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.
Top headlines:
- Jury awards Freeman, Moss $75 million apiece
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Jury will continue deliberations on Friday
Jurors deliberated for more than three hours this afternoon without reaching a verdict on the amount of damages Rudy Giuliani will have to pay Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.
"The jury's ready to go home," Judge Howell told attorneys for both parties at 5 p.m. ET.
The jury will return Friday morning to continue their deliberations.
Jury asks for expert witness report, but judge declines
After more than two hours of deliberation, jurors submitted a question to the judge seeking access to a report prepared by communications expert Dr. Ashlee Humphrey, who testified for the plaintiffs.
Judge Beryl Howell reported that the jury submitted a note requesting to see Dr. Humphreys' complete report on the online reach of Rudy Giuliani's defamatory claims, as well as a PowerPoint presentation that was used by attorneys for plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss during arguments.
Because attorneys for Freeman and Moss did not enter the report or the slides into evidence, the judge denied the jury's request.
Jury members returned to their deliberations after the judge informed them of her response.
Keeping Giuliani off the stand was 'smart move,' says ex-prosecutor
As the jury deliberates how much Rudy Giuliani will have to pay for defaming former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, a former Georgia prosecutor says that Giuliani and his attorney may be trying to play the long game.
"Any time you concede liability in a trial to focus on damages, it's a difficult situation," said former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons, an ABC News contributor. "What they appear to be doing is suggesting the damages aren't that serious -- or at least aren't seven figures."
But Timmons suggested that a broader strategy might be at play -- one that protects Giuliani from legal exposure in other criminal matters and leaves open the door for appealing the result of this trial.
"Strategically, keeping Mr. Giuliani off the stand was a smart move when you look at this case in the context of his overall legal exposure," Timmons said. "If Mr. Giuliani had testified, his testimony would be admissible in all of his other cases," including his criminal racketeering case in Fulton County, Georgia.
In his defamation case, Timmons said, "what they're really counting on is a reversal by the court of appeals holding that Mr. Giuliani's statements are 'opinions,' which aren't actionable under defamation law."
Jury deliberations underway
Judge Beryl Howell read from a lengthy jury instruction form that reminded jurors that their sole responsibility is to quantify the damages Rudy Giuliani will have to pay to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss for defaming them.
The judge emphasized that the court has already determined Giuliani's statements to be defamatory and untrue.
She told jurors that, in assessing the full scope of damages, they must assume that Giuliani withheld financial records and other documents that Freeman and Moss were entitled to access during the discovery process.
Job prospects deteriorated after accusations, Moss testifies
One interlude from the aftermath of the 2020 election demonstrates how Moss' career prospects deteriorated, she testified.
Moss said she felt so disillusioned with election work by mid-2021 that she sought work elsewhere. She applied for a job at a Chick-fil-A restaurant and secured an interview.
"I was dressed up. I had my notebook with my resume. I was excited, I was ready," Moss said. The interview "went great," she said, even though she realized that, without relevant experience, she would be asked to do menial tasks.
"I had made up my mind that, oh well, I'll have to start at the bottom," she testified. "And if I can work my way up at [voter] registration, I can work my way up here."
Before leaving, however, the interviewer showed her an article on his laptop and said, "Tell me about this. Is this you? Is this true?"
The article featured an image of her face with the word "Fraud" plastered across it.
"The more he was talking, the more I just tuned it out," Moss said. "I was so shocked, I was so embarrassed … I just had to leave. I just left."