The big lie of electoral theft spread by Donald Trump is going to cost Rudy Giuliani $148 million, one of his most active henchmen in the fabrication of this attempt to overturn the will of the citizens in 2020.
The one who was once “the mayor of America”, ‘Time’ magazine’s person of the year in 2001 for his (supposed) leadership in New York after the 9/11 attacks, and today Trump’s lawyer who has fallen into disgrace and totally discredited, he was sentenced by the jury to pay that amount as compensation to two election workers whom he repeatedly and falsely accused of fraud and having manipulated the polls in the state of Georgia.
This Friday, the eight members of the jury awarded Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea ‘Shaye’ Moss, that sum of nearly 150 million after four days of oral hearings in Washington. During the trial, the two women testified that Giuliani lied in support of the former president with falsehoods about the electoral theft using proclamations that contained a torrent of racist accusations (they are African-American) and violent threats against both of them, which turned their lives into an ordeal. .
Upon leaving the room, Giuliani continued lying. He said that the trial had not been fair because he had not been able to present evidence for his defense, which was incorrect because, in any case, all that evidence has been distorted and discarded by other courts. He also justified that he did not testify in the courtroom because he knows that Judge Beryl Howell, with the slightest mistake, could send him to jail. “He has a reputation for that,” he added. It seems clear that he did not testify because, outside the room, he insisted on repeating the lies about the two election employees and that, under oath, could cost him dearly. He even more expensive.
He hinted that he will appeal, seeking a “fairer” result and this appeal, he maintained, further facilitates what he described as “disproportionate” compensation. If one thing is clear, it is that, unless Trump comes to the rescue, there are many doubts that Giuliani cannot afford that payment, so he could face other consequences. It is true, however, that someone has been financing him to pay his lawyers and the expenses of this case.
“The lies Giuliani told have changed our lives. The last two years have been devastating,” Moss explained once the ruling was known. “It has been devastating for me at home, in the family, at work, I am in psychological treatment,” he confessed due to the persecution they have suffered by the hordes encouraged by Giuliani.
“I am pleased that the jury held Giuliani accountable, but he is not the only one who must be held accountable,” said Freeman, the mother. “All the money they give us will never repair what we have suffered. I miss my house, my neighbors and I miss my name,” she lamented.
Freeman testified Wednesday that she was terrified because she was terrified of the persecution unleashed by Trumpists after Giuliani’s publicly spoken words. She had to leave her home due to the stalking she suffered after the baseless accusations made by Trump’s employee.
“I felt terrified every time I came home at night,” she said from the stand with more than visible emotion. “I was just terrified and had to move,” she insisted.
His lawyer, Michael Gottliebe, stated in his final report that Giuliani “had no right to put defenseless officials before a virtual mob to overturn the election.” He urged the jury to “send a message with their verdict.”
The lawyer indicated that mother and daughter should each receive at least 24 million for damages caused by Giuliani’s defamations, as well as additional money for damage and emotional stress and claims for punitive damages.
In its verdict, the jury established more than 16 million each for defamation, 20 million respectively for emotional distress and a total of 75 million for punitive damage.
Joseph Sibley, Giuliani’s defender, reported in his initial report that a harsh verdict (with a high compensation) “would be the civil equivalent of the death penalty” for his client. “It will be the end of Giuliani,” he insisted. But in his final statement he acknowledged that his client “had committed unlawful conduct” against the two women and caused them harm, although he asked the jury to keep in mind what Giuliani did in his life.
“They must send the message that it had to be better, but that it is not as bad as the plaintiffs say about it,” he advised. In vain. The jury only had to decide the amount of money. Giuliani had already been found responsible last August for the pain he caused mother and daughter in the name of Trump’s lies and bigotry.
Despite the investigations, in which it was conclusively demonstrated that the two women did not commit anything wrong, nor did they hide or insert votes, Giuliani continued to accuse them of fraud. In statements to the press on the first day of this trial, the former New York mayor assured that “when I testify you will have the whole story and it will definitely be clear that what I said was true.”
Giuliani did not have the courage to take the stand.