Rudy Giuliani Ordered to Pay $148 Million to Georgia Election Workers He Defamed

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A Washington, D.C. jury has awarded nearly $150 million to Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss in the defamation case they filed against Rudy Giuliani for his claims he made falsely accusing them of participating in fraud in the 2020 election.

According to CNN, the verdict was unanimous and included a variety of damages for each of the two plaintiffs who were Georgia election workers in 2020 — and targeted by former President Donald Trump and his allies who accused them of helping steal the election from him.

Both Moss and Freeman testified regarding the deluge of harassment, racist attacks, and death threats they received after being falsely accused of committing election fraud, including being afraid to use their real names, having to flee their homes, and having to quit their jobs as election workers.

Moss and Freeman were awarded nearly $17 million and just over $16 million for their defamation claims, $20 million each for their emotional distress claims — plus $75 million in punitive damages.

All together, the damages total more than $148 million. Giuliani will also be on the hook for the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees.

Giuliani already conceded in court filings this past July that the statements he made about Freeman and Moss were statements of fact, were false, and he knew they were false — essentially admitting the key elements needed to prove a defamation claim in court.

In August, Judge Beryl A. Howell with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a default judgment against Giuliani, making his legal loss official and issuing an order accompanied by a 57-page memorandum opinion that sharply rebuked him for refusing to comply with the court-ordered discovery to disclose his financial assets.

Howell’s order granted the plaintiffs’ motion for sanctions for Giuliani’s discovery violations, smacking him with a $43,684 fine plus ordering him to pay $89,172.50 for the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees for enforcing the discovery motion — a total of just under $133,000, a figure which is accruing interest since July for the attorneys’ fees and September for the fine.

Despite his own legal concessions this summer, Giuliani was defiant in interviews during the course of the trial, even shocking many with his comments earlier this week, repeating his false claim that Moss and Freeman “were engaging in changing votes.”

A reporter asked Giuliani if he regretted his comments about the plaintiffs, and he retorted, “Of course I don’t regret it.”

“I told the truth,” he said.

The judge was not amused and chastised Giuliani and his attorneys in court the following day.

CNN’s Devan Cole reported on Moss and Freeman’s reactions to the stunning verdict:

And after the proceedings ended, Freeman and Moss hugged each other tightly. They then each took turns hugging members of their legal team. There was a feeling of jubilation in the courtroom after Giuliani left and the plaintiffs celebrated their win.

This $148 million verdict against Giuliani is but one of many lawsuits pending over false claims related to the 2020 election. A few weeks prior to filing the lawsuit against Giuliani, Moss and Freeman filed a defamation lawsuit against conspiracy theorist blogger Gateway Pundit asserting similar causes of action. Their complaint against Giuliani also named One America News for airing the claims. OAN already settled its part of the complaint for an undisclosed sum.

And in April, Fox News agreed to a whopping $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems on the very morning the trial was supposed to begin. The judge in that case had issued a summary judgment ruling that was broadly viewed as devastating to Fox, finding that all twenty of the “Statements” made on air about Dominion were statements of fact and not protected opinion and it was “CRYSTAL clear” (emphasis in original) that they were all false and constituted defamation per se. The judge also rejected several legal defenses Fox wished to assert as well as the media giant’s efforts to limit damages, finding it a matter for the jury, and at another pretrial hearing, ruled that several key Fox executives, including Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, and Paul Ryan would have to testify live in person at the trial.

A similar lawsuit filed by Smartmatic Voting Systems against Fox News is still pending. A spokesperson for Fox previously sent Mediaite the following statement regarding that lawsuit:

We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial, likely in 2025. As a report prepared by our financial expert shows, Smartmatic’s damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality, and on its face intended to chill First Amendment freedoms.

This is a breaking news story and has been updated.