You may recall that two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, had sued Giuliani for the harms they endured after he falsely declared Freeman and Moss had tampered with ballots in 2020.
The trial that has just concluded was not about whether Giuliani had done the deed. He both admitted to the facts in question and so completely failed to meet his obligations in the discovery phase of the trial, which led the judge in the case to render a default judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. This trial was all about damages: how much America’s embarrassment owed for his sins.
This afternoon, after less than two full days of deliberation, the jury has given its answer: Giuliani owes $148 million to Moss and Freeman — $33 million in direct damages for the defamation; $40 million for emotional harm, and $75 million in punitive damages.
As Josh Kovensky writes at Talking Points Memo, Rudy made it easy for the jury:
It’s a stunning damages amount, one which reflects not only the vicious campaign of harassment that Giuliani unleashed by falsely claiming that a video showed the two tampering with ballots at a Georgia voting center, but the extent to which Trump’s consigliere went out of his way to make things as bad as possible for himself. Giuliani earned Howell’s wrath throughout the pre-trial phase by repeatedly ignoring evidence requests from Freeman and Moss’ attorneys. During the trial itself, Giuliani stood outside the courtroom and repeated the claims which led to the defamation claim in the first place, further enraging the judge.
Oh–and Giuliani hasn’t got the lolly. Not even close. Odds are he’ll have to make a whole bunch of cash between now and then to merely die broke.
Oh–and in the biggest surprise since the dog bit the man–his former client does not have his back, as Kovensky reminds us with this chef’s kiss:
Giuliani reportedly begged Trump himself for cash over the summer to cover his legal bills, but the former president refused.
Yup.
Everything Trump Touches Dies.
Image: David Teniers, Two beggars on the outskirts of a village, between 1660 and 1670.
Rudy Giuliani Is Learning The Eternal Truth: #ETTDPost + Comments (131)
