Giuliani admits to making false statements about Georgia election workers suing him for defamation

When former Donald Trump attorney and ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was falsely claiming that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump, two of the people he attacked were Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. Giuliani falsely claimed that they helped now-President Joe Biden steal the election from Trump in their state by manipulating ballots — a conspiracy theory that has been repeatedly debunked.

In December 2021, Freeman and Moss (who are mother and daughter) filed a defamation lawsuit against Giuliani. The case is ongoing, and in an article published on July 26, the New York Times' Alan Feuer reported that Giuliani has admitted to making false statements against the election workers.

Feuer reports, "In a two-page declaration, Mr. Giuliani acknowledged that he had, in fact, made the statements about Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss that led to the filing of the suit and that the remarks 'carry meaning that is defamatory per se.' He also admitted that his statements were 'actionable” and 'false' and that he no longer disputed the 'factual elements of liability' the election workers had raised in their suit."

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The Times reporter adds, however, that Giuliani believes his statements about Freeman and Moss were "constitutionally protected by the United States' 1st Amendment." And he would not acknowledge that his statements caused them any damage.

But Freeman and Moss were bombarded with death threats and racial slurs from Trump supporters after Giuliani made his false accusations against them. Fearing for her safety, Freeman fled the home she had lived in for 20 years.

Attorney Michael J. Gottlieb, who is representing Freeman and Moss in their lawsuit, said that Giuliani is acknowledging that his clients "honorably performed their civic duties in the 2020 presidential election in full compliance with the law, and the allegations of election fraud he and former President Trump made against them have been false since Day 1."

Feuer notes that even though Georgia officials "immediately debunked" the false claims Giuliani made about Freeman and Moss, he "kept promoting them, ultimately comparing the women — both of whom are Black — to drug dealers and calling, during a hearing with Georgia state legislators, for their homes to be searched."

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Read the New York Times' full report at this link (subscription required).