An attorney for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, had urged the eight-person jury to “send a message” with its verdict.

An attorney for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, had urged the eight-person jury to “send a message” with its verdict.

Rudy Giuliani should pay a pair of Georgia election workers he repeatedly and falsely accused of fraud $148 million in damages, a federal jury said Friday.

The eight-person jury awarded Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, the sum after a four-day trial, during which they testified that Giuliani’s lies in support of former President Donald Trump’s bogus stolen-election claims subjected them to a torrent of racist and violent threats and turned their lives upside down.

Freeman testified Wednesday that she was terrorized by Trump supporters and forced to move from her home because of Giuliani’s smears. “I was scared to come home at dark, you know,” a visibly emotional Freeman said on the witness stand. “I was just scared, I knew I had to move.”

  • SatanicNotMessianic
    1·
    11 months ago

    It was actually a bit of a big deal because it involved elections. It wasn’t a simple defamation case. It also had consequences that exceeded most defamations because of the scope and prominence of the people and stories involved.

    The courts do have the ability to adjust judgments based on juries over-awarding. Because cases like this are the only recourse against powerful people and companies, I am personally on the side of juries that award fees high enough that it’s not something that can be written off as the cost of doing business.

    Besides, I’m sure Don will just write him a check to cover the cost, since going by his real estate valuations and justifications, a couple hundred million is just a rounding error.