Federal Judge Rules Rudolph Giuliani Liable for Defaming Georgia Election Workers
A federal judge has ruled that Rudolph W. Giuliani, former President Donald J. Trump’s lawyer, is liable for defaming two Georgia election workers. The judge’s ruling means that the defamation case against Giuliani can proceed to trial to determine the damages he will have to pay.
The ruling by Judge Beryl A. Howell in Federal District Court in Washington comes after Giuliani conceded in two stipulations that he had made false statements when accusing the election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, of mishandling ballots during the counting of votes in Atlanta in the 2020 election. Giuliani later attempted to explain that his stipulations were only meant to resolve a dispute about discovery evidence.
Judge Howell criticized Giuliani’s stipulations and declared him liable for “defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil conspiracy, and punitive damage claims.” The lawsuit filed by Freeman and Moss in December 2021 was among the first brought by individual election workers who were targeted by right-wing politicians and media figures promoting false claims that Trump had won the election. The two women had initially sued other defendants, but settled the case against everyone except Giuliani.
Freeman and Moss appeared as witnesses in a public hearing of the House select committee investigating the January 6th Capitol attack. They shared their story of the aftermath of Giuliani amplifying false claims that they had manipulated ballots. Despite immediate debunking by Fulton County and Georgia officials, Giuliani continued to promote the accusations, even comparing the two women, both of whom are Black, to drug dealers.
During a phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Trump mentioned Freeman’s name 18 times and urged him to “find” enough votes to swing the election results in Georgia. Freeman testified to the House panel, expressing how she has lost her name and reputation, and asked, “Do you know how it feels to have the president of the United States target you?”
Giuliani’s lawyer declined to comment on the ruling. Now, the trial will determine the extent of damages he will have to pay to Freeman and Moss for the defamation.