Why 'Giuliani has only himself to blame': constitutional law attorney

In a Sunday, September 3 op-ed published by MSNBC, constitutional law attorney Gerry Weber argues that ex-President Donald Trump lawyer and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani "sealed his own fate" by destroying evidence and hiding truth.

Weber writes, Giuliani recently "took pains to highlight his long career in front of Judge Beryl Howell," who "was evaluating whether the former New York City mayor had defamed Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss by falsely claiming after the 2020 election that they had committed election fraud."

Weber writes:

Giuliani has only himself to blame. He is no victim here. But there are victims, beyond the horror that befell Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. There are also the other thousands of Americans who volunteer to ensure our election process works, who wake up early to staff the polls, and who are now under attack. No one wants to be the next target of an election denying mob. And the legal system itself has been sullied, too, by a man who was once a hero to folks of all political stripes but is now a self-admitted fabulist who helped trigger a mob. Defamation cases are hard to win. But not when an experienced and once respected lawyer destroys evidence and hides the truth.

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Noting that "defamation cases are hard for plaintiffs to win," the Emory University School of Law professor emphasizes "each state has laws protecting citizens from lies, but the burden of proof for defamation plaintiffs is so high that only a tiny percentage of defamation cases succeed," and furthermore, "the judge said Giuliani was destroying evidence in the defamation lawsuit even as he was warned repeatedly about the consequences."

Additionally, Weber notes, "Giuliani does know better. As Howell noted on Wednesday: 'The fact that Giuliani is a sophisticated litigant with a self-professed 50 years of experience in litigation …. only underscores his lackluster preservation efforts.' In other words, said Howell, Giuliani 'plainly should have known better.'"

READ MORE: Rudy Giuliani loses defamation case filed by Georgia election workers

Weber's full op-ed is available at this link.