Rudy Giuliani trolled for not testifying in defamation trial as election workers ‘have been through enough’
WASHINGTON, DC: Rudy Giuliani, the former election attorney of Donald Trump, has backed out from testifying at the defamation trial against him brought by Georgia election workers whom he defamed with baseless allegations of committing election fraud at the 2020 presidential election.
In a closing argument on December 14 at a Washington DC federal court, Giuliani's attorney, Joseph D Sibley, said that his client would not testify because the plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea 'Shaye' Moss "had been through enough," reported CBS News' Scott MacFarlane.
Giuliani attorney (Sibley) opens closing statement by telling jury that Giuliani won’t testify because “these women have been through enough”
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) December 14, 2023
"We made the decision not to have my client testify. Because these women had been through enough," Sibley said to the jurors.
Giuliani's lawyer also refrained from asking Freeman questions, saying she was "emotional and hard to handle."
The former Trump lawyer made false claims against the plaintiffs, accusing them of helping rig votes for Joe Biden, which led to "threats, harassment, and harm" against the victims.
Rudy Giuliani did not testify despite vow to 'clear' his name
When the trial kicked off this week, the ex-Trump attorney initially told reporters that he would "definitively clear" his name by testifying to prove his allegations against the two Georgia election workers were true.
"When I testify, the whole story will be definitively clear that what I said was true," Giuliani said on December 11, "and that, whatever happened to them — which is unfortunate about other people overreacting ― everything I said about them is true."
Therefore, Giuliani's decision not to testify came as a surprise.
US District Judge Beryl Howell already ruled that he did defame the victims.
During the closing statement, Giuliani's attorney Sibley admitted that his client is guilty.
"These women were victims and, as the court has ruled, my client has committed wrongful actions against them," Sibley said.
However, he asked the jury to judge his client based on his entire career.
"Rudy Giuliani is a good man. I know that some of you may not think that. He hasn't exactly helped himself with some of the things that have happened in the last few days," Sibley added. "The idea of him being a racist, or him encouraging racist activity, that's really a low blow. That's not who he is."
Victims attorney asks jury to offer at least $24m to each
According to The Guardian, Freeman's and Moss's lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, requested the federal jury to award $24 million to each in damages to repair their reputation.
"Rudy Giuliani used his power to scapegoat Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss," Gottlieb said. "He didn't see them as human beings."
"He has no right to offer defenseless civil servants up to a virtual mob in order to overturn an election," he stated.
Netizens troll Rudy Giuliani after not testifying
Despite making determined claims to testify before the court, Giuliani chickening out at the last minute has received severe trolling from social media users.
One user said, "That’s Rudy. He’s such a giver."
Another user mocked Giuliani, saying, "Wow what a guy , and here I thought he had a heart of stone."
Wow what a guy , and here I thought he had a heart of stone . 😂😂😂
— Bosblue61 (@Phil23310492) December 14, 2023
"This seems like a Hail Mary to get some sympathy from the jury," remarked a third user.
This seems like a Hail Mary to get some sympathy from the jury. 😂😂
— KalliJo (@kallijo68) December 14, 2023
A fourth user shared a meme with the caption "That's it..."
"Ah, it was genuinely gallant of #RudiColludy to spare these two ladies the "truths" that he was gonna share on the stand. Who says chivalry is dead?" read another reaction.
Ah, it was genuinely gallant of #RudiColludy to spare these two ladies the "truths" that he was gonna share on the stand. Who says chivalry is dead?
— Aataax (@Aataax) December 14, 2023
Another user added, "What a stand-up guy."
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