client “shouldn’t be defined by what’s happened in recent times.” “This is a man who did great things. If he hasn’t been so great lately, I want you to judge him by the entire character of who he is,” Sibley said, as quoted by Politico.
What We Don’t Know
What the jury’s verdict will mean for Giuliani financially. Sibley said in the trial’s opening arguments that forcing Giuliani to pay a significant amount in damages would amount to the “civil equivalent of the death penalty” for his client, who is facing much-publicized financial issues. A high payout to the plaintiffs “will be the end of Mr. Giuliani,” Sibley said. In addition to the damages awarded by the jury, Giuliani and his company were also separately ordered to pay more than $130,000 in attorneys fees ahead of the trial, as a punishment for failing to turn over evidence. Giuliani’s attorney cited the ex-mayor’s financial issues ahead of the trial as a reason Giuliani hadn’t paid those fees yet—an argument that U.S. Judge Beryl Howell said she found “dubious” when she found him liable for defamation in August.
What To Watch For
The jury’s verdict is the first in a string of court rulings that could be handed down against Giuliani stemming from his work after the 2020 election. The ex-Trump attorney is also being sued for defamation by voting machine companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, which are both still pending. The Dominion case is unlikely to go to trial anytime before mid-to-late 2024 at the earliest, given deadlines in the case, while the Smartmatic case—which also names Fox News and several of its anchors as defendants—is expected to go to trial sometime in 2025. Giuliani also faces criminal charges in Fulton County, Georgia, for his post-election activities, which could result in prison time if he’s convicted. No trial date has yet been set for him in that case, and he has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
Key Background
Freeman and Moss sued Giuliani in December 2021, after the lawyer spread a far-right conspiracy theory linking them to election fraud in the 2020 election. The conspiracy theory claimed Freeman and Moss were shown on camera passing a USB port to each other—which they testified was in actuality a ginger mint—among other acts to purportedly rig the vote count. An investigation by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office found the claims were entirely “false and unsubstantiated.” Giuliani led the Trump campaign’s legal effort to overturn the 2020 election, which consisted of filing dozens of unsuccessful lawsuits challenging the results while simultaneously taking steps like pressuring state officials and legislators to reject the results and working to block Congress from certifying the results on Jan. 6, 2021. In addition to the litigation against him, the attorney has also had his law license suspended in New York and Washington D.C. as a result of his work for the Trump campaign, and still faces the threat of being disbarred.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
Further Reading
Giuliani Won’t Testify At Defamation Trial—After Suggesting He Could Defame Election Workers More From The Stand (Forbes)
Giuliani May Have Defamed Georgia Election Workers—Again—In Comments To Reporters After Trial, Judge Says (Forbes)
Giuliani Faces Trial For Defamation Today—Here’s What To Expect (Forbes)
‘It Will Be The End’: Giuliani Lawyers Warn Election Defamation Payouts Could Financially Ruin Ex-Trump Advisor (Forbes)
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