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
- Freeman, Moss entitled to $24M each, attorney argues
- 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'
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."
Lawyer concedes Giuliani wrongdoing but decries penalty
"Irresponsible." "Wrongful Conduct."
Those are some of the descriptions of Rudy Giuliani's behavior toward Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss that came from Giuliani's own lawyer during his closing argument.
Attorney Joseph Sibley conceded to jurors that his client had wronged Freeman and Moss. He also applauded what he called the "genuine" and powerful testimony from the two women.
But he implored jurors to levy a more measured penalty against Giuliani than the "catastrophic" sum requested by the two plaintiffs.
When jurors consider the cost of Giuliani's defamatory statements, Sibley said, they might say of Giuliani: "You should've been better. But you're not as bad as they made you out to be."
Sibley also implored jurors to discount the testimony of the plaintiff's expert witnesses, framing their delivery as "rehearsed."
"I almost wanted to look at the ceiling to see if the lawyers were puppeteering the witness," Sibley joked.
Sibley called the testimony of Dr. Ashlee Humphreys, who estimated that the cost to repair the reputations of Moss and Freeman is between $17.8 million and $47.4 million, "patently absurd," especially given that "people who believe this stuff are still going to believe it no matter what."