WASHINGTON (AP) — Jury selection began Monday in the federal case that will determine how much Rudy Giuliani may have to pay two Georgia election officials he falsely accused of fraud while pushing Donald Trump’s post-election baseless claims in 2020
The former mayor of New York already found responsible in the defamation lawsuit filed by Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wondrea “Shay” Moss, who suffered threats and harassment after becoming the target of a conspiracy theory propagated by Trump and his allies. The only issue to be decided at trial is the amount of damages, if any, that Giuliani must pay.
Giuliani did not speak to reporters as he entered the federal courthouse in Washington — the same building where Trump is scheduled to stand trial in March on criminal charges accusing the former president of plotting to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden.
The defamation suit is among many legal and financial woes mounting for Giuliani, who was known as “America’s Mayor” after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and became one of the most zealous promoters of Trump’s campaign lies.
So is Giuliani criminally indicted along with Trump and others in the Georgia case, accusing them of trying to illegally overturn the state’s election results. Giuliani has pleaded not guilty and says he had every right to raise questions about what he says was election fraud.
He was judged in September by a former lawyer who claimed Giuliani paid only a fraction of the estimated $1.6 million in legal fees stemming from investigations into his efforts to keep Trump in the White House. And the judge overseeing the election workers’ case has already ordered Giuliani and his business units to pay tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees.
The defamation case is being overseen by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who is well-versed in Trump-related matters as she served as the chief judge in Washington’s federal court throughout Trump’s presidency.
In that role, former President Barack Obama’s appointee made several important decisions, including designating in 2020 that the House of Representatives was entitled to secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and, more recently, issuing a sealed opinion requiring Trump’s lawyer to testify before a grand jury about his objections in investigation into the misuse of classified documents.
Moss has worked for the Fulton County Elections Department since 2012 and managed the absentee voting operation during the 2020 election. Freeman was an interim elections official, verifying signatures on ballots and preparing them for counting and processing.
Giuliani and other Trump allies used surveillance footage to push a conspiracy theory that election officials removed fake ballots from suitcases. The claims were quickly debunked by Georgia election officials, who found no ballot miscounting.
The women said the false allegations led to a barrage of violent threats and harassment that at one point forced Freeman to leave her home for more than two months. In emotional testimony before the US House Committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol, Moss said he received an onslaught of threatening and racist messages.
In an August ruling holding Giuliani accountable in the case, Howell said the Trump adviser had “only paid lip service” to his legal duties and failed to turn over information requested by the mother and daughter. The judge said in October that Giuliani had blatantly ignored an order to produce documents regarding his personal and business assets. She said jurors deciding the amount of damages will be told they must conclude that Giuliani deliberately tried to hide financial documents in the hope of “artificially reducing his net worth.”
Giuliani admitted in July, which he did public comments falsely alleging that Freeman and Moss committed fraud while counting ballots at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. But Giuliani argued that the statements were protected by the First Amendment.
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Richer reported from Boston. AP Video journalist Nathan Elgren and AP reporter Eric Tucker contributed from Washington.
