A former Georgia election worker recently testified that she was “terrorised” by pro-Donald Trump mobs after Rudy Giuliani tweeted a video of her in 2020 via BBC.
It has been noted that the former poll worker Ruby Freeman, 64, and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss are suing Giuliani over his false claims they played a role in election fraud.
Ms. Freeman was compelled to flee her home and feared for her life as she testified. Giuliani has already been found liable, leaving only the penalties in question.
Ms Freeman and Ms Moss are seeking between $15m and $43m (£11.9m to £34m) in damages, which Giuliani – Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer – claims he cannot afford.
It has further come to light that the ex-New York City mayor was due to testify in court on Thursday, but his lawyers said during an early morning press conference that he was no longer taking the stand. The reasons for the reversal which emerged as Giuliani sat in court were not clear.
In courtroom testimony in Washington DC on Wednesday, Freeman recalled having to flee following a group of Trump supporters gathering at her home and the FBI told her she was in danger.
“I took it as though they were going to hang me with their ropes on my street,” she said. “I was scared. I didn’t know if they were coming to kill me.”
Giuliani has previously acknowledged in a court filing that he made false statements about the pair. In addition to this, Freeman said that she was left isolated by Giuliani’s actions. Friends and acquaintances became afraid to be linked to her, and she is forced to live a life of seclusion because of lingering fears she will be recognised publicly.
“It’s so scary, any time I go somewhere, if I have to use my name,” she said. “Now I don’t have a name, really.”
Lawyers for Ms Freeman and her daughter rested their case on Wednesday. It is clear now that Mr Giuliani will not testify. Giuliani played a significant part in Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He amplified the former president’s claims that the election was fraudulent.
Giuliani is forbidden from arguing the debunked election fraud claims in court. Outside the court, however, he has continued to claim that the baseless allegations he said about Ms Moss and Ms Freeman were true.
He said on Monday that he didn’t regret his earlier statements and promised the public would “get the whole story” once he testified, which will no longer happen.
Before closing arguments began, Mr Giuliani’s lawyers requested a motion to dismiss some of the evidence, as well as some of his defamatory statements and tweets.
The judge rejected the measure, saying that “these statements made by Giuliani again and again and again were totally false… these same lies [told] up to the very first day of trial.”
Mr Giuliani is facing separate charges in Georgia stemming from his part in an alleged conspiracy to overturn the election results alongside Mr Trump and others. He has pleaded not guilty.
