CNN
—
Donald Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani will no longer testify Defamation Damages Inquiry After the 2020 election, he must pay millions of dollars in restitution for spreading conspiracy theories about two Georgia election workers.
A spokeswoman for Giuliani confirmed to CNN that the former New York mayor will not testify.
The decision comes after Georgia election workers — Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shay Moss — don’t show up after being served. Gut wrenching testimony in two days How the lies he spread damaged their reputations and boosted their careers.
Freeman and Moss are asking an eight-person jury in Washington, D.C., to order Giuliani millions of dollars in damages for emotional and reputational harm.
The case has focused on the human impact of misinformation spread by Trump and his allies after the 2020 election, as the former president awaits his own criminal trial in the same court.
Giuliani already has Liable for defamation And is indebted to Freeman and Moss More than $230,000 after failing to answer parts of their lawsuit.
In emotional testimony Wednesday, Freeman described the flood of threats she received after Giuliani spread lies about her and her daughter. At one point, his attorney reviewed for the jury some of the racist messages he received following the 2020 election.
“I hope they lock you up and throw away the key you disgusting b*tch traitor,” one message read.
“I got so many on my phone that at one point my phone went dead,” Freeman testified.
She was shocked as she was shown various messages. She read aloud from some of them, sometimes fighting back tears.
“Your s-t pack. They are coming for you. I’m not far off. I will come for you too. Garbage will be taken to the street in bags,” read another.
“I took it as if they were going to cut me up and put me in garbage bags and take them to my street,” Freeman said.
A day earlier, Moss had similarly told the jury how his life changed after Giuliani began assaulting two women.
“I feel like I’m trapped under someone else’s power” He testified Tuesday. “I can’t do anything, I feel helpless, the only thing around me is lies.”
when Giuliani agreed In July he made defamatory statements about Moss and Freeman, who tried to argue that his statements caused no harm to the two women and that his comments about voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 election were protected speech.
During opening statements Monday, his attorney, Joseph Sibley, acknowledged that Freeman and Moss suffered some harm and that the jury will award damages against his client. But he argued that the amount the plaintiffs sought exceeded what they were owed as a result of Giuliani’s conduct.
Sibley said at one point that asking for plaintiffs’ damages would be “the civil equivalent of a death sentence.”
“They are trying to end Mr. Giuliani,” he told the jury.
This story has been updated with additional updates.
