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Back when the House was investigating the Jan. 6 coup attempt, two of the witnesses were Georgia election workers Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman. They thought they were just doing their civic duty, helping run Georgia elections and told the House members that. However, their lives changed instantly on Dec. 10, 2020, when Rudy Giuliani claimed they had rigged the 2020 election for Joe Biden. He said they brought in suitcases full of fake ballots and scanned them multiple times. The death threats poured in. They were scared. They quit their jobs. They went into hiding. They also sued Giuliani for defamation.
The judge in the case, Beryl Howell, ordered Giuliani to turn over certain evidence. He didn't bother. Must have been too busy to comply, just like Donald Trump. Howell was not amused. On Friday, she ordered Giuliani to pay Moss and Freeman's attorney fees. She didn't specify the amount, but clearly she is annoyed with Giuliani and probably isn't going to take much more stalling from him.
There is no indication how long the case will take, but Giuliani is in a weak position since his statement was widely circulated and the damage it caused Freeman and Moss is easy to prove. Like Trump in the E. Jean Carroll case, he could be hit with a major judgment. Which he may or may not have the money to pay.
Oh, and while we are on the subject of defamation lawsuits, Maricopa County (AZ) Recorder Stephen Richer just filed a lawsuit against Kari Lake for repeatedly claiming that he interfered with the 2022 gubernatorial election results, causing her to lose. Richer says that he has had death threats and more as a result of her lies. The Carroll case showed that defamation cases against public figures sometimes win, despite the high standard of proof required. The Dominion Voting Systems case showed that sometimes the defendants see that their case is hopeless and give up. (V)