Rudy Giuliani conceded that he made defamatory statements against two Georgia election workers by accusing them of ballot mishandling and fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
Giuliani filed a two-page concession in court as part of a defamation lawsuit that election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss filed in December 2021 against Giuliani as well as One America News Network and right-wing website Gateway Pundit for publicizing and promoting those claims.
Even though state and federal investigators disproved election fraud claims brought against Moss and Freeman, the remarks continued to circulate online, thereby inciting a number of heinous death threats against the workers from Trump supporters. Freeman was forced to flee her home in fear after some people threatened to “hunt” her and her daughter and hang them.
Giuliani’s concession states that he will “not contest” that the claims were “false” and “carry meaning that is defamatory,” but he rejects the notion that they caused damages to them. He also wants to retain the chance to argue in court that his statements on voter fraud in Georgia were constitutionally protected speech.
This latest development in the case comes after a judge threatened to sanction Giuliani if he did not turn over the appropriate records to the attorneys for Moss and Freeman.
Those attorneys are expected to officially respond to the concession next week. For now, they’ve released a statement on the recent filing.
“Giuliani’s stipulation concedes what we have always known to be true—Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss 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 one,” attorney Michael J. Gottlieb said in a statement. “While certain issues, including damages, remain to be decided by the court, our clients are pleased with this major milestone in their fight for justice, and look forward to presenting what remains of this case at trial.”
Social media users were quick to respond to the news of Giuliani’s concession:
Giuliani falsely claimed CCTV footage showed Moss and Freeman “stealing votes” during the November 2020 election ballot count in Fulton County.
Not only is he facing the fallout of Moss’ and Freeman’s defamation lawsuit, a D.C.-based bar discipline committee recently concluded that he should be effectively disbarred from practicing law.
Politico reports that a three-member panel cited Giuliani’s “frivolous” and “destructive” efforts to derail the 2020 election are enough to revoke his law license. Giuliani served as one of Trump’s lawyers during that election cycle. He’s already suspended from practicing law in New York as a result of his efforts to subvert the election.
