THINK OF THE OLD GIULIANI
Lawyer pleads for pity
A lawyer representing Rudy Giuliani in a Georgia defamation case implored the jury to have “sympathy” and consider the oncebeloved New York City mayor’s past character when deciding his compensation to two former election workers.
During closing statements, Giuliani’s lawyer, Joseph Sibley, likened his 80-year-old client (inset) to a “flat-Earther” who will continue to believe debunked claims of 2020 election fraud, but said that’s not how he should be remembered, according to Politico senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney.
“Rudy Giuliani shouldn’t be defined by what’s happened in recent times,” Sibley reportedly said.
Instead, the jurors should recall Giuliani’s past feats, like his leadership in the Big Apple during 9/11.
“This is a man who did great things. If he hasn’t been so great lately, I want you to judge him by the entire character of who he is,” said Sibley, according to Cheney.
Giuliani did not take the stand to testify in his own defense Thursday, despite leaving open the possibility a day earlier. Andrea “Shaye” Moss and her
mother, Ruby Freeman, are seeking more than $43.5 million in damages from Giuliani, who they say slandered them with false fraud accusations following the 2020 presidential election.
Moss and Freeman sued Giuliani in 2021 along with One America News, but the conservative network settled the claims against it separately.
Giuliani by default was found liable for defaming Moss and Freeman in August when he failed to hand over electronic communications or complete financial records to the women’s attorneys as part of the discovery process. The current case is to determine how much Giuliani owes the two women.
On Tuesday, Moss testified about how she rarely leaves her home after receiving threatening and racist messages stemming from Giuliani’s accusations. Freeman added that the deluge of threats left her feeling “terrorized.”
Giuliani falsely claimed in late 2020 that the mother-daughter duo had exchanged a USB drive “like vials of heroin or cocaine” to commit ballot fraud to boost Joe Biden’s vote count in heavily Democratic Atlanta. Moss later testified to the House January 6 Select Committee that she was actually handing her mother a ginger mint.