Georgia Election Workers Seek Permanent Injunction Against Rudy Giuliani for Defamatory Statements

Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the two Georgia election workers who recently won a nearly $150 million defamation verdict against Rudy Giuliani, have filed another lawsuit. They are seeking a permanent federal court order to prevent Giuliani from making any further false statements about them. This action comes after Giuliani has persisted in spreading lies about their roles as absentee ballot counters in the 2020 election.

Rudy Giuliani arrives to the US District Court for his defamation case brought by two Fulton County election workers in Washington, DC, on December 14.

Michael Reynolds/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Rudy Giuliani ordered to pay nearly $150 million to two Georgia election workers he defamed

The new lawsuit stated that Defendant Giuliani is still spreading the same lies for which he has already been found responsible. His statements, along with his refusal to stop making them, make it clear that he plans to continue targeting defamation and harassment. This must end. Moss and Freemans lawyers also noted that even after the verdict, Giuliani has shown he has no intention of stopping the false claims about them.

After the first day of the defamation damages trial against him, Giuliani confidently declared to TV cameras outside the court that "everything I said about them is true" and assured that he had evidence to support his claims. Despite presenting little defense in the case, Giuliani did not testify.

Following the jury's verdict, Giuliani reiterated to the media that he had "no doubt" his comments were "supportable," and continued to defend himself on a podcast hosted by far-right figure Steve Bannon the following day, according to Moss and Freeman.

The new lawsuit filed in Washington, DC's federal court aims to secure a permanent injunction against Giuliani. This injunction would prevent him from making or promoting any further false claims about the mother and daughter regarding their involvement in election fraud, illegal activity, or misconduct during the 2020 ballot counting, as stated in the filing. Over a dozen statements made by Giuliani accusing the women of vote tampering were determined to be false and defamatory.

Verdict form in Rudy Giuliani federal defamation trial, December 15, 2023.

US District Court for the District of Columbia

Final judgment is for $146 million plus attorneys fees

Attorneys on both sides reached an agreement in a separate court filing on Monday regarding the final numbers and terms following the jury's decision. Giuliani has agreed that the court's final judgment will confirm that he owes the women $146 million, along with an additional $237,000 for attorney fees. The jury's verdict has been adjusted slightly due to Moss and Freeman's previous settlement in another part of their lawsuit against One America News Network and others.

Giuliani's final judgment may state that he made over twelve defamatory statements about Moss and Freeman, intentionally and maliciously causing harm. Including these declarations in the court's judgment will make it harder for Giuliani to evade payment to Moss and Freeman through bankruptcy filing.

The clock is expected to start ticking soon for the women to begin collecting compensation from Giuliani for their emotional distress, reputational harm, and punitive damages. Moss and Freemans' attorneys have informed the court of their intention to pursue the collection of funds and seize his assets without waiting for the usual 30-day delay. It is anticipated that Giuliani will seek to retain the 30-day delay.

"We will work tirelessly to ensure that every dollar Mr. Giuliani has available is used to satisfy this judgment," stated John Langford, one of Moss and Freeman's attorneys, in an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett after the verdict.

This story has been updated with additional developments.