Rudy Giuliani, one of former President Donald Trump’s most bombastic allies who has routinely spread lies about the 2020 presidential election being stolen, was ordered Friday to pay two Georgia poll workers $148 million for defamation.
Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss filed a civil lawsuit against Giuliani after he falsely accused them of helping steal the 2020 presidential election from Trump.
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Attorneys for the mother and daughter had asked the court for $24 million each, claiming their reputations had been destroyed by Giuliani. In the end, eight jurors tacked on an additional $100 million in damages after the federal judge in the case issued a default judgment against Giuliani in August.
The former Trump lawyer and onetime New York mayor had been on trial for the past week in Washington, D.C.
Giuliani told reporters he would testify to clear his name but ended up not taking the stand in a surprise reversal. However, he didn’t stay quiet for long after the jury came back with its multimillion-dollar ruling. He slammed the court, the amount awarded, and vowed to appeal.
“I don’t regret a damn thing!” a defiant Giuliani said.
So what’s next for him? Does he have enough money to cover the damages awarded? How did the jury get to a number so high? And will Giuliani appeal, or is he all talk?
Will Giuliani appeal?
Yes.
Giuliani told reporters outside the federal courthouse that he would appeal.
“The absurdity of the number merely underscores the absurdity of the entire proceeding,” he said.
Giuliani added that he was “quite confident” that the case would be “reversed” on appeal once it “gets before a fair tribunal.”
“The election of 2020 has to be exposed because if not, our country will no longer be a democracy,” he said. “I know that. I know that in detail.”
How did the jury come up with the monetary amount?
While in most civil defamation trials, jurors have to decide whether the statements made were defamatory, in this one, it had already been determined Giuliani had defamed Freeman and Moss. Therefore, jurors were left only to decide how much money Giuliani would have to pay in damages.
Ashlee Humphreys, a professor and sociologist at Northwestern University, testified it would cost about $48 million to repair their reputations through a social media campaign.
Moss and Freeman’s attorney, Michael Gottlieb, said during his closing statement that Moss would have made about $800,000 over her lifetime if she had been able to stay in her election worker role, which paid $39,000 a year. Jurors had asked for more information about the calculations and a copy of a slide show that was shown in court. In the end, they came out with a lower total of $33 million versus $48 million for two women together.
However, regarding punitive damages, the jurors were on their own about how much of an emotional toll Giuliani’s comments cost Moss and Freeman.
Does Giuliani have enough money to cover the $148 million judgment?
Giuliani’s net worth is estimated to be less than $50 million, based on his attorney’s comments in court that the damages sought by Moss and Freeman would “be the end” of him.
Less than two decades ago, his net worth was more than $50 million, with $15 million coming from his business activities, including his work with lobbying firm Giuliani Partners, CNN reported. At the time, he earned about $17 million a year.
Does Giuliani regret what he said?
Doesn’t seem like it.
Not only was he admonished multiple times this week by the judge for continuing to defame the plaintiffs on social media, but he said as much following the verdict.
“I don’t regret a damn thing!” he said.
He added that he knows election fraud took place.
“I know that my country had a president imposed on it by fraud,” he said, adding that his claims weren’t “conspiracy theories” but “proven facts.”
He falsely claimed he wasn’t allowed to prove his point in court.
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What do the plaintiffs think?
“The lies Rudy Giuliani told about me and my mommy after the 2020 presidential election have changed our lives, and the past few years have been devastating,” Moss said. “The flame that Giuliani lit with those lies and passed to so many others to keep that flame blazing changed every aspect of our lives — our homes, our family, our work, our sense of safety, our mental health. And we’re still working to rebuild. As we move forward and continue to seek justice, our greatest wish is that no one ever experiences anything like what we went through.”
