WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for two Georgia election workers played audio recordings in a Washington courtroom Monday of graphic and racist threats the two women received after Rudy Giuliani falsely accused them of fraud while pushing Donald Trump’s baseless claims after the 2020 election.
The recordings were part of the opening statements in a federal case that will determine how much Giuliani might have to pay the women.
The former New York City mayor has already been found liable in the defamation lawsuit brought by Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who endured threats and harassment after they became the target of a conspiracy theory spread by Trump and his allies. The only issue to be determined at the trial is the amount of damages, if any, Giuliani must pay.
The women’s lawyers estimated that reputational damages could reach $47 million, and suggested emotional and punitive damages on top of that could be “tens of millions.”
Giuliani’s lawyer said any award should be much less.
The recordings played by the lawyers Monday included threats accusing the women of treason and threatening to hang them.
The women got hundreds of similar calls, text messages and emails, said attorney Von DuBose. People also showed up at Freeman’s home to pound on her door and at her mother’s house to make “citizen’s arrests,” DuBose said.
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