WASHINGTON – A federal jury ordered Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s campaign lawyer, to pay $148 million in damages to two 2020 Georgia election workers for falsely accusing them of election fraud.
The verdict for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss, represents a huge reversal for the former federal prosecutor and onetime mayor of New York, who became known as “America’s mayor” for his response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
“I know that my country had a president imposed on it by fraud,” Giuliani told reporters outside the courthouse. When asked for evidence of his unproven conspiracy theories, he replied: “These are not conspiracy theories. These are proven facts. I’m not allowed to present it.”
He vowed to appeal in a strident social media post.
Gasps in the courtroom
“The absurdity of the amount is indicative of the absurdity and unfairness of the entire proceeding,” Giuliani said. “It bore no resemblance to a trial in a country with the rule of law. I wasn’t able to offer any evidence in my defense. We’ll have more to say and look forward to the appeal.”
There was an audible gasp in the courtroom when the jury foreperson read aloud the damages. The jury awarded Freeman nearly $16.2 million and Moss nearly $17 million in defamation damages, $20 million each for the intentional infliction of emotional distress and a combined $75 million in punitive damages.
Freeman and Moss hugged their attorneys after the jury left the courtroom and didn’t look at…
