Giuliani ‘hijacked’ lives of two Georgia election workers, lawyer argues

Rudy Giuliani’s baseless claims about two Georgia election workers following the 2020 election “hijacked” their lives and shattered their reputations, the duo’s attorneys told a jury Monday in Washington, D.C.

Giuliani came face-to-face with the two workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss, as a trial kicked off Monday to determine how much the Trump ally must pay the women after a judge found the ex-New York City mayor liable for failing to turn over evidence in the case.

Freeman and Moss are now pursuing upward of $43.5 million in damages, court filings show.

Their attorney, Von DuBose, began his opening statement by playing jurors clips of what he said were hundreds of threatening voicemails left for his clients in the wake of the 2020 election, often including racist statements.

Squarely pinning the blame on Giuliani, DuBose noted that groups at times showed up on Freeman’s doorstep “acting on what Mr. Giuliani told them.”

“It was swift, it was racist, and it was vicious,” DuBose said of the threats.

Joseph Sibley, Giuliani’s attorney, conceded that Freeman and Moss “didn’t deserve” what happened to them.

“There’s really no question that these plaintiffs were harmed. They’re good people,” Sibley said.

But while acknowledging Giuliani did something wrong, Sibley insisted his client should not be held responsible for the deluge of threats levied against Freeman and Moss.

“This was something that other people did independent of Mr. Giuliani,” Sibley said.

Following the 2020 election, Giuliani made the two women an epicenter of the Trump campaign’s unfounded claims of mass electoral fraud.

Giuliani and others claimed the mother-daughter pair scanned ballots hidden in suitcases under tables at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, where votes were being tallied, to tip the election in favor of President Biden. The gravamen of Giuliani’s claims revolved around video footage that he claimed showed the duo passing a USB drive to scan the hidden ballots. In reality, it was a ginger mint.

Freeman and Moss sued Giulaini for defamation, intentionally inflicting emotional distress on them and engaging in a conspiracy with others to do the same. 

Earlier in the day, eight jurors were selected to sit for the damages trial, which is estimated to last four days.

Among the group of eight D.C. residents selected are an accountant for the Girl Scouts, a project manager for Booz Allen Hamilton and a former day care worker.

The former New York City mayor turned Trump attorney was ordered by the judge to be physically present in the courtroom for the duration of the trial. After missing last week’s pre-trial conference, Giuliani was late Monday, entering the sluggish courthouse security line at 9 a.m. — exactly when the proceedings were supposed to begin. 

Monday’s proceedings concluded with the plaintiffs’ first witness, Regina Scott, who testified about her work at a risk-management firm that provided social media monitoring for the duo following the election.

Both Freeman and Moss are expected to testify later in the week. Giuliani is also listed as a potential witness.

At the end of the trial, Sibley said he will provide jurors with an amount of damages he thinks is appropriate. But he signaled the other side’s request would be the “civil equivalent of the death penalty.”

“It will be the end of Mr. Giuliani,” Sibley said.

Speaking to reporters after the trial wrapped up for the day, Giuliani said he would tell his story later in the week when he testifies.

“Of course I don’t regret it, I told the truth,” he said when asked about his post-election statements.

Updated 5:46 p.m.