Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is facing a monumental financial setback as he has been directed to pay a staggering $148 million in damages following a defamation lawsuit filed by two former election workers in Georgia. The verdict, handed down by the jury after approximately 10 hours of deliberations, awarded £116 million (equivalent to $148 million) in damages to Wandrea ‘Shaye’ Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, as reported by The Metro on Saturday, December 16, 2023.
The lawsuit centered around Giuliani’s assertions of election fraud in the 2020 presidential race. Moss and Freeman accused the former personal attorney of Donald Trump of disseminating falsehoods that not only upended their lives but also subjected them to racist threats and harassment.
The emotional testimony of Moss and Freeman vividly underscored the tangible impact of Giuliani’s conspiracy theories, which gained traction among Republicans seeking to challenge the outcome of the 2020 election.
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The jury foreperson announced a punitive damages award of $75 million (£59 million) for the women, enhancing the substantial verdict. Moss and Freeman were each granted approximately $36 million (£28 million) in additional damages. Giuliani, maintaining a stoic demeanor during the reading of the verdict, now faces severe financial consequences.
In response to the verdict, Giuliani expressed his intention to appeal, dismissing the awarded sum as absurd and characterizing the entire proceeding as equally absurd. He confidently asserted, “It will be reversed so quickly it will make your head spin, and the absurd number that just came in will help that actually.”
Despite admitting to falsely accusing the women of ballot fraud, Giuliani reiterated these claims to reporters outside the Washington, DC court this week. His lawyer acknowledged the inaccuracy of Giuliani’s statements but shifted blame onto a right-wing website that published surveillance footage of the two women counting ballots.
This legal setback compounds the challenges already faced by Giuliani, a vocal proponent of Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud, which have become central to criminal cases against the former president.
Giuliani, grappling with financial strain from various lawsuits and investigations, now confronts the looming specter of financial ruin, as suggested by his own lawyer, who ominously stated, “it would be the end of Mr. Giuliani.”
Giuliani’s legal troubles continue to escalate, with the most significant challenge being the criminal charges in Georgia. Alongside 18 others, he stands accused of working to subvert the 2020 election results in that state. Despite maintaining his innocence and attributing the case to political motivations, recordings revealed during the defamation trial captured Giuliani falsely accusing the election workers of sneaking in ballots, counting them multiple times, and tampering with voting machines.
