Jury selection began on Monday in the federal court case to determine if and how much Rudy Giuliani will have to pay two Georgia election workers he falsely accused of fraud while pushing Donald Trump’s baseless claims following the 2020 election.
The former New York City mayor has already been found liable in the defamation lawsuit brought by Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who were subjected to threats and harassment after they became the target of a conspiracy theory spread by Trump and his allies. The only issue to be decided at the trial is the amount of damages Giuliani must pay.
Giuliani did not comment to the press as he entered the Washington federal courthouse, the same building where Trump will stand trial in March on criminal charges accusing the former president of conspiring to overturn the election results in his favor.
The defamation case is among the many legal and financial woes mounting for Giuliani, who was praised as “America’s mayor” in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack and became one of the most vocal promoters of Trump’s election lies. Giuliani is also criminally charged alongside Trump and others in the Georgia case accusing them of trying to illegally overturn the election results in the state. Giuliani has pleaded not guilty and maintains he had every right to raise questions about what he believed to be election fraud.
Giuliani is also being sued in September by a former lawyer who alleges Giuliani only paid a fraction of the approximately $1.6 million in legal fees stemming from investigations into his efforts to keep Trump in the White House. Moreover, the judge overseeing the election workers’ lawsuit has already ordered Giuliani and his business entities to pay tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees.
District Judge Beryl Howell, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, is in charge of the defamation case. Howell is well-versed in handling matters related to Trump, having served as chief judge of Washington’s federal court for the entirety of Trump’s presidency. In that role, she made several significant rulings, including determining in 2020 that the House of Representatives was entitled to secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and, more recently, issuing an order requiring a lawyer for Trump to testify before the grand jury over his objections in an investigation into the mishandling of classified documents.
Moss had worked for the Fulton County elections department since 2012 and supervised the absentee ballot operation during the 2020 election. Freeman was a temporary election worker, verifying signatures on absentee ballots and preparing them to be counted and processed.
Giuliani and other Trump allies seized on surveillance footage to push a conspiracy theory that the election workers pulled fraudulent ballots out of suitcases. The claims were quickly debunked by Georgia election officials, who found no improper counting of ballots.
The women have said the false claims led to a barrage of violent threats and harassment that at one point led Freeman to leave her home for more than two months. In emotional testimony before the U.S. House Committee that investigated the U.S. Capitol attack, Moss recounted receiving an onslaught of threatening and racist messages.
In an August decision holding Giuliani liable in the case, Howell said the Trump adviser gave “only lip service” to complying with his legal obligations and had failed to turn over information requested by the mother and daughter. The judge in October said that Giuliani had flagrantly disregarded an order to provide documents concerning his personal and business assets. She said that jurors deciding the amount of damages would be told they must infer that Giuliani was intentionally trying to hide financial documents in the hopes of “artificially deflating his net worth.”
Giuliani conceded in July that he made public comments falsely claiming Freeman and Moss committed fraud while counting ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. However, Giuliani argued that the statements were protected by the First Amendment.
The jury selection process for the defamation case is an important step in the fight for justice for Freeman and Moss, and an opportunity to hold Giuliani accountable for his actions. It also serves as a reminder of the power of the truth and the need to stand up to those who spread lies and misinformation.
Ultimately, the trial will serve as a reminder to all public figures and those in positions of power that truth and justice will always prevail, and that those who attempt to deceive and manipulate the public will be held accountable for their actions.
