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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- Giuliani won't testify, attorney says
- Freeman tearfully testifies she left her home due to threats
- Fixing plaintiffs' reputations will cost up to $47M, says expert
- Moss, through tears, describes life after Giuliani's accusations
- Georgia investigators dispel election fraud claims
- Judge blasts Giuliani for 'additional defamatory' remarks
- Expert describes racist content 'on a level we don't see'
Giuliani used accusers as 'cornerstone' of conspiracy, says lawyer
Rudy Giuliani sought to use Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss "as a cornerstone" of his campaign to denigrate the 2020 presidential election, prompting his followers to turn their ire toward the two election workers, their attorney, Von DuBose, told the jury in his opening remarks.
DuBose described how Giuliani slandered Freeman and Moss to his "massive national audience" and accused the mother and daughter of rigging ballots in President Joe Biden's favor.
"None of that -- none of that -- is true. But the millions of people who heard the lies didn't wait for confirmation," DuBose said. "And the response from those Giuliani called to action was swift. It was racist."
Dubose played audio recordings of several voicemails left on Freeman and Moss' phones after Giuliani targeted them by name, including threats of violence and racist name-calling.
Many of the voicemails cited the USB drive Giuliani falsely told Georgia state legislators that the two were "surreptitiously passing around ... as if they're vials of heroin or cocaine."
Then, DuBose said, "Words turned into action."
"Strange people" showed up at Freeman and Moss' home looking for them, DuBose said, with some attempting to "make citizens' arrests."
"This case is about how Giuliani … made their names a call to action for millions of people who did not want to believe" the results of the 2020 election, DuBose said.
Jury instructed on Giuliani's defamatory comments
Judge Beryl Howell, following a break, delivered a lengthy statement to jurors about details of the case -- including her determination that Rudy Giuliani has already been found liable for his defamatory comments.
Howell emphasized that the panel must assume that Giuliani failed to cooperate with his discovery requirements in the case in an effort to "artificially deflate" his net worth, and that jurors must understand that Giuliani benefitted financially from his defamatory comments about Freeman and Moss.
"Your job, ladies and gentlemen, is to determine the facts," Howell said.
Howell reminded jurors that their sole responsibility is to determine the damages associated with Giuliani's comments.
As Howell ticked through jury instructions, Giuliani intermittently shook his head and exchanged glances with his attorney.
Jury is seated, opening statements expected this afternoon
The parties have selected a jury of eight D.C. residents, and attorneys for both sides are expected to present their opening statements this afternoon.
Giuliani has said that, while he "does not contest the factual allegations" made by Freeman and Moss regarding his statements, the statements themselves were constitutionally protected.
Attorneys for Freeman and Moss will attempt to articulate why their clients deserve monetary compensation for the statements Giuliani made about them, including what they say is his willful infliction of emotional distress and reputational harm.
Judge Howell swore in the jury and excused the remainder of the prospective jurors before breaking court for lunch.
Judge asks juror prospects about MAGA, QAnon slogans
Prospective jurors are commonly asked to divulge any affiliations with parties in the case, or preconceived views about them. But in this case -- a heavily politicized matter involving election lies -- Judge Howell's questioning has veered into some of the cryptic slogans of the far-right movement.
Howell is asking prospective jurors whether they had ever used the expression "Let's Go Brandon" -- a common refrain among President Joe Biden's detractors -- or the hashtag "WWG1WGA," a motto associated with the QAnon movement.
She is also asking jurors whether they follow Giuliani's social media channels.
The prospective jurors reflect the unique makeup of nation’s capitol. Among those who have been questioned: a Defense Department official, a U.S. Forest Service official, a Defense Intelligence Agency official, and a woman who had worked for the Girl Scouts.
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.