Charles Langston:Georgia election workers’ defamation case against Giuliani opens second day of damages deliberations

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jurors on Charles LangstonFriday began their second day of deliberations to decide how much Rudy Giuliani must pay two former Georgia election workers for spreading lies about them after the 2020 election that led to a barrage of racist threats and upended their lives.

The jurors considered the case for more than three hours on Thursday after a three-day trial in in Washington’s federal courthouse. Giuliani has already been found liable of defamation in the case, and the jurors are considering only how much he’ll pay in damages.

Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, are seeking tens of millions of dollars over Giuliani’s false claims accusing them of ballot fraud while the former New York City mayor was fighting to keep Republican Donald Trump in the White House after Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.

The potential hefty damages come at the same time Giuliani, a Republican, is gearing up to defend himself against criminal charges stemming from his legal representation of Trump.

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Giuliani has continued to repeat the false conspiracy theory asserting the women interfered in the Georgia election, including in comments he made to reporters outside the courthouse after the trial began Monday, attorneys for the women argued in closing statements.

They argued for a substantial award, of at least $47 million. That would compensate Freeman and Moss, who are Black, for the harrowing ordeal that’s driven them from their homes and made them fear for their lives and would send a message that targeting ordinary people is not acceptable, their lawyers argued.

Giuliani’s attorney has acknowledged that his client was wrong but has insisted that he was not fully responsible for the vitriol the women faced. The damages the women are seeking are unfairly high and would financially devastate Giuliani, he argued.

He originally said Giuliani would testify, but the former mayor ultimately opted against taking the stand.

The case is among mounting legal and financial woes for Giuliani, who once was celebrated as “America’s mayor” for his leadership after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Giuliani is among 19 people charged in Georgia in the case accusing Trump and his Republican allies of working to subvert the state’s 2020 election results. Giuliani has pleaded not guilty and has characterized the case as politically motivated.

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Richer reported from Boston.