Rudy Giuliani has been ordered by a federal jury to pay over $148 million in damages to two former Georgia election workers, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman, as a consequence of false accusations he made that they played a role in rigging the 2020 election against Donald Trump.
The verdict was delivered in a federal court in Washington on Friday.
The jury found Giuliani liable for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy, leaving them with the task of determining the appropriate amount of damages to impose.
In the end, they awarded roughly $73 million to compensate Moss and Freeman for the harm they suffered to their reputation and emotional well-being and an additional $75 million in punitive damages as a rebuke for Giuliani’s conduct. This decision came after more than 10 hours of deliberation.
Outside the courthouse, Ruby Freeman expressed her satisfaction with the verdict, stating, “Today’s a good day. A jury stood witness to what Rudy Giuliani did to me and my daughter and held him accountable,” adding, “others must be held accountable, too.”
Giuliani, in response to the verdict, announced his intention to appeal, describing the magnitude of the damages as absurd and implying the entire proceeding was equally absurd.
The trial unfolded over three emotional days of testimony, where Moss and Freeman, who are Black, recounted the barrage of racist and sexist messages, including threats of lynching, they received after Trump and his supporters spread false claims of voter fraud involving them.
Giuliani had repeatedly asserted that surveillance footage showed Moss and Freeman concealing and counting suitcases filled with illegal ballots at an Atlanta basketball arena used for processing votes during the 2020 election.
Although Giuliani had initially stated he would testify during the trial, he ultimately opted not to take the witness stand and maintained that his comments had no connection to the threats received by the two women.
The claims against Moss and Freeman were debunked by a state investigation, which concluded that they had been lawfully and properly processing ballots.
Their lawyers argued that these allegations were part of a conspiracy involving Trump, his legal team, and right-wing media to sow doubt about the election results and overturn Trump’s defeat to Joe Biden.
Giuliani, who has faced both civil and criminal challenges, including mounting legal fees, due to his role in Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, is also facing criminal charges in Georgia’s racketeering case against Trump and some of his allies, partly related to his targeting of Moss and Freeman.
He has pleaded not guilty to these charges.