Jury deliberation began Thursday in Rudy Giuliani’s defamation trial. The jury could return as soon as Friday with a decision on how much Giuliani will have to pay out to Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss for his repeated false accusations of election fraud.
Giuliani had stated that he would testify in the case while repeating his false claims in an appearance outside the courthouse on Monday. “When I testify, the whole story will be definitively clear that what I said was true,” Giuliani told reporters, ”and that, whatever happened to them—which is unfortunate about other people overreacting—everything I said about them is true.”
But Giuliani did not appear to testify on Thursday. In the end, the only defense mounted by Giuliani’s attorney was an attempt to claim that other right-wing sources had contributed to the threats leveled at Freeman and Moss. That attorney was left begging the jury. “If you award them what they are asking for, it will be the end of Mr. Giuliani.”
Giuliani’s attorney Joseph Sibley didn’t try to deny what Giuliani had said, or that the lies leveled against the mother and daughter, who served as election workers in Atlanta, had generated genuine harm. However, he claimed that the initial accusations against the women were made by right-wing conspiracy site Gateway Pundit, and that the false claims were already circulating among supporters of Donald Trump before Giuliani joined in the lies.
“There’s no question these claimants were harmed,” said Sibley. “They didn’t deserve what happened to them. But what happened to them happened because of a controversy involving a lot of people, not just Rudy Giuliani.”
Sibley claimed that Giuliani is “a good man” and that awarding a large settlement would be “the civil equivalent of the death penalty.”
Attorney Michael Gottlieb for Freeman and Moss asked for $24 million each for the two women. During his closing statement, he read a passage from Giuliani’s 2002 book, “Leadership,” in which the former Trump attorney wrote, “Never pick on someone smaller than you. Never be a bully.” Gottlieb recounted some of the hundreds of threats Freeman and Moss have received, and asked the jury to “send a message” that Giuliani had no right to “offer up defenseless civil servants to a virtual mob.”
Giuliani was present in court on Thursday, but slipped out without talking to the press. The jury did not deliberate overnight. It was scheduled to resume this morning with the possibility that they could return a verdict announcing the level of fine as early as Friday afternoon.
The case leveled against Giuliani falls in the category of an “intentional tort.” This is a wrongful act that didn’t occur by accident, or through a lack of knowledge. It’s a deliberate malicious action. It doesn’t matter if the perpetrator intended that the victims of such actions should come to harm, only that they did it purposely and harm was generated.
In rewards from an intentional tort, bankruptcy is not a protection. Should Freeman and Moss be awarded large settlements that seem possible, Giuliani could be paying off his debt to the women for the rest of his life.
Giuliani repeating his false claims on Monday also raises the possibility that Freeman and Moss could decide to sue him a second time for his continued defamation. Giuliani has not apologized or issued a retraction of his claims.
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Giuliani had stated that he would testify in the case while repeating his false claims in an appearance outside the courthouse on Monday. “When I testify, the whole story will be definitively clear that what I said was true,” Giuliani told reporters, ”and that, whatever happened to them—which is unfortunate about other people overreacting—everything I said about them is true.”
But Giuliani did not appear to testify on Thursday. In the end, the only defense mounted by Giuliani’s attorney was an attempt to claim that other right-wing sources had contributed to the threats leveled at Freeman and Moss. That attorney was left begging the jury. “If you award them what they are asking for, it will be the end of Mr. Giuliani.”
Giuliani’s attorney Joseph Sibley didn’t try to deny what Giuliani had said, or that the lies leveled against the mother and daughter, who served as election workers in Atlanta, had generated genuine harm. However, he claimed that the initial accusations against the women were made by right-wing conspiracy site Gateway Pundit, and that the false claims were already circulating among supporters of Donald Trump before Giuliani joined in the lies.
“There’s no question these claimants were harmed,” said Sibley. “They didn’t deserve what happened to them. But what happened to them happened because of a controversy involving a lot of people, not just Rudy Giuliani.”
Sibley claimed that Giuliani is “a good man” and that awarding a large settlement would be “the civil equivalent of the death penalty.”
Attorney Michael Gottlieb for Freeman and Moss asked for $24 million each for the two women. During his closing statement, he read a passage from Giuliani’s 2002 book, “Leadership,” in which the former Trump attorney wrote, “Never pick on someone smaller than you. Never be a bully.” Gottlieb recounted some of the hundreds of threats Freeman and Moss have received, and asked the jury to “send a message” that Giuliani had no right to “offer up defenseless civil servants to a virtual mob.”
Giuliani was present in court on Thursday, but slipped out without talking to the press. The jury did not deliberate overnight. It was scheduled to resume this morning with the possibility that they could return a verdict announcing the level of fine as early as Friday afternoon.
The case leveled against Giuliani falls in the category of an “intentional tort.” This is a wrongful act that didn’t occur by accident, or through a lack of knowledge. It’s a deliberate malicious action. It doesn’t matter if the perpetrator intended that the victims of such actions should come to harm, only that they did it purposely and harm was generated.
In rewards from an intentional tort, bankruptcy is not a protection. Should Freeman and Moss be awarded large settlements that seem possible, Giuliani could be paying off his debt to the women for the rest of his life.
Giuliani repeating his false claims on Monday also raises the possibility that Freeman and Moss could decide to sue him a second time for his continued defamation. Giuliani has not apologized or issued a retraction of his claims.
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