A US federal jury has ordered former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to pay $148 million in damages to Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Mossin. Giuliani had previously accused the two women of tampering with the results of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election. The damages issued include $16 million to each plaintiff for defamation, $20 million to each plaintiff for emotional distress, and $75 million in punitive damages.
The current net worth and assets of the former New York City mayor reportedly do not exceed $50 million. Freeman and Moss had served as volunteer election workers in Georgia during the 2020 election. Giuliani had singled out both women on his Twitter page, repeatedly sharing a video of Moss which he claimed showed her replacing ballots for Trump in favor of Biden.
In December 2020, Giuliani created what he called a “Strategic Communications Plan” with the aim of pushing Trump’s election interference narrative and encouraging lawmakers to certify the election in favor of Trump. Freeman was incorrectly identified as an election worker who was guilty of “ballot stuffing” and possessing a criminal record for voter fraud. These allegations were repeated numerous times by Giuliani in the succeeding months on his Twitter and podcast platforms.
Following an investigation, Georgia’s state election board cleared the women, who are mother and daughter, of any election fraud. Despite this clearing, Freeman and Moss stated that the encounter with Giuliani had significantly impacted their lives. They funded a public campaign to restore their reputations which had been tarnished by Giuliani’s allegations. The legal professionals representing both women also confirmed that their clients had lost their sense of safety and received hundreds of threatening messages following their time in the public spotlight.
A federal judge found Giuliani liable for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy to commit these torts in the summer. Despite this judgment, Giuliani persisted in making disparaging comments about Freeman and Moss, and continued to assert that they had fraudulently altered election results. His resistance to the ruling extended into December, as argued by his legal team that the damages suffered by the plaintiffs were not demonstrably caused by his online allegations, and that their case was inadequately pleaded. Judge Beryl Howell overruled each of these arguments. Giuliani’s legal team is now assembling an appeal in a bid to minimize the amount payable in damages.
For further details, you can read the full news coverage here.