Closing summary
Here is a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
The plaintiffs completed their side of the case at the end of Wednesday, ending with Ruby Freeman’s testimony of the ways the election conspiracies upended her life. Rudy Giuliani’s team will present its side on Thursday, with Giuliani possibly taking the stand.
Freeman testified about her experiences following Giuliani’s defamatory comments made towards her in which he accused her of committing election fraud. “Sometimes I don’t know who I am,” said Freeman.
Freeman shared the messages she received after lies by Trump and Giuliani spread around the internet. The messages included graphic language, racist imagery and slurs, harassment and death threats. She feared for her life.
Freeman said that she had to move from her home for safety reasons and has not felt comfortable telling her new neighbors her name. She didn’t put her house or utilities in her name out of concern for her safety.
Joe Sibley, Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, tested the idea that perhaps Giuliani’s defamation case actually helped Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports. Sibley pointed to Freeman and Moss receiving the Presidential Citizens Medal from Joe Biden earlier this year, as well as Moss being awarded the John F Kennedy Profile in Courage award.
Joseph Sibley also tried to undercut the idea that tens of millions of dollars are needed to repair the reputations of Freeman and Moss’ reputation. He assailed the idea of using a reputational repair campaign as a way of quantifying the harm of a defamed statement. He also suggested that until Ashlee Humphreys – a professor from Northwestern University and an expert witness of plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss - utilized it in the E Jean Carroll defamation case, it has not been used.
“The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms Freeman and Ms Moss,” said Ashlee Humphreys. “Ms Freeman and Ms Moss are widely associated with claims of election fraud,” Humphreys added.
Ashlee Humphreys said in court that prior to 3 December 2020, there was almost no search traffic for “Ruby Freeman”. Afterwards, there was an increase, she said.
Ashlee Humphreys also analyzed a Donald Trump campaign advertisement about suitcases in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports. According to Humphreys, the advertisement got between 8m and 18.2m impressions from the Trump campaign and Trump Twitter accounts.
Ashlee Humphreys also explained the omnipresent nature of podcasts and how they appear on various platforms, according to Law & Crime reporter Brandi Buchman. Humphreys added that Rudy Giuliani’s podcast in which he accused Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman of cheating was widely shared on multiple platforms including his website and One America Network, a far-right cable news channel.
Federal judge Beryl Howell called out Rudy Giuliani for disparaging the plaintiffs’ counsel last night following yesterday’s court hearing, saying that it violated a court stipulation. “I thought I could make comments about counsel,” said Giuliani, adding: “I will not do it in the future.” In response, Howell said, “There’s a lot of accidents going on here, Mr Giuliani.”
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Rudy Giuliani’s attorney did not cross-examine Ruby Freeman.
Plaintiffs have rested their case, leaving the defense to present their side tomorrow. Giuliani may testify.
The plaintiffs case in chief is over, prosecutors have rested.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
Tomorrow we start with the defense's case. Meaning Giuliani will likely testify. Jurors will come back in at 10AM.
Freeman says she moved for safety after onslaught of threats
Ruby Freeman, a former elections worker in Georgia, testified that she had to move from her home for her safety after a barrage of threats.
At her new home, she felt she couldn’t tell any neighbors her name. She couldn’t put all the utilities and home-related documentation in her name, WUSA9’s Jordan Fischer wrote on X.
When she saw the insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January, she thought it could have been her.
Freeman is incredibly choked up as she talks about being too scared to tell her new neighbors her name.
— Jordan Fischer (@JordanOnRecord) December 13, 2023
Freeman: "I miss my old neighborhood because I was me. I could introduce myself. Now I don't have a name really."
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Ruby Freeman wore a shirt with her name on it when she was working the election in early December 2020, which showed in surveillance video of the State Farm Arena, where ballots were processed.
Freeman said on the stand today that she became a target because Trump needed someone to blame and they saw her shirt and figured out who she was.
“This was the plan, if No 45 didn’t win, they had already set this plan up. Now that my name is on the shirt, they can fill in the spaces. This is what they were going to do, saw my shirt, and they filled in the blanks,” she said, according to Law & Crime’s Brandi Buchman.
When Trump talked about ballot stuffing in suitcase on GA call, Freeman testifies that Trump said that and she believed he didnt know what he was talking about. he was just trying to pull a name out of a hat, essentially.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
.
Amateur sleuths watching surveillance footage of normal election procedures have ignited harassment campaigns against election workers, in many instances based on misinterpretations or misunderstandings of ballot processes.
In one instance, elections officials in Denver decided to stop posting live streams of ballot processing to protect the safety of election workers.
Updated
Ruby Freeman, a former election worker in Georgia who became the subject of election lies spread by Rudy Giuliani, is testifying about the racist, graphic, threatening messages she started receiving in December 2020.
The messages, shared in full by Law & Crime’s Brandi Buchman, include racist imagery, references to bodily harm, slurs and threats. Buchman’s thread includes the full messages:
An email appears next on screen from 12/4/20. It's from wee hours.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
The subject line says 'someone's interested in LaRuby's Unique treasures"
It is targeting Freeman, calling her a criminal, a felon, the c-word, accused of treason
Election workers and officials across the country have shared the kinds of harassment and threats they faced in 2020 and after as a result of election lies.
Ruby Freeman said she never considered herself a political person. She just voted, Law & Crime’s Brandi Buchman reports.
In response to whether she would have thought at any point to double-check the ballots, Freeman said no, adding that the ballots were sealed in an envelope.
She never considered herself a political person. Just voted.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
She worked at the Fulton County government center prior to volunteering in 2020 election.
At any point would she have thought to double check ballots?
Nope, Freeman says, the ballots were sealed in an envelope.
She went on to say that nothing memorable happened after election day of 2020. However, that changed on the night of 3 December, going into the early morning of 4 December, Freeman testified.
Did anything memorable happen after election day?
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
No.
Did there come a time where that changed?
Dec 3 at night, going into Dec 4 early morning, Freeman testifies
Now we see Giuliani tweet from early morning 12/3/20 promoting baseless claims of fraud at State Farm Arena
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Ruby Freeman said that she started selling clothes as a street vendor at the Atlanta Braves’ baseball stadium in the late 1980s, Law & Crime’s Brandi Buchman reports.
Freeman added that she eventually changed to different sales and sold items under Ruby’s Unique Treasures.
She loved doing this. People would get to know her, offer to watch her table when she'd use restroom etc.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
After a certain point, everybody had Braves merchandise, so she changed to different sales, selling under Ruby's Unique Treasures. She did trade shows, conventions etc
In 1984, Freeman’s daughter Shaye Moss was born. Moss went on to graduate from college in 2001 and “blessed me with a grandson”, Freeman said, Buchman reports.
Shaye went onto college, graduated in 2001 and came home and blessed me with a grandson, Freeman says.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
After college, Moss started working at Fulton County voters registration. Freeman had worked in the dept for 11 years, another for several more.
When asked why she volunteered to work on the 2020 presidential elections, Freeman said that when she worked with the 911 dispatch division of the police department, Fulton county “was so special to me”. As a result, when the 2020 elections came around, she chose to volunteer.
Freeman volunteered to work on 2020 election.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
Why?
When she worked at police dept (911 dispatch) Fulton County "was so special to me" so when it was time for the election, she decided to get involved with volunteering.
Updated
Ruby Freeman is asked what her nickname, Lady Ruby, means to her.
She says it means classy and unique, reports Law & Crime’s Brandi Buchman.
However, her voice begins to crack as she says that she no longer goes by the nickname.
“I can’t use my name any more. I’m no longer Lady Ruby. Sometimes I don’t know who I am,” Freeman says, Buchman reports.
Freeman states her name for the record. She introduces herself to the jury as Lady Ruby (this is the nickname) she has used for a longtime. She's a mother, daughter,a proud American citizen and a christian. She had a traveling boutique.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
What does Lady Ruby mean to her?
Freeman adds that she likes her last name because it symbolizes being a freed person during slavery.
She likes her last name because it symbolizes being a "Freed" person during slavery.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
She was raised in Georgia. Her mother, whom she refers to as mama, was strict. She worked ironing clothes. In a tobacco field. She was very protective.
I was like her youngest, Freeman says
Updated
Law & Crime’s Brandi Buchman reports Ruby Freeman being sworn in.
Freeman is wearing a white blazer and an orange turtleneck with black pants.
Ruby Freeman is sworn in. She wears a white blazer, lightly patterned, bright reddish orange turtleneck, black pants. Hair is pulled back and she has dangling earrings. A binder sits before her containing exhibits her attorneys will reference as they conduct direct examination.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
Buchman reports Freeman introducing herself to the jury as Lady Ruby, a nickname she has used for a long time.
Freeman states her name for the record. She introduces herself to the jury as Lady Ruby (this is the nickname) she has used for a longtime. She's a mother, daughter,a proud American citizen and a christian. She had a traveling boutique.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
What does Lady Ruby mean to her?
Ruby Freeman takes the stand
Freeman’s testimony will follow the testimony of Shaye Moss, which was delivered earlier this week.
Updated
Joe Sibley, Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, has asked whether Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss would use the money to repair the damage done to their reputations, Law & Crime’s Brandi Buchman reports.
Sibley asks if they (Moss/Freeman) would use the money to repair the damage to their reputations, and Humphrey says they are free to do with the money whatever they want.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
In response, Ashlee Humphreys said that they are free to do whatever they wish with the money.
Here is some additional color from the courtroom, according to Buchman:
Moss sits at back o table on her side; Freeman sits to her side. Moss has her chin resting on her hand for a moment, Freeman has hands down at her sides as she's seated. She wears a red turtleneck and white blazer.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
Giuliani at his table, slouched a bit, resting on head on hand
Updated
Joe Sibley, Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, is testing the idea that perhaps Giuliani’s defamation case actually helped Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
Sibley pointed to Freeman and Moss receiving the Presidential Citizens Medal from Joe Biden earlier this year, as well as Moss being awarded the John F Kennedy Profile in Courage award.
Sibley is now testing the idea that perhaps the defamation campaign by Giuliani actually helped Freeman and Moss, noting they were awarded the presidential citizens medal and Moss won the JFK profile in courage award.
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
Updated
Giuliani's attorney tries to undercut idea it will take tens of millions to repair election workers' reputation
Joseph Sibley, Rudy Giuliani’s attorney, has been trying to undercut the idea that tens of millions of dollars are needed to repair the reputations of Freeman and Moss’ reputation.
He has assailed the idea of using a reputational repair campaign as a way of quantifying the harm of a defamed statement. He has suggested that until Humphreys utilized it in the E Jean Carroll defamation case, it has not been used. And under his questioning, Humphreys has been unable to give an example of a private person who has not been able to undertake a reputation repair campaign (she detailed how the brand Dior successfully ran one after John Galliano, its creative director, made antisemitic remarks).
Sibley has also noted that Georgia officials and media outlets have widely reported that the statements about Freeman and Moss are not true. He has pressed Humphreys to acknowledge that she did not fully analyze what effect that could have on the need for a reputation repair campaign. Essentially, he is trying to seed the idea that she only studied Giuliani’s defamatory statements in a vacuum without broader context of efforts to combat lies about Freeman and Moss.
He has also suggested that no campaign can successfully convince Americans the election wasn’t stolen.
Updated
According to Law & Crime’s reporter Brandi Buchman, Joe Sibley, Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, said that in the three years since “unfortunate events” happened to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, has there not been a campaign stating they did not commit fraud?
Following some back and forth, federal judge Beryl Powell interjected and said: “Reminding the jurors again, questions are not evidence.”
Sibley says in 3 years since "unfortunate events" happened to Moss/Freeman -- hasnt there been a campaign, effectively, stating they did not commit fraud?
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
Back and forth. Howell cuts in, a bit annoyed
"Reminding the jurors again, questions are not evidence."
Ashlee Humphreys then proceeds to note that one in three people still believe that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent, Buchman reports.
Humphreys noted that 1 in 3 people still believe 2020 election was fraudulent.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
Sibley: Thats my point, well, the state of Georgia issued a report saying claims against Moss/Freeman were not true.....
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Key event
Joe Sibley, Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, asked Ashlee Humphreys why all her individual defamation cases “involve rightwing figures as defendants”, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
“Is there a reason for that?” Sibley asked.
“No,” Humphreys said in response.
Sibley: “Why are all of your individual defamation cases, why do they all involve right wing figures as defendants? Is there a reason for that?”
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
Humphreys: “No.”
Updated
Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, Joe Sibley, is set to cross-examine Ashlee Humphreys, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
“Today’s misinformation might be tomorrow’s truth,” said Sibley, pointing to the Covid-19 lab leak theory and Hunter Biden’s laptop.
In response, the plaintiffs’ lawyers object and it is sustained. Judge Beryl Howell goes on to say, “I don’t know where you’re going with that.”
"Today’s misinformation might be tomorrow’s truth," Rudy Giuliani's attorney, Joe Sibley, says. He goes on to talk about the Covid lab leak theory and Hunter Biden's laptop. Plaintiff's lawyers object and it is sustained. "I don't know where you're going with that," judge says
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
Updated
Court is back in session
The court is back in session.
The federal judge Beryl Howell has just taken the bench, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
Updated
Reuters also has a report that Trump cannot assert presidential immunity from a defamation lawsuit by E Jean Carroll, the writer who accused him of rape.
A US appeals court made the ruling on Wednesday, dealing him another setback in litigation she has pursued.
The second US circuit court of appeals in Manhattan upheld a federal judge’s decision to reject Trump’s claim of immunity.
Carroll in the lawsuit sought at least $10m in damages from Trump over comments he made in June 2019, when he was president, after she first publicly accused him of raping her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump denied knowing Carroll, said she was not his “type”, and that she made up the rape claim to promote her upcoming memoir.
Updated
Away from the Rudy Giuliani trial, there has been a flurry of news about his former boss in the past few hours.
The supreme court on Wednesday said it would hear an appeal that could upend hundreds of charges stemming from the Capitol riot, including against Donald Trump.
The justices will review an appellate ruling that revived a charge against three defendants accused of obstruction of an official proceeding. The charge refers to the disruption of Congress’s certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Trump.
You can read the full story here:
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Summary
The court is currently on break until around 1.15pm ET.
Here is where the day stands:
“The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms Freeman and Ms Moss,” said Ashlee Humphreys, a professor from Northwestern University and an expert witness of plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. “Ms Freeman and Ms Moss are widely associated with claims of election fraud,” Humphreys added.
Ashlee Humphreys said in court that prior to 3 December 2020, there was almost no search traffic for “Ruby Freeman”. Afterwards, there was an increase, she said.
Ashlee Humphreys also analyzed a Donald Trump campaign advertisement about suitcases in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports. According to Humphreys, the advertisement got between 8m and 18.2m impressions from the Trump campaign and Trump Twitter accounts.
Ashlee Humphreys also explained the omnipresent nature of podcasts and how they appear on various platforms, according to Law & Crime reporter Brandi Buchman. Humphreys added that Rudy Giuliani’s podcast in which he accused Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman of cheating was widely shared on multiple platforms including his website and One America Network, a far-right cable news channel.
Federal judge Beryl Howell called out Rudy Giuliani for disparaging the plaintiffs’ counsel last night following yesterday’s court hearing, saying that it violated a court stipulation. “I thought I could make comments about counsel,” said Giuliani, adding: “I will not do it in the future.” In response, Howell said, “There’s a lot of accidents going on here, Mr Giuliani.”
Updated
At a minimum, it could cost Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss anywhere between $17.8m and $47.4m, an expert just testified in their defamation case against Rudy Giuliani.
Ashlee Humphreys, a marketing professor at Northwestern University, is testifying as an expert witness to try and put a dollar amount to quantify the harm Freeman and Moss suffered as a result of Giuliani’s lies. She was hired by lawyers for Freeman and Moss to perform her analysis.
“The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms Freeman and Ms Moss,” she said.
She began by studying the number of impressions – essentially views – Giuliani’s defamatory statements about the two women had after 3 December 2020. She found there were hundreds of thousands of impressions, typical of information that goes viral.
A reputational repair campaign would have to essentially make as many correctives as the number of impressions Giuliani had across multiple media platforms, including television and social media.
Freeman and Moss have asked for between $13.5m and $43m in damages. In addition to compensatory damages, they are also seeking punitive damages against Giuliani.
Updated
Expert witness: 'The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact' on plaintiffs' reputations
“The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms Freeman and Ms Moss,” said Ashlee Humphreys, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
“Ms Freeman and Ms Moss are widely associated with claims of election fraud,” Humphreys added.
"The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss," Humphreys says. "Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss as widely associated with claims of election fraud."
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
Updated
Ashlee Humphreys said in court that prior to 3 December, 2020, there was almost no search traffic for “Ruby Freeman”, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
Afterwards, there was an increase, she said.
Prior to December 3 there was almost no search traffic for the name "Ruby Freeman," Humphreys testifies. Afterwards there was an increase.
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
Earlier, Humphreys said that her analysis of the infamous call between Donald Trump and Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, during which Trump accused Freeman of being a “professional vote scammer”, showed that there were 33m total impressions and 11.7m receptive impressions.
Updated
Ashlee Humphreys is currently analyzing a Donald Trump campaign advertisement about suitcases in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
According to Humphreys, the advertisement got between 8m and 18.2m impressions from the Trump campaign and Trump Twitter accounts.
Humphreys is now analyzing a Trump campaign advertisement about suitcases in state farm arena says she estimates it got between 8 million and 18.2 impressions from Trump campaign and Trump twitter accounts
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
She is about to analyze the reach of Trump’s defamatory statements that he made to Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, about Ruby Freeman in his infamous January 2021 phone call in which he pressured Raffensperger to change the state’s election results.
Humphreys is now about to analyze the reach of the defamatory statements Donald Trump made about Freeman in his infamous phone call with Brad Raffensperger.
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
Updated
Ashlee Humphreys explained the omnipresent nature of podcasts and how they appear on various platforms, according to Law & Crime reporter Brandi Buchman.
Humphreys added that Rudy Giuliani’s podcast in which he accused Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman of cheating was widely shared on multiple platforms including his website and One America Network, a far-right cable news channel.
Humphreys explains how podcasts appear across multiple platforms, making reach exponential with audio/visual components. The podcast accusing Freeman/Moss of cheating was shared widely. Nearly 10K impressions on Giuliani's pod website and roughly the same impressions on OAN.
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
According to Buchman, Humphreys also noted that the impressions of Giuliani’s defamatory statements which she estimated from Giuliani’s website and One American Network are just a segment of what she tracked.
Humphreys notes that the impressions she estimated from Giuliani's website and OAN on defamatory stmts aren't the total number of impressions rec'd, just a segment of what she tracked, but she expects the number is far larger
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
Updated
Ashlee Humphreys, a Northwestern University professor and the plaintiffs’ witness on the case’s damages, is talking about the speed with which information spreads on social media, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
One an individual becomes well-known on social media, there is no way to going back to being anonymous, she said.
Dr. Ashlee Humphreys, the plaintiffs expert on damages in the case, is talking about the speed with with information spreads in social media, especially politically false information. She also says once you become well-known there is no way to going back to being anonymous
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
Judge: Giuliani's remarks on plaintiffs' counsel violate a court stipulation
Federal judge Beryl Howell called out Rudy Giuliani for disparaging the plaintiffs’ counsel last night following yesterday’s court hearing, saying that it violated a court stipulation, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
Judge Beryl Howell needled Giuliani again for disparaging plaintiff’s counsel last night after court, saying it violated a court stipulation
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
“I thought I could make comments about counsel,” said Giuliani, adding, “I will not do it in the future.”
In response, Howell said, “There’s a lot of accidents going on here Mr. Giuliani.”
"I thought I could make comments about counsel," Giuliani said. "I will not do it in the future."
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
"There's a lot of accidents going on here Mr. Giuliani," Howell said.
Updated
Expert witness to testify first on how she calculated damage for election workers
Lawyers for Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman are just starting on their first witness of the day, Ashlee Humphreys, a professor at Northwestern University.
Humphreys is an expert witness who studies social media and is expected to testify about how she calculated the damages Moss and Freeman are entitled to.
Just as they have been all week, Moss, Freeman, and Giuliani are in the courtroom. Moss and Freeman are sitting next to each other at a table with their lawyers. Freeman’s back is to Giuliani, who is sitting at a table parallel to them with his lawyer.
Ruby Freeman is expected to testify later today.
Updated
During his America’s Mayor Live show on Tuesday, Rudy Giuliani commented on his ongoing defamation trial and continued his attacks against Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman, saying:
“They’re seeking $40m. Oh yeah. They’re seeking $40m for the damage that I allegedly did to them. One of them did testify that she has no money, they do have an endless number of lawyers in the courtroom however for people that don’t have any money…
One of the clients said that she’s having a hard time making ends meet. That’s a lot of lawyers to be paying.”
During Tuesday’s testimony, Giuliani’s lawyer, Joseph Sibley, asked Moss why it would cost her millions to repair her reputation which has been damaged as a result of Giuliani’s lies.
Moss, who has since suffered from anxiety and depression, as well as difficulty seeking employment, replied:
“I personally cannot repair my reputation at the moment because your client is still lying on me and ruining my reputation further… We need to make a statement. We need to ensure that the election workers that are still there don’t have to go through this. Hopefully by hitting someone in their pockets, for someone whose whole career has been about their pockets, we will send a message.”
In an emotional testimony yesterday, former election worker Shaye Moss explained the ways that Rudy Giuliani’s lies have affected her life, saying, “Most days I pray that God does not wake me up and I just disappear.”
Here is more on Moss’s testimony from the Guardian’s Sam Levine, who will be reporting again from the courthouse today:
For more than two hours on Tuesday, Moss – a former Atlanta election worker – gave haunting testimony explaining how her world was upended after the fateful day when she became aware Rudy Giuliani was falsely accusing her of fraudulently counting mail-in ballots.
“Most days I pray that God does not wake me up and I just disappear,” she said.
Dressed in a black blazer with sparkling, long acrylic nails, Moss’s hand shook as she was sworn in as a witness. She described how she fears her son will come home from school and find her and her grandmother hanging from a tree in their yard. How she pushed everyone close to her away because she didn’t want them to suffer any reputational harm. How she gets anxiety attacks. How she sometimes will have to pull over because she thinks someone is following her.
She also recounted how she became a “pariah” in the elections office and left the job she loved, having worked her way out of the mailroom. How she felt like “the worst mom in the world” when her son failed all of his classes in ninth grade after he started getting harassing messages.
For the full story, click here:
I’m here at the federal courthouse in Washington where the third day of a defamation lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani is set to enter its third day.
This morning we are set to hear deposition testimony from a poll watcher who was at the State Farm arena in November 2020.
Yesterday’s testimony was harrowing. We heard from Shaye Moss, one of the plaintiffs in the case who described how Giuliani’s lies had ruined her life.
Giuliani defamation trial continues with witness testimony today
The federal trial of Rudy Giuliani, the former lawyer of ex-president Donald Trump and former New York mayor, is set to continue today in Washington DC.
Giuliani is at the center of a defamation case involving Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss, both of whom served as election workers in Georgia’s Fulton county after the 2020 presidential election.
Both women are seeking up to $43m in compensatory and punitive damages after Giuliani made false statements about them following the election, including accusing them of fraudulently counting mail-in ballots.
On Monday, Giuliani’s lawyer told the court that awarding millions of dollars in damages would be like the “death penalty” for his client, adding that “it will be the end of Mr. Giuliani.”
Meanwhile, during a tearful testimony on Tuesday, Moss said that Giuliani’s lies about her turned her life “upside down” and detailed her anxiety and depression that followed from Giuliani’s lies.
Freeman is expected to testify today.
Here are other developments in US politics:
House Republicans are set to vote today to formalize their impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden.
Hunter Biden is set to appear before the House Oversight Committee for a closed-door interview at 9:30am ET, Politico reports.
Kamala Harris is launching the Biden administration’s Safer States Initiative to provide states with additional tools to reduce gun violence.
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