Judge rules for Georgia election workers in defamation suit against Rudy Giuliani over 2020 election falsehoods

Washington — A federal judge on Wednesday sided with two former election workers from Georgia who filed a lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani alleging he defamed them by falsely claiming they engaged in an election-fraud scheme during the 2020 presidential election.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who sits on the federal district court in Washington, D.C., awarded default judgment against Giuliani holding him liable on several claims, including defamation, brought by Ruby Freeman and Wandrea ArShaye "Shaye" Moss, who are mother and daughter, respectively. The two served as election workers in Fulton County, Georgia, in the last presidential election and assisted with the vote-counting process at Atlanta's State Farm Arena.

Howell also ordered Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City who served as an outside lawyer to former President Donald Trump, to reimburse Freeman and Moss more than $89,000 in attorneys' fees and costs related to a request that the court force Giuliani to fulfill his discovery obligations. Giuliani also must ensure his eponymous businesses cover more than $43,000 in attorneys' fees associated an effort to force them to respond to requests for documents and depositions, the judge said.