Two former Fulton County election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, seek between $15.5 and $43 million in their defamation lawsuit against former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.
In new court filings, attorneys for the mother-daughter duo say Giuliani could be called to the stand. A federal judge deemed the former NYC mayor responsible in August 2023 after saying Giuliani gave “only lip service” to agreeing to his legal obligations while trying to label himself as the victim in the case. He has already been ordered to pay the two Georgia women over $230,000 in legal fees.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell described his punishment as necessary, based on Giuliani ignoring his duty as a defendant to submit the information Freeman and Moss requested in their lawsuit.
In a statement, Freeman and Moss said they were “living a nightmare” amid a “wave of hatred and threats” because of Giuliani. “Nothing can restore all we lost,
but today’s ruling is yet another neutral finding that has confirmed what we have known all along that there was never any truth to any of the accusations about us and that we did nothing wrong,” the statement read. “We were smeared for purely political reasons, and the people responsible can and should be held accountable.”It started in December 2021, after the women accused Giuliani of defaming them by falsely claiming they were committing fraud while counting 2020 election ballots at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. According to the lawsuit, the former Trump confidant continued to smear their names by accusing them of pulling names out of
suitcases of illegal ballots, as well as other acts of fraud, to change the outcome of the election.Freeman and Moss’s legal team came up with the amount to include costs correlating to Moss’ loss of work and her “need to secure and relocate from her home.”
Giuliani has a growing list of people he owes. His former attorney, Bob Costello, is suing him for over $1 million for unpaid invoices. Another former business colleague is seeking damages after filing a sexual harassment claim against him. President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, is also suing Giuliani, accusing him of mishandling personal data.