Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer, and ex-mayor of New York City, has confessed to making false claims when accusing two Georgia election workers of ballot fraud. The admission came during a late-night Tuesday filing in federal court in response to a complaint filed in 2021 by a mother-daughter combo, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who were accused of ballot stuffing to assist Joe Biden win Georgia.
Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss testified to the US House of Representatives select committee investigating the Capitol incident last year that they received threats because of the false charges. Giuliani admitted in court that after the 2020 election, he made statements that “carry meaning that is defamatory per se” and didn’t contest Moss and Freeman’s accusations.
‘Remarks protected by the First Amendment’
He, on the other hand, insisted that his views were protected by free speech and refused to accept that his smear campaign had caused the mother and daughter significant suffering. “While Giuliani does not admit to the plaintiff’s allegations, he does not contest the factual allegations for this litigation only,” his lawyer Joseph Sibley told the court.
Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s adviser, claimed his confession was an attempt to bypass the fact-gathering stage and move on to legal arguments about whether he could be held accountable for the damages sought by the mother-daughter combo. “Mayor Rudy Giuliani did not acknowledge that the statements were false but did not contest it to move on to the portion of the case that will permit a motion to dismiss,” Goodman said. “This is a legal issue, not a factual issue. Those out to smear the mayor are ignoring the fact that this stipulation is designed to get to the legal issues of the case.”
The lawyer for the victims appreciates the confession
On Wednesday, DC District Court Judge Beryl A Howell recognized Giuliani’s concessions in the litigation and ordered him to pay more of Moss and Freeman’s legal bills, after previously directing him to pay them $90,000. He is still considering portions of Giuliani’s submissions, which also attempt to explain why he did not search his documents more extensively.
Meanwhile, Moss and Freeman’s attorneys praised Giuliani’s confession, calling it a “major milestone” in the case. “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,” their lawyer Michael J Gottlieb, said in a statement.
