Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani not to testify in defamation trial

WASHINGTON: Former US president Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani will not testify at his defamation trial on Thursday, as per his attorneys, even as Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman alleged he sent 100s of racist remarks to her and her daughters sued him for $43 million in damages for smearing their reputation.

That Guiliani has opted not to testify in the court today was conveyed to the Fulton County, Georgia judge, his lawyer told the court.

Two former Fulton County, Georgia, election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea ArShaye "Shaye" Moss sued Giuliani, alleging he orchestrated a smear campaign against them by repeatedly falsely accusing them of committing election fraud to change the outcome of the 2020 election in their state.

They're seeking from $15.5 million to $43 million for damages from him, according to recent court filings, CBS news reported.

US District Judge Beryl Howell had already found Giuliani was liable for several claims of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy before the jury trial this week that will determine the award amount to Freeman and Moss, media reports said.

Giuliani told reporters this week outside of court, he sought to distance himself from the threatening and racist messages the two received, saying he had no idea who the people were who sent them.

Only days earlier, Giuliani had told the media that he had spoken the truth about Freeman and Moss, reports said.

The two election workers came into public focus after Giuliani posted video of the two processing ballots on election night at State Farm Arena in Atlanta and claimed it showed they were engaged in a fake ballot processing scheme.

An investigation by the Georgia secretary of state later concluded: "All allegations made against Freeman and Moss were unsubstantiated and found to have no merit."

Giuliani has also conceded that he had made false statements about Freeman and Moss when he claimed they engaged in voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. However, he justified his stance saying he was engaging in constitutionally protected speech when he leveled the accusations.

Ruby Freeman, at the center of a conspiracy theory alleging widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election, testified that she received hundreds of racist and threatening messages saying things like "we know where you sleep" and "you are dead" after she said former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani spread lies about her online.

Freeman took the witness stand on Wednesday in her civil defamation trial against Giuliani and testified that she received phone calls, emails, messages and letters at her home in the months after the presidential election. Freeman said almost a dozen people even came to her home looking for her, calling for her with bullhorns.

"This just all started with one tweet," she said tearfully. "They messed up my name. They messed up my business."