Rudy Giuliani is having one heck of a time in Georgia. On top of being indicted for allegedly attempting to interfere with the 2020 election results at the behest of Donald Trump, Giuliani just lost a defamation lawsuit filed by two Georgia election workers.
In a scathing ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell, Giuliani was found legally liable for defaming Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss by spending weeks falsely accusing the two women of manipulating ballots. By putting them at the center of Trump’s election conspiracy theories, Freeman and Moss endured levels of harassment that could result in criminal charges stemming from the Fulton County indictment.
Giuliani was slammed by the judge for “flagrantly” violating her orders to provide discovery materials, resulting in a default judgment against the disgraced attorney. A trial will take place, but solely to determine how much a jury should award in damages plus nearly $90,000 in legal fees, which Giuliani has been ordered to reimburse.
Via Politico:
Howell, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said in her ruling Wednesday that she considered it possible that Giuliani concluded that dodging his obligations related to the election workers’ lawsuit make sense strategically to avoid giving fodder to prosecutors or lawyers pursuing other cases.
“Perhaps, he has made the calculation that his overall litigation risks are minimized by not complying with his discovery obligations in this case,” Howell wrote. “Whatever the reason, obligations are case specific and withholding required discovery in this case has consequences.”
Howell also ordered Giuliani to produce documents about his “net worth” by September 20. The judge accused Giuliani of dragging his feet on providing an accurate picture of his true financial state, which might not be as dire as Giuliani has been claiming.
(Via Politico)