A federal judge has determined that former mayor of New York City and attorney for Trump, Rudy Giuliani, is responsible for making false and damaging statements about two election workers from Georgia. These statements falsely accused the workers of interfering with the outcome of the 2020 election.
Giuliani will still face a trial in the federal court of Washington, D.C. to determine the amount of compensation he must pay to Ruby Freeman and Wandrea ArShaye Moss for harming their reputations. Judge Beryl A. Howell has already directed Giuliani to pay around $132,000 in penalties, drawing from his personal and business assets. This penalty was imposed due to his failure to provide pertinent information to the plaintiffs.
In the previous month, Giuliani had agreed not to contest the fact that he had made false and damaging statements about the two poll workers. However, he maintained that his statements were protected by the Constitution as free speech and did not cause any harm. On Wednesday, Judge Howell refuted this argument, stating that Giuliani’s admission had significant flaws and likening it to “Swiss cheese.” She pointed out that Giuliani was attempting to sidestep the process of discovery and a proper trial, where his defenses could be thoroughly examined through the adversarial legal process. Furthermore, she accused him of attempting to delay a fair judgment by relying on potential appeals.
Judge Howell made it clear that Giuliani cannot avoid disclosing financial details, including data related to a podcast in which he made negative remarks about the Georgia workers. In addition to this, he is also required to pay penalties for failing to provide this information and other records in a timely manner. Judge Howell warned that if Giuliani persists in non-compliance, the jury responsible for determining compensation may assume that he is deliberately concealing relevant financial information to artificially lower his net worth.
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She suggested that he may be trying to withhold information that could be detrimental to him in other legal cases, both civil and criminal. Earlier this month, Giuliani was charged in Georgia for his alleged involvement in a plan to undermine the election results.
Judge Howell emphasized that just as taking shortcuts to win an election can lead to serious consequences, including potential criminal charges, evading the discovery process is also met with severe penalties. She stated that regardless of any reservations a non-compliant party may have for potential appeals, such actions will not protect them from the repercussions of their actions.