On Friday, a federal judge demanded an explanation Rudy Giuliani As to why he waived it in court False and defamatory statements about two election workers in Georgia after the 2020 election but did not drop the lawsuit against him.
It’s the latest legal difficulty Giuliani has faced regarding his publication of misinformation about the former president Donald TrumpOn behalf of — and the latest case of a federal judge considering heavy penalties against Giuliani over a Georgia defamation case.
Losing the case could have major implications for Giuliani, especially financially.
In a court filing last month, Giuliani He admitted that he made defamatory statements about election workers, Robbie Freeman and Shay Moss, although he did not admit that his statements caused damage to the couple. Giuliani also said in the July filing that he still wants to argue that his statements about voter fraud in Georgia are protected by freedom of speech.
Giuliani has until Tuesday afternoon to either forfeit the lawsuit, waive his liability and open himself up to paying the poll counters, or give Judge Beryl Howell more explanation and appear before her for a hearing in mid-August.
After Giuliani’s concessions, Howell ordered him to pay Moss and Freeman more legal fees after previously ordering him to pay them $90,000.
Giuliani also appeared, without being named, as one of six co-conspirators in the Justice Department’s criminal conspiracy allegations against Trump this week. Prosecutors described the first co-conspirator as “a lawyer who was willing to publish knowingly false claims and pursue strategies that lawyers for (Trump’s) 2020 re-election campaign would not.” The indictment also includes quotes that match quotes from Giuliani call Dedicated to Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville as riots broke out in the Capitol January 6, 2021.
Former New York City mayor and attorney Robert Costello met with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigators in June, CNN reported exclusively At the time, though, it’s unclear what the investigators’ questions focused on during the meeting. Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s political adviser, told CNN the interview was voluntary.
Giuliani has not been charged but the special counsel’s office has given indications that it is still investigating, including by interviewing Bernie Kerika close associate of Giuliani.
CNN’s Shauna Mizell and Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.
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