US: Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to pay USD 148 million for defaming two election workers
Dec 16, 2023
Washington DC [US], December 16 : A jury on Friday (local time) ordered the former New York Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, to pay USD 148 million to two former Georgia election workers over his false allegation of rigging the 2020 presidential polls against former President Donald Trump, The Hill reported.
During the four-day civil trial, the eight Washington, DC, residents heard harrowing testimony from the workers--Rose Freeman and Shaye Moss--who said their lives were turned upside down as they faced a "torrent of racist and violent threats" following the accusations.
Giuliani, the former lawyer for Trump, was found liable in the defamation case months ago, and the jury only convened to decide how much the former federal prosecutor must pay in damages. Before deliberations began, the mother-daughter duo asked for more than USD 47 million.
"Everyone who spread lies about Moss and Freeman should be held accountable," Michael Gottlieb, a lawyer for the two women, said in closing remarks.
The jury deliberated for more than 10 hours before ordering Giuliani to pay the election workers a total of USD 148.7 million.
Moss would receive nearly USD 17 million for Giuliani's defamation and USD 20 million for his infliction of emotional distress. Freeman would receive nearly USD 16.2 million for the defamation and USD 20 million for emotional distress. The mother and daughter received an additional USD 75 million in punitive damages, The Hill reported.
However, it remains unclear how Giuliani will be able to pay such a sum.
Meanwhile, after the verdict, Moss told reporters that she and Freeman's "greatest wish" is that no one -- "no election worker, voter, school board member or anyone else" -- has to experience what the two women have since Giuliani's false claims were made, The Hill reported.
"We hope no one ever has to fight so hard just to get your name back," Moss said.
Following the 2020 election, Giuliani led former President Trump's 'unsuccessful' legal efforts seeking to overturn President Biden's victory. Through press conferences, legislative hearings, media interviews and other statements, Giuliani made Freeman and Moss a focal point of his allegations, according to The Hill.
But, even after the verdict, Giuliani doubled down on his claims of 'election fraud'.
"The absurdity of the number really underscores the absurdity of the entire proceeding," Giuliani told reporters while leaving the courtroom.
Much of Giuliani's accusations revolved around a video of the duo working in State Farm Arena in Atlanta, counting ballots. The former mayor claimed in December 2020 that the footage showed the workers "pulling suitcases stuffed with ballots from under a table."
Freeman and Moss's lawyers centred their case on the notion that their clients had lost their names and were forced to live their daily lives in secret. The two women sued Giuliani on claims of "defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil conspiracy, and punitive damage," The Hill reported.
