Editor’s Note: Sophia A. Nelson is an award-winning author and journalist. She is a former House Republican Government Reform and Oversight Investigative Committee Counsel. The views expressed in this commentary are hers. View more opinion at CNN.
CNN
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It’s remarkable to see just how far Rudy Giuliani has fallen from grace. He’s come a long way from being the once celebrated “America’s Mayor” to now being held liable for defaming two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.
On Friday, a jury ordered Giuliani to pay $148 million to Freeman and Moss after making false claims that they engaged in ballot tampering in the 2020 election. These are words that I never thought I would hear, much less write about as I came of age watching Giulani prosecute bad guys, clean up crime in New York City and go after organized crime.
After the 2020 election in which then-President Donald Trump lost the state of Georgia to Joe Biden, Giuliani was reckless in spreading cruel and false information about the two women, a Black mother and daughter from Fulton County. He repeated false claims that they stuffed vote-counting machines with suitcases of fake ballots and were caught on video allegedly passing a USB drive as part of a vote-stealing scheme. The supposed suitcases were regular ballot boxes, and the supposed USB drive was a ginger mint, a state investigation found. But the false claims were circulated online, and in media reports, and Freeman and Moss faced a torrent of threats and harassment as a result.
Freeman and Moss detailed how their lives were irrevocably changed as they faced racist slurs, death threats, alarming texts messages and phone calls and strangers who appeared at their homes. Moss described how she ended up quitting her full time job as an election worker — work that she had loved — and experienced panic attacks, with later diagnoses of acute stress disorder and major depressive disorder. Freeman described having to flee her home due to safety concerns, eventually selling the house and living out of her car.
For her part, Freeman was awarded $16,171,000 for defamation and $20 million for emotional distress. And her daughter Moss, was awarded $16,998,000 for defamation and $20 million for emotional distress. The jury also awarded a combined $75 million in punitive damages to both plaintiffs. How much they can ultimately collect is a different matter, because Giulani is expected to appeal. And even if the penalty is affirmed, Giulani is facing mounting legal debt and quite possibly bankruptcy.
Although a judge had already found Giulani liable this summer, the jury’s decision on damages Friday underscores the extent to which they believed Giulani inflicted harm upon these two election workers. And yet, Giulani remained defiant, telling reporters after the trial, “I don’t regret a damn thing.”
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The way I see it, this is yet another example of the expression, “Everything Trump touches dies.” Giulani hitched his wagon to Trump long ago, with devastating results. In addition to potentially facing financial ruin, he’s also a co-defendant in the Georgia election subversion case, charged with 13 state crimes, including violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, conspiracy to commit false statements and writings and soliciting a public officer to violate their oath. (Giuliani has pleaded not guilty).
For Freeman and Moss, this victory matters. A lot. Because they dared to fight back and speak up. Giuliani may not give a damn, or regret a thing, as he said, but his actions are not only shameful in the court of public opinion, they are now also legally accountable in the courtroom.
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