In a filing released on Tuesday night, former Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani conceded he made defamatory statements about Georgia 2020 election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.
In their lawsuit, Moss and Freeman accused Giuliani of using them as scapegoats in his plan to fabricate the results of the 2020 election and falsely declare Trump as the winner. He planted a video of the election workers carrying ballot boxes around the election site in the media and claimed that it showed them manipulating results, though a state investigation confirmed that the footage showed normal ballot processing.
Giuliani said that he did not contest Moss and Freeman’s accusations that he disparaged them after the 2020 election. However, he still argued that his statements about voter fraud in Georgia were protected under the First Amendment, and therefore refused to admit that his claims caused damage to Moss and Freeman.
“Defendant Giuliani concedes solely for the purposes of this litigation… that Defendant Giuliani made the statements of and concerning plaintiffs,” the filing said. “He does not dispute the purposes of this litigation, that the statements carry meaning that is defamatory per see.”
Over the past few weeks, the lawyer has been attempting to minimize the consequences that he may face from the lawsuit filed by Moss and Freeman. He could be criminally charged and possibly disbarred as a result of his fraudulent claims about the 2020 elections, and for failing to turn over evidence of such claims to the federal government.
Federal Judge Beryl Howell has been presiding over the case. She still needs to examine Giuliani’s filing and determine if and how the trial will proceed.
