In a legal submission, Rudy Giuliani concedes the inaccuracy of his statements pertaining to the mishandling of ballots by two Georgia election workers during the 2020 election.
The defamation lawsuit, filed in the federal court of Washington, D.C., in 2021, involves Ruby Freeman and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, a mother-daughter duo. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, has retracted his previous assertions in his recent court filings.
Although Giuliani does not explicitly admit to the plaintiffs' claims, he acknowledges the factual allegations for the purpose of the ongoing litigation. A signed declaration by Giuliani states that his statements were defamatory per se and contained falsehoods, making them legally actionable.
Despite the concession, Giuliani maintains his belief in having legal defenses against the lawsuit, aiming to avoid unnecessary litigation expenses. He contends that his statements were constitutionally protected.
The attorney representing Giuliani has not yet responded to requests for comment. However, Giuliani's adviser, Ted Goodman, stated that the recent filings were primarily intended to progress the case past the discovery phase and focus on legal arguments.
Michael J. Gottlieb, the attorney for Moss and Freeman, views Giuliani's stipulation as highly significant. Gottlieb asserts that the declaration affirms what has been known all along - that Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss diligently performed their civic duties during the 2020 presidential election in full compliance with the law. He further emphasizes that the allegations of election fraud made by Giuliani and former-President Trump against them have been unequivocally false since the beginning. While some issues, including damages, are yet to be determined by the court, Gottlieb's clients find solace in this major milestone and eagerly anticipate presenting the remaining aspects of the case during the trial.
A leaked phone call before the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol revealed Trump urging Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn the state's election results, mentioning Freeman on 18 occasions during the call.
Presently, Trump is under a criminal investigation in Fulton County, Ga., regarding his and his allies' attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. The investigation was initiated after the aforementioned phone call with Raffensperger became public.
The false accusations by Giuliani also subjected Moss and Freeman to a conspiracy theory propagated by Trump and his allies. The fallout from these allegations led to Moss and her mother receiving racist death threats, compelling them to conceal their identities. Moss, an employee of the Fulton County Elections Department since 2017, was ultimately forced to quit her job due to the escalating threats.
Among his unfounded claims, Giuliani had alleged that Moss handed her mother a thumb drive in a manner reminiscent of the exchange of illegal substances. In reality, Moss clarified in her testimony to Congress that her mother had merely passed her a ginger mint.
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