- Bernd Debusman Jr. & Brandon Drennon
- BBC News, Washington
image source, Getty Images
Ruby Freeman claimed in 2020 that she feared for her life after Rudy Giuliani spread unsubstantiated rumors about her.
A former election worker in Georgia testified that she was “terrified” by pro-Donald Trump rioters after Rudy Giuliani tweeted a video of himself in 2020.
Former pollster Ruby Freeman, 64, and her daughter Wandrea “Shay” Moss are suing Giuliani over false claims that he was involved in election fraud.
Freeman was forced to flee her home and feared for her life, she testified.
Mr. Giuliani has already been found liable, and only a fine is at issue.
Mr Freeman and Mr Moss are seeking damages of between $15 million and $43 million (between £11.9 million and £34 million), but Mr Giuliani, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, has said he will pay the damages. claims that it cannot be done.
The former New York mayor was scheduled to testify in court Thursday, but his lawyers said at an early morning news conference that he would no longer take the stand. The reason for the reversal was not clear, although Mr. Giuliani revealed it in court.
In court testimony Wednesday in Washington, D.C., Freeman said a group of Trump supporters had gathered at her home and the FBI told her they were in danger and had to flee.
“I took it as if they were going to hang me with a rope in my street,” she said. “I was scared. I didn’t know if they were going to come and kill me.”
Giuliani previously admitted in court filings that he made false statements about the two men.
Additionally, Ms. Freeman said Mr. Giuliani’s actions left her isolated. Her friends and acquaintances become afraid of having anything to do with her, and she is forced to live a reclusive life, with her lingering fears of being found out publicly.
“I’m always very scared when I go somewhere and have to use my name,” she said. “I really don’t have a name right now.”
Attorneys for Freeman and her daughter adjourned the case Wednesday. It’s clear Mr. Giuliani won’t testify.
Mr. Giuliani played a key role in Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He amplified the former president’s claims that the election was fraudulent.
A trial witness, Northwestern University professor Ashley Humphries, a sociologist who specializes in consumer behavior, testified Wednesday that Giuliani’s derogatory comments have been seen up to 56 million times.
The judge in Freeman’s case barred Giuliani from asserting his claims of election fraud in court. But outside court, he continued to insist that the unsubstantiated claims he made about Mr. Moss and Mr. Freeman were true.
On Monday, he said he had no regrets about what he had said and promised the public would “know the full story” if he testified, something that would no longer happen.
Before closing arguments began, Mr. Giuliani’s lawyers requested a motion to dismiss some of the evidence and some of the defamatory statements and tweets.
The judge rejected the measure, saying, “These statements Mr. Giuliani made over and over again were completely false and the same lies.” [told] Until the first day of trial. ”
Mr. Giuliani faces separate charges in Georgia for his role in an alleged plot to overturn the election results along with Mr. Trump and others. He pleaded not guilty.
