A federal judge granted two former Georgia election workers’ request to expedite their $148 million payment from Rudy Giuliani — claiming the pair have “good cause” to worry the former New York City mayor may try to stiff them.
A jury last week ordered Giuliani to pay the millions to mother and daughter Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss for defaming them after he falsely accused them of committing voter fraud while counting ballots in Fulton County during the 2020 election.
Freeman and Moss requested the judge to “permit immediate enforcement” of the judgment, saying they were concerned Giuliani would “find a way to dissipate [his] assets before plaintiffs are able to recover,” ABC News reported.
Judge Beryl Howell on Wednesday sided with the two, writing that Giuliani has a reputation as an “unwilling and uncooperative litigant.”
On Friday, the DC panel awarded $75 million in punitive damages to Moss and Freeman, as well as an additional $20 million to each woman for emotional distress after deliberating for parts of two days during the week-long trial.
Giuliani said he didn’t “regret a damn thing” after the decision, which he plans to appeal, decrying “the absurdity of the number” awarded to the plaintiffs.
The ex-mayor told The Post on Friday that he lacked the assets to pay even the $43 million in damages initially sought by the workers and vowed “to fight this case until I die.”
Giuliani’s attorney, Joe Sibley, said that the ruling is “the civil equivalent of the death penalty” and “will be the end of Mr. Giuliani” if he fails to win the appeal.
Freeman and Moss first filed their lawsuit against Trump’s former personal attorney in 2021, alleging his false claims about election fraud made them targets of violent threats and racist attacks.
Giuliani was found liable for defamation by default in August after refusing to disclose evidence to the plaintiffs’ attorneys that included his private communications and complete financial records.
He said that the duo passed a USB drive back and forth “like vials of heroin or cocaine” to alter Georgia’s electoral outcome.
Moss later testified before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot that she was handing her mother a mint.
In June Georgia’s state election board dismissed the fraud claims as “unsubstantiated and found to have no merit.”
Freeman and Moss sued Giuliani again on Monday, asking for a permanent injunction against him to stop him from speaking publicly about them, claiming he “continues to spread the very same lies for which he has already been held liable.”
The Post has reached out to Giuliani’s attorneys for comment on Wednesday’s ruling.
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December 21, 2023 at 07:32AM
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Judge expedites $148M payment from Rudy Giuliani to Georgia election workers, citing 'good cause' he can't pay - New York Post
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