Dec. 11 (UPI) — Rudy Giuliani will appear in a federal courtroom Monday for the start of a civil trial that will determine how much compensatory and punitive damages he’ll pay a pair of Georgia election workers after he was found guilty in August of defaming them.
The former New York mayor, who served as personal lawyer to President Donald Trump during the contentious 2020 election, was found liable of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy as part of a default judgment handed down by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell.
The trial is expected to last as long as five days, according to a court brief reviewed by UPI.
In recent months Giuliani has asserted that he is unable to pay mounting legal bills resulting from his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, although he has not yet disclosed his latest financial statements.
The civil case arose three years ago in the aftermath of the 2020 vote, when Giuliani falsely claimed that Fulton County election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea’ ArShaye Moss were caught processing “suitcases” of illegal ballots during the vote count in a bid to overturn the results.
Following the allegations, the Georgia Election Board launched a full investigation, while Freeman and Moss — suddenly thrust into the national spotlight — came under intense public scrutiny and faced fierce condemnation in conservative circles, with false claims by Trump suggesting their involvement in manipulating votes in the battleground to favor Joe Biden.
Back in June, investigators from Georgia’s Secretary of State’s office, along with special agents from the FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation dismissed all fraud charges against both women as “false and unsubstantiated.”
At the time of Giuliani’s conviction, the 79-year-old attorney was ordered to pay $133,000 in fines for failing to turn over electronic documents and other evidence sought in the civil case against him.
“The bottom line is that Giuliani has refused to comply with his discovery obligations and thwarted plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and Wandrea’ ArShaye Moss’ procedural rights to obtain any meaningful discovery in this case,” Howell said in the ruling.
Giuliani, who was praised once as “America’s mayor” for his leadership in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, faces 13 criminal charges for his alleged role in Trump’s scheme to undermine the 2020 election in Georgia.
In a separate matter, Giuliani faces a nearly $1.4 million lawsuit from a lawyer who represented him in various legal matters over unpaid bills.
