As the second half of his trial kicked off this week, Giuliani had told reporters that he would “definitively clear” his name by taking the stand and proving that his lies about two Georgia election workers weren’t lies at all.
“When I testify, the whole story will be definitively clear that what I said was true,” Giuliani said on Monday, “and that, whatever happened to them — which is unfortunate about other people overreacting ― everything I said about them is true.”
So it came as a surprise days later when Giuliani, through an attorney, revealed that he wouldn’t actually testify. With no defense witnesses, the civil trial instead moved on to closing statements.
Another surprise: Harrison Floyd, one of Giuliani’s ― and former President Trump’s ― co-defendants in a separate criminal case in Georgia, seemed to have narrowly avoided violating his bond conditions Thursday by attending Giuliani’s trial.
Politico reporter Kyle Cheney said that Floyd didn’t appear to have spoken with Giuliani, which would have clearly violated his bond agreement.
Giuliani conceded in a court filing earlier this year that he’d made false statements about the two Georgia election workers who brought the defamation suit. He then refused to turn over key documents ahead of the trial, leading to a default judgment.
In this second half of the trial, jurors will decide what damages to award Ruby Freeman and daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, whom Giuliani repeatedly and baselessly accused of committing voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Freeman testified Wednesday that she’d been “terrorized” as a result of Giuliani’s lies, saying that she’d endured threatening letters and voicemails, violent and racist social media messages, and in-person confrontations.
Source: huffpost.com
Author: Ryan Grenoble
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