Judge blasts Giuliani for repeating false voting fraud allegations

WASHINGTON – A federal judge Tuesday excoriated Rudy Giuliani for saying he planned to testify that false voting fraud allegations he made against two former Fulton County election workers are true.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell has already ruled that Giuliani’s claims against Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss are false, and she has found him liable for defaming them. But after the first day of a trial to determine how much Giuliani must pay in damages, the former New York City mayor repeated his debunked claims of election rigging and said he planned to testify in court that his allegations are true.

“When I testify, the whole story will be definitively clear that what I said was true, and that, whatever happened to them—which is unfortunate about other people overreacting—everything I said about them is true,” Giuliani told reporters late Monday outside the federal courthouse.

Attorneys for Freeman and Moss promptly asked the judge to prohibit Giuliani from making such statements in court. On Tuesday, Howell noted that Giuliani had already stipulated in court that his allegations against the election workers were false. And she directed his attorney, Joseph Sibley, to counsel Giuliani against testifying they are true, lest he bring further liability and sanctions upon himself.

“Given all the Georgia official investigations showing those were false statements, at worst he’s perjuring himself to play to some other audience, the audience for his social media outlets,” Howell said Tuesday.

On Monday, Sibley told the court that Freeman and Moss “didn’t deserve what happened to them,” but that Giuliani was not solely to blame.

Tuesday’s exchange comes in a trial in a defamation lawsuit brought by Freeman and Moss against the former New York City mayor and attorney for Donald Trump. Following the 2020 presidential election, Giuliani, Trump and others accused Freeman and Moss of double-counting ballots and other illegal acts.

Investigators with the FBI, the GBI and the secretary of state investigated and quickly debunked the allegations. But Giuliani and others continued to make the false claims.

As a result, the election workers say they endured death threats and harassment that continue to this day. Last summer Howell ruled Giuliani is liable for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and conspiracy.

This week’s trial will determine how much Giuliani must pay in damages. The plaintiffs are seeking up to $47 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages to deter such behavior in the future.

Freeman, Moss and Giuliani all are expected to testify this week.