Defamation of election workers: Million-dollar fine for Trump's ex-lawyer Giuliani
The former New York mayor had already been found guilty by a federal judge in August of defaming 64-year-old Ruby Freeman and her 39-year-old daughter Wandrea Moss. Both had worked at a polling station in the state of Georgia during the 2020 US presidential election.
Shortly after the election, Giuliani had published a video of the two poll workers during the vote count in which he falsely accused them of electoral fraud and made other unfounded allegations about them.
Moss said after Giuliani's sentence was announced that the past few years had been "devastating" for her and her family. Giuliani's "lies" had had consequences "for our lives, our homes, our family, our work, our sense of security, our mental health". During the trial, African-American women Freeman and Moss had testified that Giuliani's false accusations had also made them the target of racist attacks.
Giuliani, on the other hand, called the verdict "absurd" and expressed confidence that his announced appeal would be successful. He told journalists that if the case came before "a fair court", the verdict would be overturned.
The former New York mayor also appeared to stand by his accusations against the two women. He had "no doubt" that his statements about the two election workers "were tenable and are tenable today". He had simply not yet been given the opportunity to present his evidence.
After Trump's election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, Giuliani was a central figure in the unelected incumbent's attempts to overturn the election result by means of unfounded accusations of fraud and thus keep himself in office.
Giuliani now has a whole series of legal problems. For example, he was indicted together with Trump in criminal proceedings in Atlanta, Georgia, on charges of election manipulation. Giuliani's law license was suspended in New York and Washington because of his false claims about the election.
In earlier times, the Republican was highly respected across party lines. Because of his level-headed reaction to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York, the then mayor of the East Coast metropolis was celebrated as "America's Mayor". Giuliani later became a loyal companion to Trump - he has been an irritating figure for Trump's opponents ever since.
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Source: www.stern.de
