Former president Donald Trump’s fresh attacks towards a Georgia election worker could yet land him in further legal trouble, according to one expert.
Mr Trump has used his social media platform, Truth Social, to fuel conspiracy theories aimed at Georgia official Ruby Freeman – who has been a repeated subject of the former president’s attacks since the 2020 election.
In his latest posts, Mr Trump made several allegations and claimed there were “contradictions” in her testimony to the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot.
While Mr Trump repeatedly attacked Ms Freeman and her daughter Shaye Mose – two Black women – in the past, this time his posts could have more serious ramifications, according to Lisa Rubin, a legal analyst with MSNBC.
Ms Rubin wrote on Twitter that Mr Trump can be sued by Ms Freeman for defamation since he no longer has presidential immunity. Ms Freeman has already filed lawsuits against several conservatives.
“When Trump last went after Freeman, he was still president. And therefore, had she sued him for defamation, he could have raised the same defense — as POTUS, I’m immune to tort suits! — he did to Carroll’s initial claims. Whether that defense flies is still being litigated,” Ms Rubin wrote in a twitter thread.
“But Trump’s not president now. And Freeman has already sued others for defamation,” she added.
“Her suit against Rudy Giuliani is ongoing; she settled with OANN last April. I’d love to know what her lawyers thought of Trump’s newest comments & whether they’re drafting a new lawsuit.”
Ms Rubin later also shared a statement from Ms Freeman’s attorney Van Dubose.
“Nobody, not even a former president, has a right to intentionally spread damaging, defamatory lies about fellow citizens,” Mr Dubose said, according to the tweet.
“The lies about Ms Freeman and Ms Moss have been proven false over and over again, but they have nonetheless upended my clients’ lives and continue to threaten their safety.”
The latest attack from Mr Trump came around midnight on 2 January, when the former president fired off a message on Truth Social claiming there were “contradictions” in Ms Freeman’s testimony and shared a video footage of the women doing their jobs claiming that they were committing election crimes.
“Wow! Has anyone seen the Ruby Freeman ‘contradictions’ of her sworn testimony?” He wrote. “Now this is ‘BIG STUFF.’ Look what was captured by Cobb County police body cameras on 4 January, 2021. … Now it gets really bad.”
Mr Trump then issued a second and third post to the platform, asserting that the 2020 election was “ALL A FRAUD” and accusing Ms Freeman of election crimes.
“What will the Great State of Georgia do with the Ruby Freeman MESS?” he asked in the third post, claiming that he is doing battle with “the evils and treachery of the Radical Left monsters who want to see America die”.
