Rudy Giuliani Is Found Liable for Defaming Georgia Poll Workers

livemint.com:

Atlanta. Using selectively edited video footage, Giuliani spread a theory that the two women removed ballots from suitcases underneath tables. Then-President Donald Trump also pushed the false claims about Moss and Freeman.

Georgia election officials debunked the claim. Security footage showed that counting hadn’t ended for the evening, and that the “suitcases" were standard ballot containers. In a December 2021 lawsuit, Moss and Freeman said Giuliani tarnished their reputations and caused them to receive a wave of death threats.

Last month, a District of Columbia-based disciplinary panel recommended Giuliani be disbarred for his “frivolous" efforts on behalf of Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Giuliani is one of Trump’s co-defendants in the racketeering case brought by Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis. In that case, several defendants are charged with joining a harassment campaign that led to death threats against Moss and Freeman.

Goodman, the Giuliani spokesman, has said the Georgia indictment “eviscerates the First Amendment and criminalizes the ruling regime’s number one political opponent for daring to ask questions about the 2020 election results." In a court filing last month, Giuliani said he wouldn’t contest the claim by Freeman and Moss that he falsely accused them of manipulating votes in the 2020 election. That declaration didn’t end the lawsuit. Giuliani said in the filing that he “believes he still has legal defenses" in the case, including that “his statements are constitutionally protected statements or opinions." Giuliani said he also would contest that he owes damages to Moss and Freeman.