A federal judge delivered on Wednesday a default judgment against former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, saying that the former New York City mayor is liable for defaming two Georgia election workers.
U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell wrote in a 57-page ruling that Giuliani flagrantly violated her orders and failed to produce evidence related to his claims that election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea’ ArShaye Moss mishandled ballots in the 2020 presidential election.
Howell, an appointee of President Barack Obama, ordered Giuliani to pay approximately $133,000 in sanctions for attorneys’ fees for the plaintiffs in the civil conspiracy lawsuit.
“Just as taking shortcuts to win an election carries risks — even potential criminal liability — bypassing the discovery process carries serious sanctions, no matter what reservations a noncompliant party may try artificially to preserve for appeal,” Howell wrote.
Giuliani, who as a prosecutor effectively targeted the Mafia and as mayor cleaned up the city of New York before becoming an advisor to former President Donald Trump, is named in the sweeping racketeering indictment against Trump and 17 other co-defendants on charges related to an alleged conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election.
Charging documents claimed Giuliani alleged election fraud occurred in Georgia. Prosecutors have claimed he participated in a scheme to have 16 Georgia Republicans calling themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors and swear Trump had won the 2020 presidential election.
Giuliani accused Freeman and Moss of manipulating ballots during Georgia’s vote-counting process in the presidential election. The indictment alleges in part that Giuliani made “false statements” to Georgia legislators related to the accusations on Freeman and Moss.
Freeman and Moss sued Giuliani and One America News Network in 2021 with claims of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy.
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They wrote Giuliani’s claims “led to an immediate onslaught of violent and racist threats and harassment” that left them “afraid to live normal lives,” Axios reported. A judge later dismissed the network from the defamation lawsuit after the plaintiffs reached a settlement.
In a court filing last month, Giuliani conceded that he had made “false” statements about the election workers that were “defamatory per se,” according to The New York Times.
Judge Howell ordered the case to proceed to trial to determine the further damages Giuliani could owe, which reportedly could amount to thousands if not millions of dollars. The judge also ordered Giuliani to submit financial documents and records related to revenue and viewership for his “Common Sense” podcast before September 20.
In response to the ruling, Giuliani’s political adviser Ted Goodman told ABC News that the judge’s “57 page opinion on discovery — which would usually be no more than two or three pages — is a prime example of the weaponization of the justice system, where the process is the punishment.”
“This decision should be reversed,” Goodman added.
Last week, Giuliani made a statement on before leaving for Georgia, where he surrendered at the Fulton County jail after being charged in the racketeering indictment.
“I’m going down to Georgia and I’m feeling very, very good about it because I feel like I’m defending the rights of all Americans as I did so many times as a United States attorney,” Giuliani stated. “People like to say I’m different; I’m the same Rudy Giuliani that took down the Mafia, that made New York City the safest city in America, reduced crime more than any mayor in the history of any city, anywhere. And I’m fighting for justice; I have been for the first moment I represented Donald Trump.”
Giuliani then echoed Trump’s claim that the targeting of Trump portended the federal government coming after the average citizen.
“Now whether you dislike or you like Donald Trump, let me give you a warning: they’re gonna come for you. When the political winds shift, as they always do, let us pray that Republicans are more honest, more trustworthy, and more American than these people in charge of this government. Because if our government is conducted this way, and the system of justice is politicized and criminalized for politics, your rights are in jeopardy and your children’s.”
“Donald Trump told you this: they weren’t just coming for him, or me,” Giuliani asserted. “Now they’ve indicted people, in this case I don’t even know who they are. These are just regular people making a normal living. They’re going to bankrupt them. They won’t convict them.”
Hank Berrien contributed to this report.