Two former Georgia election officials who won a $148 million defamation judgment against Rudy Giuliani told a judge Wednesday they will be punished more for continuing to falsely accuse him of ballot tampering during the 2020 presidential election. I asked for a lot of punishment.
Lawyers for Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss argued in papers filed in Washington, D.C. federal court that Giuliani “brazenly” violated an agreement he signed to stop repeating falsehoods. While recently airing his nightly show twice on social media platform X.
“These statements repeat the same lies for which Mr. Giuliani has already taken responsibility and agreed to be bound by a court order to stop repeating them,” read the motion, which asks the judge to hold Giuliani in contempt and impose sanctions. Against him.
Giuliani’s lawyer, Joseph M. Cammarata, said he had not seen the court filing and could not respond to the specific allegations, but accused the women’s lawyers of trying to intimidate the former New York mayor. “This is an attempt to strip Mayor Rudy Giuliani of his First Amendment right to free speech,” Giuliani spokesman Ted Goodman said in a statement.
Giuliani, a longtime ally of Donald Trump, was found guilty last year of defamation by accusing Freeman and Moss of tampering with ballots while pushing then-President Trump’s lies about election fraud. The women said they faced death threats after Giuliani falsely claimed they smuggled ballots in suitcases, counted ballots multiple times and tampered with voting machines.
The $148 million judgment led to Giuliani’s failed bankruptcy attempt. He was later ordered to turn over many of his assets, including his $5 million Upper East Side apartment, to Freeman and Moss.
Last December, the women sued Giuliani again, accusing him of repeatedly repeating claims of ballot tampering, which resulted in a court ruling in May blocking the former mayor from making statements implying the women did anything wrong in connection with the 2020 election. A permanent injunction has been issued prohibiting it. Presidential election.
Lawyers for both plaintiffs argued in court Wednesday that Giuliani violated that agreement when he mentioned the two again in recent video broadcasts on Nov. 12 and 14. Ballots will be counted during the trial.
In his response to the filing, Goodman argued that Giuliani “has every right to defend himself.”
Giuliani has criticized the judge’s ruling that ordered Freeman and Moss to hand over many of their prized possessions, including an apartment, a Mercedes once owned by actress Lauren Bacall and dozens of luxury watches. He said he should not have given up his possessions until his appeal was decided.
Cammarata said at a news conference in New York City on Wednesday that Giuliani had handed over “90 to 95 percent” of his belongings. Last week, Giuliani handed over his Mercedes and watch. Cammarata said Giuliani’s only vehicle, a 1980 Mercedes-Benz SL 500, should be exempt from judgment under the law because it is worth less than $5,500.
As for New York apartments, Cammarata said they have already been flipped or are in the process of being flipped.
Giuliani remained defiant despite collection efforts that ran past the Oct. 29 deadline.
“We will not relent,” Cammarata said.
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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this report.
