Former New York City Mayor Rudy Gialiani's defamation trial begins in Washington and the former Donald Trump attorney could face $43 million in damages.
The trial is expected to last four days and marks the first step in a months-long legal battle between Giuliani and former Georgia election workers Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and Ruby Freeman. The latter two accused the former of smearing them following the 2020 election when he served as the head of Trump's legal team.
Rudy Giuliani's Defamation Trial
Giuliani's trial is putting on public display for the first time a Washington, D.C., jury on the actions of Trump's lawyers and campaign. It comes months before the former president is scheduled to go to trial on criminal charges related to his alleged 2020 election subversion efforts.
The former New York mayor's efforts also factor into the criminal allegations against the Republican businessman. Trump and his legal team and campaign are legally considered co-conspirators in the defamation case, as per CNN.
On Monday, an attorney for Freeman and Moss leaned on Giuliani's own words and social media posts during opening statements as he argued that the former Trump attorney had a devastating impact on their lives.
Giuliani has already been found liable for defamation and now owes Freeman and Moss more than $230,000. This came after he failed to respond to parts of the two plaintiffs' lawsuit. The mother and daughter are now seeking tens of millions of dollars as they claim that they suffered emotional and reputational harm as well as having their safety put at risk.
This was after Giuliani singled them out when he made false claims of ballot tampering in Georgia during the 2020 election. They are asking the Washington jury to consider awarding them between $15.5 million and $43 million for the reputational damage that they suffered alone from a series of specific statements made by Giuliani and several others.
On the other hand, Giuliani's lawyer told jurors that the tens of millions of dollars that Freeman and Moss were seeking would "be the end of Mr. Giuliani." He likened an award of that scale to a civil death penalty, according to the New York Times.
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Up To $43 Million in Damages
Joseph Sibley IV made the assertion during his opening statement on the first of his client's defamation trial. A lawyer for Freeman and Moss, Michael J. Gottlieb said that the former New York mayor's false accusations led to a "campaign of defamation and emotional terror" against his clients.
Gottlieb argued that the two women were forced to move out of their homes for safety and security after receiving thousands of threats that followed. He added that his clients' names became synonymous with crime, cheating, and fraud.
Court reporters said that Giuliani also exhibited strange behavior during the first day of his defamation trial on Monday. These included showing up roughly eight minutes after Howell had already taken the bench.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Kyle Cheney said that there was minimal eye contact between the former New York mayor and anyone else in the courtroom. This includes Freeman, Mose, and the judge in the case.
Furthermore, Giuliani remained seated even after the courtroom deputy asked everyone to rise for the judge as they took a 10-minute break. There were also witnesses who saw his belt still undone as it hung at his waist, said Newsweek.
