Self-Proclaimed 9/11 Hero Rudy Giuliani Now Owes Election Workers He Defamed $148 Million
The man who decided he was the real glue holding New York City together following the 9/11 attacks is now nothing more than a man whose stupid, obsequious mouth has written checks he can’t cash. And all to stroke the ego of a lame duck president who thought what the nation really needed was a self-absorbed autocrat.
An empire built on baseless claims cannot stand. I believe that’s how the old adage goes. Rudolph Giuliani — who is now former-pretty-much-everything (NYC mayor, Trump lawyer, existent on this plane of reality) — has undone his own reputation and his own dwindling finances in the hopes that Daddy Trump will once again let him eat at the grown-up table.
Donald Trump will not restore him to his former level of (disposable) glory as White House counsel, even if he’s elected president in 2024. It’s clear Trump believes any of his die-hard supporters now facing millions in judgments are victims of their own ineptitude, rather than victims of Trump’s self-interest and avarice.
Giuliani defamed a couple of Georgia election workers for the sole purpose of furthering Trump’s “stolen election” hallucinations. He continued to do so even after it became clear Trump wasn’t going to save those who sacrificed themselves, their fortunes, and their reputations on the altar of Trump’s insurrectionist wet dreams.
At this point, Giuliani is nothing more than an embarrassment. Trump doesn’t care for people who fail, even if they fail on his behalf. Presumably, Trump views Giuliani — the man now on the hook for $148 million in damages — as a failure and a coward: labels Trump applies to anyone he considers to have “lost,” whether it’s die-hard supporters now suffering the legal repercussions of their actions or a prisoner-of-war who served their country dutifully until they were captured, tortured, and (ultimately) mocked(!!!) by the sitting president.
Getting drubbed to the point of bankruptcy is entirely Rudy Giuliani’s fault. He openly admitted in court filings that he had defamed the election workers. But he wanted the court to consider his alternative arguments, in hopes that these specious requests might make him just a little less liable in other defamation suits in which he was the defendant.
He already owes the election workers and their legal reps more than $120,000 in legal fees, largely because he openly admitted he had lost this lawsuit.
The only question left was for the jury: how much does Rudy owe for the defamation he already admitted to? That question was answered recently. A fuckload, according to this CNN report compiled by Devan Cole, Holmes Lybrand, and Katelyn Polantz.
A Washington, DC, jury has ordered Rudy Giuliani to pay nearly $150 million to two Georgia election workers for the harm caused by defamatory statements he made about them following the 2020 election.
Ruby Freeman was awarded $16,171,000 for defamation and $20 million for emotional distress. Shaye Moss, Freeman’s daughter, was awarded $16,998,000 for defamation and $20 million for emotional distress. The jury also awarded $75 million in punitive damages to both plaintiffs.
That’s nearly $150 million out of Giuliani’s own pocket. Unfortunately for the defamed parties, there’s no way Giuliani actually has the assets to cover this judgment. As Business Insider reports, legal experts who have been following Giuliani’s multiple courtroom debacles are pretty sure this is a judgment that will take years to collect… if it can even be collected at all.
“He can’t pay this,” said Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers. “And it won’t go away.”
The former New York City mayor has racked up a litany of financial and legal troubles since dedicating himself fully to Trump’s ill-fated effort to maintain the presidency following President Joe Biden’s win in November 2020.
Giuliani — who was once considered one of the top prosecutors in the country — could be on the hook for still millions more as he faces two suits brought by voting machine companies, as well as a sexual harassment suit for $10 million and a $1.4 million suit from his former lawyers.
This is just the most prominent tip of Giuliani’s litigation iceberg. And there’s no doubt this judgment will be appealed by the former NYC mayor. He’s unlikely to win a reversal of his non-fortune, though. His legal antics in this case (along with his unprovoked admission of guilt) will likely make any appeal futile.
The problem is Giuliani. He’s proven to be too stupid to shut up. And he’s apparently so oblivious to reality he actually still seemed to believe Trump would save him from himself. But here’s the thing: when your operative assumption is that a rising sewer lifts all turds, at the end of the day you’re still a piece of shit.
There will always be new acolytes willing to swear obeisance. And most of those won’t be wearing the stains of courtroom losses and bankruptcy filings. Giuliani debased himself to serve an orange-haired megalomaniac. He could have stopped at any time. But he didn’t. And now whatever he earns for the rest of life will belong to the people whose lives he tried to ruin in hopes of pleasing the most self-interested man to ever hold the office of President.