Rudy Giuliani’s name is in the headlines once again, yet again for his involvement in the scheme to overturn the 2020 Georgia election results. This time, though, it doesn’t have anything to do with the Georgia RICO case that he’s currently a defendant in, and entirely with a lawsuit that has been filed against the former prosecutor by two Georgia Election workers.
A Man of Integrity and Leadership
Rudy Giuliani was once incredibly well known for all the right reasons. He was on the prosecution team against the Five Families of New York in the 1980’s, he was elected mayor of New York twice, leading from 1993 to 2001, and he was a key figure in leading New York through the crisis that followed the 9/11 terror attack on the World Trade Center.
It was during this time that Rudy Giuliani was dubbed “America’s Mayor” by the general public, as he truly did help get the city of New York back on its feet in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. For younger generations, it seems nearly unfathomable that there was a time when Giuliani could do no wrong.
Involvement with Donald Trump
In the 2010’s, though, Giuliani’s career trajectory changed with his involvement with Donald Trump. Initially, he was merely a political advisor towards Trump’s ambitions of becoming president, and then after Trump made his way to the Oval Office, Giuliani worked in the administration.
However, in 2018, Giuliani left the Trump administration to become a part of the president’s personal legal team. He remained on the legal team until the 2020 election season, and Trump’s subsequent loss of the presidency, when Giuliani became heavily involved with the efforts to overturn the election.
Attempts to Subvert the Election Results
More than 60 lawsuits were filed in pursuit of overturning various districts and jurisdictions all across the country, in an attempt to change the ultimate outcome of the election. And while all of these efforts were dismissed, it doesn’t change the fact that Trump’s, and his supporters’, peddling of the Big Lie had a significant impact on the American public.
Nor can it be denied that Trump’s push of the Big Lie began well beyond the legal attempts that occurred after the ballot boxes closed in November. From the beginning of his campaign, Trump stated to his followers plainly that if Joe Biden and the Democrats won the 2020 election, it would only have been because they had stolen the election, and cheated the American people of a leader that they chose.
False Claims of Election Fraud
Of course, subsequent analysis and research has shown that this statement was patently false. The 2020 election has been evaluated as one of the most secure in American history, and all of Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud have been dismissed by legal and political experts as entirely false.
This reality has not stopped people from believing the Big Lie, though. Beyond the more than sixty lawsuits that were filed and lost in pursuit of overturning the election, Rudy Giuliani has also spoken in venues across the country about “election integrity,” continuing to push the Big Lie despite a lack of evidence.
Multiple Criminal Charges Against Trump, and Others
For the man of the hour, Donald Trump, this has led to multiple lawsuits that have been filed against him, as well as criminal charges in two different jurisdictions. The federal case out of Washington D.C. has Trump charged with attempts to subvert a federal election and attempts to defraud the United States government, among other things.
The Georgia case, though, hasn’t just charged Donald Trump, though. In Georgia, Trump as well as 18 other co-defendants have been charged under the Georgia RICO statute, which is the law that was put into place in order to be able to charge criminal organizations with crimes as a whole, rather than as individuals.
An Ironic Repeat of History
Giuliani is one of the co-defendants that has been named in that trial, an irony that is not lost on anyone who understands his history. The Five Families case from the 80’s was one of the first, and most famous RICO cases in American legal history, and Giuliani was a significant member of the legal team that managed to lock away the organized criminals at the time.
The fact that he is now being charged with the same statute that he was once a pioneer of charging is a sad commentary on the way that Giuliani has strayed so far from the ideals that he once espoused. And unfortunately for him, criminal charges are not the only legal troubles that the former Mayor is having.
Multiple Defamation Suits Against Giuliani
Giuliani’s push of the Big Lie has landed him in some hot water in other ways, beyond the threat of jail that the Georgia RICO charges represent.
Giuliani has been sued multiple by, by multiple different organizations and individuals for defamation regarding his comments around the 2020 election. Famously, he was personally sued by Dominion Voting and Smartmatic – organizations that provided voting machines for the 2020 election – for comments that they say were materially damaging to their brand and companies.
The Georgia Defamation Case
One of the most notorious suits against him currently, though, and the one that is making significant headlines, is the defamation lawsuit that was brought against him by two election workers from Georgia, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.
These women were the subject of multiple Giuliani remarks regarding the 2020 election. He claimed that they were manipulating vote tallies, and provided video “evidence” in support of the claim in order to further his attempt to sow distrust in Georgia’s election. The women were subsequently harassed and threatened by Trump supporters, and sued Giuliani for damages.
Found Liable
The trial took place in December of 2023, and Giuliani was ultimately found liable for having defamed the women. He was ordered to pay $148 million in damages, including $75 million in punitive damages for the comments he made and the subsequent harm he caused.
Shortly after the end of the trial, Giuliani filed for bankruptcy – a move that many believed was a blatant attempt to hide his assets and avoid paying the judgment to Freeman and Moss.
Swift Payment of the Judgment Was Ordered
The judge ordered swift payment of the damages in order to prevent Giuliani from slipping his responsibilities, and there have been ongoing legal issues regarding the judgment ever since.
In February of 2024, he was ordered to testify about his finances in front of a judge and creditors, in order to determine if his claim of bankruptcy was true. Freeman and Moss have accused Giuliani of unfairly taking advantage of the bankruptcy system, and have pushed for him to be ordered to pay the judgment as a consequence.
Working the Legal System
This hasn’t stopped Giuliani from attempting every tactic in order to subvert his responsibilities, and to work the legal system to the best of his advantage, though.
His attempts to delay and subvert his responsibilities have been so blatant that in March of 2024, creditor’s in Giuliani’s bankruptcy case filed a motion asking a judge to order him to sell off his Florida condo, in order to pay some of the judgments against him. Giuliani’s legal team claimed that this would be “materially damaging,” and has been allowed to keep his condo, thus far.
Attempts to Throw Out the Judgment
And all the while that these proceedings have been happening, Giuliani has been attempting to get the defamation judgment against him thrown out.
Giuliani filed a motion, asking the Court to review their prior judgment against him and have it thrown out. In these cases, it is the responsibility of the defendant to provide reasons why there should be a new trial, merely beyond an inability to pay the judgment.
Attempts Failed
And, in an order that came down on Monday, Judge Howell dismissed the motion. The Judge stated, in his decision, that Giuliani did not provide enough evidence as to why his verdict should be thrown out, or why he should be granted a new trial.
This failed motion means that the $148 million judgment against Giuliani stands. Of course, it’s certain that he will continue to try and delay and subvert his responsibilities, but these efforts have been thus far unsuccessful. It’s likely they will continue to fail, and Giuliani will ultimately be ordered to pay up, big time.
