NonilexAug 30, 2023

#Giuliani Is #Liable for #Defaming #Georgia #ElectionWorkers, Judge Says

The #ruling means that a #defamation case against Rudolph W. Giuliani, stemming from his role in seeking to overturn the #2020election to illegally keep #Trump in power, can proceed to a #trial where #damages will be set.

#RubyFreeman #ShayeMoss
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/30/us/politics/giuliani-defamation-georgia.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Giuliani Is Liable for Defaming Georgia Election Workers, Judge Says

The ruling means that a defamation case against Rudolph W. Giuliani, stemming from his role in seeking to overturn the 2020 election, can proceed to a trial where damages will be considered.

The New York Times
Show threadNonilexAug 30, 2023

Judge Howell’s decision came a little more than a month after #Giuliani conceded in two stipulations in the case that he had made false statements (aka #lies) when he accused the election workers, #RubyFreeman & #ShayeMoss, of manipulating ballots while working at the State Farm Arena for the #FultonCounty Board of Elections.

#law #legal #justice #defamation
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/26/us/politics/giuliani-georgia-election-workers.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Giuliani Concedes He Made False Statements About Georgia Election Workers

Rudolph W. Giuliani said he still had “legal defenses” in a case brought by two election workers who said he had defamed them as he asserted that the 2020 election was marred by fraud.

The New York Times
Show threadNonilex
#Giuliani later sought to explain that his stipulations were solely meant to get past a dispute w/ Ms. Freeman & Ms. Moss about discovery evidence in the case & move toward dismissing the allegations outright. But #JudgeHowell, complaining that Giuliani’s stipulations “hold more holes than Swiss cheese,” took the proactive step of declaring him #liable for “#defamation, #IntentionalInflictionOfEmotionalDistress, civil #conspiracy & #punitive damage claims.”
Aug 30, 2023 at 4:11pmWeb
Show threadNonilexAug 30, 2023
The lawsuit filed by #RubyFreeman & #ShayeMoss in Dec 2021 was among the first to be brought by individual #ElectionWorkers who found themselves dragged into the alternate universe of #RightWing #politicians & #media figures who claimed that #Trump had won the election. The two women had originally sued other defendants, including the One America News Network (#OANN) & some of its top ofcls, but ultimately #settled the case against everyone except #Giuliani.
Show threadNonilexAug 30, 2023

#RubyFreeman & #ShayeMoss (related)…what happened after #Giuliani amplified false claims that they had pulled thousands of fraudulent ballots from a suitcase …& illegally fed them through voting machines.

Although #FultonCounty & #Georgia ofcls IMMEDIATELY DEBUNKED the accusations, Giuliani kept promoting them, ultimately comparing the women —both of whom are Black— to drug dealers & calling during a hearing w/GA state legislators for their homes to be searched.

#Racism #Racist #DogWhistle

Show threadNonilexAug 30, 2023

#Trump invoked #RubyFreeman’s name 18 times during a (recorded) phone call w/Brad #Raffensperger, the #Georgia secy of state, on Jan. 2, 2021. In the call, Trump asked Raffensperger to help him “find” 11,800 votes — enough to swing the results in GA from the winner, Joseph R. #Biden Jr.

“I’ve lost my name, & I’ve lost my reputation,” Ms. Freeman testified to the House panel, adding…, “Do you know how it feels to have the president of the United States target you?”