The former mayor of New York, Rudy Giulianiwas ordered Friday to pay $148 million for defamation against two Georgia election officials he accused of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The former attorney for the former President of the United States Donald Trump (2017-2021), accused without evidence Ruby Freeman and his daughter, Shaye Mossof manipulating the results in Georgia, where Democrat Joe Biden narrowly defeated Trump.
A federal judge in Washington found Giuliani guilty of defamation of the two women in August, and after two days of deliberations, a popular jury ruled this Friday that he must pay $148 million in damages to the victims. According to the local press, Giuliani has numerous financial problems and has not yet posted the $200,000 fine imposed on him in August for the same case.
“I have no regrets,” the Republican politician said as he left the courthouse, where he repeated to the press his conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was rigged.
For her part, Shaye Moss told reporters that Giuliani’s lies changed her and her mother’s lives and that the last two years have been “devastating” for both of them.
In 2020, Guliani and the Trump campaign released a video of Freeman and Moss at a polling station in Georgia and falsely claimed that the women were carrying suitcases full of votes. During the trial, Giuliani’s defense admitted that his client had made a mistake, but claimed that the former mayor was actually “a good man” and that the sum demanded by the two women was too high.
The Republican did not testify in the trial because his lawyers recommended it. At last Wednesday’s hearing, Ruby Freeman gave emotional testimony about the racist threats and insults she and her daughter, both African American, have faced since the presidential election.
“Giuliani ruined my life,” said the woman, who still says she is “afraid” to say his name in public places. For his part, the former mayor defended that his behavior was protected by freedom of expression.
Donald Trump is being tried in two lawsuits, one in federal court in Washington and another in state court in Georgia, over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, in which he lost to Biden. Giuliani is charged in the Georgia case as Trump’s accomplice in the criminal conspiracy. According to the local press, the former mayor had unsuccessfully asked Trump for money to cover the costs of his legal cases.