by Katelynn Richardson
A jury determined that former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani owes nearly $150 million in damages to two Georgia election workers for making defamatory statements about them after the 2020 election, according to NBC.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell found Giuliani defamed Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss in August. After a four day trial and over 9 hours of deliberation, a Washington, D.C., jury reached a verdict awarding the two women $148 million in damages, according to NBC News.
The amount awards $16,171,000 for defamation and $20 million for emotional distress to Freeman, along with $16,998,000 for defamation and $20 million for emotional distress to Moss. Additionally, it awards $75 million to both plaintiffs for punitive damages, according to CNN.
BREAKING: An eight-person jury in Washington, D.C., has unanimously determined damages owed by Rudy Giuliani in defamation case brought by Georgia election workers Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman.
Total: $ 148,169,000 million in compensatory and punitive damages
— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) December 15, 2023
The women testified about the threats they received following Giuliani’s claims, according to CNN.
A jury has imposed over $148 million against Giuliani. These types of awards are subject to remittitur order to reduce excessive damages. This type of over-sized verdict is often reduced in proceedings and appeals…
A jury has imposed over $148 million against Giuliani. These types of awards are subject to remittitur order to reduce excessive damages. This type of over-sized verdict is often reduced in proceedings and appeals…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) December 15, 2023
Howell entered a default judgement against Giuliani that held him liable for defamation, civil conspiracy and emotional distress after he “refused to comply with his discovery obligations,” per the August ruling.
“Donning a cloak of victimization may play well on a public stage to certain audiences, but in a court of law this performance has served only to subvert the normal process of discovery in a straight-forward defamation case, with the concomitant necessity of repeated court intervention,” Howell wrote in the opinion.
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Katelynn Richardson is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Rudy Guiliani” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
