Rudy Giuliani Ordered to Pay $148 Million to Election Workers in Defamation Trial

Eileen Sullivan, reporting for The New York Times:

A jury on Friday ordered Rudolph W. Giuliani to pay $148 million to two former Georgia election workers who said he had destroyed their reputations with lies that they tried to steal the 2020 election from Donald J. Trump.

Judge Beryl A. Howell of the Federal District Court in Washington had already ruled that Mr. Giuliani had defamed the two workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. The jury had been asked to decide only on the amount of the damages.

The jury awarded Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss a combined $75 million in punitive damages. It also ordered Mr. Giuliani to pay compensatory damages of $16.2 million to Ms. Freeman and $16.9 million to Ms. Moss, as well as $20 million to each of them for emotional suffering.

I’m sure Rudy isn’t concerned — he’s good friends with the former president of the United States, who swears he’s a multi-billionaire and is a loyal friend, so I’m sure he’ll foot the bill. (Multi-billionaires often find themselves hawking NFT comic-book portraits of themselves on trading cards. Totally normal thing to do.) No need to worry that Giuliani will need to switch to plastic jug scotch.

★ Friday, 15 December 2023