A damages trial begins Monday in a case in which a judge has already ruled that Rudy Giuliani is liable for defamation.

When Rudy Giuliani steps into federal court on Monday, the only mystery will be how severely he is sanctioned for lies about the 2020 election.

U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell has already found him liable for defaming two Georgia election workers — Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss — who faced threats and harassment after Giuliani and Donald Trump falsely accused them of manipulating ballots after the 2020 election. Those lies fueled conspiracy theories that have festered to this day.

Now, a jury in Washington, D.C., will be asked to determine the amount of damages Giuliani must pay for defamation, infliction of emotional distress and other punitive costs. Freeman and Moss haven’t specified a precise amount but are instead preparing to introduce expert testimony to estimate the harm they have experienced.

  • SuperDuper
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    4911 months ago

    You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart, right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.

    -Donald Trump, treasonous foreign intelligence asset

    • Flying Squid
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      1811 months ago

      Allow me to be smug and say that that’s one thing that makes me better than Trump- I don’t think the state should have the power to execute anyone for any crime. Not even treason.

      • SuperDuper
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        2211 months ago

        For the record, neither do I.

        I do, however, find it infuriating that so-called Christians will happily support the death penalty despite it being against their religion, all the while frothing at the mouth over abortions and homosexuality.

        • @eestileib@sh.itjust.works
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          611 months ago

          Deuteronomy and Leviticus specify the death penalty for many many things.

          Those two books matter more than the entire new testament.

    • @CmdrShepard
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      211 months ago

      What he meant by that was “these people receive pardons from the president now” a la Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Steve Bannon, and George Papadopoulos.