Rudi Giuliani mug shot in Fulton County, Georgia: FCSO
Staff Report –
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rudi Giuliani is liable for defaming two Georgia election workers by repeatedly declaring they mishandled ballots while counting votes in Atlanta during the 2020 election, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled that the liable case against Giuliani may now proceed to the damages phase, where the amount of damages will be determined in a future hearing, date to be announced.
Giuliani, who got famous as “America’s Mayor” after his role in rallying New York City in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, went on to represent former President Donald Trump and play a central role in his efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.
Judge Howell’s decision came a little more than a month after Giuliani conceded in two stipulations in the case that he had made false statements when he accused the election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, of manipulating ballots while working at the State Farm Arena for the Fulton County Board of Elections, according to reporting from the New York Times.
Giuliani sought to explain that his stipulations were solely meant to get past a dispute with Freeman and Moss about discovery evidence in the case and move toward dismissing the allegations outright. But Judge Howell, complaining that Giuliani’s stipulations “hold more holes than Swiss cheese,” took the proactive step of declaring him liable for “defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil conspiracy and punitive damage claims.”
The lawsuit filed in December 2021 was among the first to be brought by individual election workers who found themselves dragged into the alternate universe of right-wing politicians and media figures who claimed that Trump won the election. The two women had originally sued other defendants, including the One America News Network and some of its top officials, but ultimately settled the case against everyone except Giuliani.
Last year, both women appeared as witnesses at a public hearing of the House Select Committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 and told the story of what happened after Giuliani amplified the false claims that they had pulled thousands of fraudulent ballots from a suitcase in their vote-counting station and illegally fed them through voting machines.
Although Fulton County and Georgia officials immediately debunked the accusations, Giuliani kept promoting them, ultimately comparing the women — both of whom are Black — to drug dealers and calling during a hearing with Georgia state legislators for their homes to be searched.
Trump invoked Freeman’s name 18 times during a phone call with Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, on Jan. 2, 2021, in which he asked Raffensperger to help him “find” 11,800 votes — enough to swing the results in Georgia.
“I’ve lost my name, and I’ve lost my reputation,” Freeman testified to the House panel, adding as her voice rose with emotion, “Do you know how it feels to have the president of the United States target you?”
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