Giuliani defamation trial: Jury awards election workers nearly $150 million

The amount is three times as much as plaintiffs were seeking.

Following a week-long trial, a federal jury has ordered former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to pay nearly $150 million to former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss for defaming them with false accusations that the mother and daughter committed election fraud while the two were counting ballots in Georgia's Fulton County on Election Day in 2020.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in August awarded a default judgment to the two women, leaving the trial to determine the full scope of the damages and penalties. Freeman and Moss were seeking between $15.5 million and an amount in the $40 million range.


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Attorneys play video depositions from Giuliani aides

Attorneys for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss played excerpts from previously recorded video depositions with Trump associate Bernie Kerik and attorneys Christina Bobb, and Jenna Ellis in part to demonstrate Giuliani's leading role in efforts to uncover evidence of systemic election fraud.

They never found it.

Kerik, the former police commissioner in New York City, described a document in the team's legal playbook, which included a section about Freeman. Bobb, a onetime attorney for then-President Trump, described the makeup of Giuliani's legal team.

In the recording of Ellis, a former Trump attorney, she repeatedly invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination as attorneys for the two women peppered her with questions about her work with Giuliani in the aftermath of the election.


Shaye Moss concludes testimony

Shaye Moss concluded her testimony after several hours on the witness stand.

Excerpts from a taped video deposition with Giuliani associate Bernie Kerik, the former police commissioner of New York City, is next on the docket.

Kerik worked with Giuliani to try overturn the results of the 2020 election. He received a pardon from then-President Trump earlier that year on felony fraud charges dating to 2009.


Moss describes 'homework' from therapist

Shaye Moss grew so fearful for her life after threats poured in that she stopped going out in public, and only recently, she testified, did she build up the courage to leave her home alone, without security.

She did so at the behest of her therapist.

"That was actually her homework for me," Moss said of her therapist's request that she visit a public place by herself.

"I did once," Moss said. She testified that she drove alone to a local restaurant, where she found a quiet seat located at the end of the bar.

"I was so terrified. I felt extremely nauseous," she said. "I was very proud of myself. But unfortunately I have not been able to do that again."


Moss breaks into tears under cross-examination

Shaye Moss broke into tears under a line of questioning from defense attorney Joseph Sibley about the adverse health effects she attributes to Giuliani's defamatory statements about her.

Sibley asked Moss to repeat the names of two mental health diagnoses she received from therapists since the 2020 election. When Moss intimated that she had additional ailments that could be tied to Giuliani's conduct, Sibley asked, "What other issues do you have?"

Moss' attorney objected to the question. As the judge consulted privately with counsel from both parties, Moss held her hands to her face and could be seen wiping tears from her cheeks.

Shortly before this exchange, Moss said her mental anguish had been exacerbated by her inability to work. She described conversations with her therapist about taking time to heal before jumping back into a job.

"Before, I had purpose, at least," Moss said. Now, she said, "most days I pray God won't wake me up and I disappear."


Georgia investigators dispel election fraud claims

Two state investigators who examined allegations that Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss conspired to manipulate ballots on Election Day explained in video depositions how those claims were probed and found to be untrue.

Frank Braun and Frances Watson, both investigators with the Georgia Secretary of State at the time, explained that Freeman, Moss and their colleagues returned to State Farm Arena late on Nov. 3, 2020, after the secretary extended hours for counting ballots, to help expedite the process -- not, as Rudy Giuliani and others suggested, to rig votes.

"There was no evidence that suggested they did anything wrong, except show up to work and work hard," Braun said in his video deposition.

Watson, the chief investigator at the time, said that Giuliani's remarks about manipulated ballots at State Farm Arena were "not accurate."