Rudy Giuliani defamation suit: Judge chastises former mayor for conduct outside court

Rudy Giuliani was admonished by a federal judge on Tuesday after he showed little restraint with the press on Monday, the first day of his defamation trial brought by two Georgia election workers who claim former President Donald Trump’s lawyer ruined their lives by knowingly peddling false information about them committing election fraud. 

Judge Beryl Howell slammed Giuliani for making “additional defamatory comments” about Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss after he told ABC News that he stood by his false statements about the mother and daughter.

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“Everything I said about them is true,” Giuliani, who is also facing disbarment, said. He added that the women “were engaged in changing votes.”

Howell told Giuliani’s attorney Joseph Sibley that his client’s comments “could support another defamation claim.”

When asked if Giuliani denied making those comments, Giuliani loudly said, “Of course I did.”

His lawyer tried arguing the trial had taken a toll on the 80-year-old, which the judge didn’t buy, especially after Sibley said Giuliani was still mentally sharp and could follow instructions. 

As the judge chastised his lawyer, Giuliani reclined in his chair at the defendant’s table and shook his head a few times, according to reporters in the Washington, D.C., courtroom. Giuliani, acting on behalf of Trump, claimed the mother-daughter duo committed fraud while counting ballots in Fulton County, an accusation that was debunked almost immediately yet repeated by Giuliani for months.

He has already been found guilty of defaming the duo. The court proceedings taking place in the nation’s capital will determine how much money he will have to fork over for his comments.

Giuliani is currently facing an indictment in Georgia as well as disbarment as a lawyer. The civil case is the third avenue of accountability he faces and could financially ruin the man who was once lauded as “America’s mayor” in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Freeman and Moss are asking the jury to award them $43 million in compensatory damages, though the eight-person jury seated Monday afternoon could add millions on top as punitive damages.

The facts of the case are not in dispute. Both sides acknowledged in court that Giuliani made false statements about Freeman and Moss. The duo filed the defamation case not only against Giuliani but also One America News Network, a conservative television network, in 2021. The network settled, but Giuliani decided to roll the dice and take his chance in court.

However, he refused to comply with numerous orders to turn over electronic records as part of discovery. His attorney claimed Giuliani lost the data and access to it after federal investigators seized his devices this year, but Howell found the argument unconvincing and said most of the data could be found on the cloud. Howell also ruled that Giuliani’s attempts to circumvent the judicial system were so egregious that it resulted in a default judgment in favor of Moss and Freeman.

The trial currently taking place in Washington, D.C., is to determine how much Giuliani will have to pay the women in damages.

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Moss is expected to take the stand on Tuesday. Giuliani’s lawyer indicated Monday that his client would also take the stand.

The trial is expected to last a week, possibly a week and a half, the judge said.