Giuliani’s attorney tries to undercut idea it will take tens of millions to repair election workers’ reputation
Sam Levine
Joseph Sibley, Rudy Giuliani’s attorney, has been trying to undercut the idea that tens of millions of dollars are needed to repair the reputations of Freeman and Moss’ reputation.
He has assailed the idea of using a reputational repair campaign as a way of quantifying the harm of a defamed statement. He has suggested that until Humphreys utilized it in the E Jean Carroll defamation case, it has not been used. And under his questioning, Humphreys has been unable to give an example of a private person who has not been able to undertake a reputation repair campaign (she detailed how the brand Dior successfully ran one after John Galliano, its creative director, made antisemitic remarks).
Sibley has also noted that Georgia officials and media outlets have widely reported that the statements about Freeman and Moss are not true. He has pressed Humphreys to acknowledge that she did not fully analyze what effect that could have on the need for a reputation repair campaign. Essentially, he is trying to seed the idea that she only studied Giuliani’s defamatory statements in a vacuum without broader context of efforts to combat lies about Freeman and Moss.
He has also suggested that no campaign can successfully convince Americans the election wasn’t stolen.
“,”elementId”:”116a12f1-55d0-4cb7-bea7-4978187bc8b3″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
He has assailed the idea of using a reputational repair campaign as a way of quantifying the harm of a defamed statement. He has suggested that until Humphreys utilized it in the E Jean Carroll defamation case, it has not been used. And under his questioning, Humphreys has been unable to give an example of a private person who has not been able to undertake a reputation repair campaign (she detailed how the brand Dior successfully ran one after John Galliano, its creative director, made antisemitic remarks).
“,”elementId”:”86206f9f-cc5e-422f-bfd7-06d2d87a14a7″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Sibley has also noted that Georgia officials and media outlets have widely reported that the statements about Freeman and Moss are not true. He has pressed Humphreys to acknowledge that she did not fully analyze what effect that could have on the need for a reputation repair campaign. Essentially, he is trying to seed the idea that she only studied Giuliani’s defamatory statements in a vacuum without broader context of efforts to combat lies about Freeman and Moss.
“,”elementId”:”25443755-b427-4ebe-bc0d-64461c836202″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
He has also suggested that no campaign can successfully convince Americans the election wasn’t stolen.
“,”elementId”:”0eb4ca1f-4fd3-4cbf-b3a5-3c1d087fe000″),”attributes”:”pinned”:true,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false,”blockCreatedOn”:1702495706000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”14.28 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1702496636000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”14.43 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1702495962000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”14.32 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”14.32″,”title”:”Giuliani’s attorney tries to undercut idea it will take tens of millions to repair election workers’ reputation”,”contributors”:(“name”:”Sam Levine”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/12/09/Sam_Levine.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=25e62f18000fc746ffbf14a234227fd1″,”largeImageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/12/09/Sam_Levine_Next_Gen.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=b749a487d2c9f5ea6cea0ef137bce319″),”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 13 Dec 2023 15.01 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Wed 13 Dec 2023 09.08 EST”,”id”:”6579fcc58f0828e550ef9c2c”,”elements”:(“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Joe Sibley, Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, asked Ashlee Humphreys why all her individual defamation cases “involve rightwing figures as defendants”, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
“,”elementId”:”18a2a55c-c973-4220-bf63-7d6fa6096351″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“Is there a reason for that?” Sibley asked.
“,”elementId”:”d9bce2ee-5663-4d8a-97f9-7950b0818da2″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“No,” Humphreys said in response.
“,”elementId”:”f7fde21e-e40b-4ee8-b204-ba933ad06586″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement”,”html”:”
Sibley: “Why are all of your individual defamation cases, why do they all involve right wing figures as defendants? Is there a reason for that?”
Humphreys: “No.”
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
“,”url”:”https://x.com/srl/status/1735007610758111634?s=20″,”id”:”1735007610758111634″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”8f0ff866-c6c0-4b78-8571-d2d8d3086a52″),”attributes”:”pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false,”blockCreatedOn”:1702493381000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”13.49 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1702494142000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”14.02 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1702493510000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”13.51 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”13.51″,”contributors”:(),”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 13 Dec 2023 15.01 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Wed 13 Dec 2023 09.08 EST”,”id”:”6579f6f38f08108e9e74f967″,”elements”:(“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The court is back in session.
“,”elementId”:”2518cdc3-a61a-47ae-9029-2b573a84ac44″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The federal judge Beryl Howell has just taken the bench, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
“,”elementId”:”53afeffd-fff0-4d73-a000-1c4b7e08efff”),”attributes”:”pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false,”blockCreatedOn”:1702491891000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”13.24 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1702492248000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”13.30 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1702491929000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”13.25 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”13.25″,”title”:”Court is back in session”,”contributors”:(),”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 13 Dec 2023 15.01 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Wed 13 Dec 2023 09.08 EST”,”id”:”6579ebd58f088e348c76ef82″,”elements”:(“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The court is currently on break until around 1.15pm ET.
“,”elementId”:”4c2bf83c-7c1e-4e9d-8919-cf4a9a57b029″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Here is where the day stands:
“,”elementId”:”15498d48-5517-443f-a9f0-daa69424e31b”,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
- \n
-
“The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms Freeman and Ms Moss,” said Ashlee Humphreys, a professor from Northwestern University and an expert witness of plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. “Ms Freeman and Ms Moss are widely associated with claims of election fraud,” Humphreys added.
-
Ashlee Humphreys said in court that prior to 3 December 2020, there was almost no search traffic for “Ruby Freeman”. Afterwards, there was an increase, she said.
-
Ashlee Humphreys also analyzed a Donald Trump campaign advertisement about suitcases in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports. According to Humphreys, the advertisement got between 8m and 18.2m impressions from the Trump campaign and Trump Twitter accounts.
-
Ashlee Humphreys also explained the omnipresent nature of podcasts and how they appear on various platforms, according to Law & Crime reporter Brandi Buchman. Humphreys added that Rudy Giuliani’s podcast in which he accused Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman of cheating was widely shared on multiple platforms including his website and One America Network, a far-right cable news channel.
-
Federal judge Beryl Howell called out Rudy Giuliani for disparaging the plaintiffs’ counsel last night following yesterday’s court hearing, saying that it violated a court stipulation. “I thought I could make comments about counsel,” said Giuliani, adding: “I will not do it in the future.” In response, Howell said, “There’s a lot of accidents going on here, Mr Giuliani.”
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
“,”elementId”:”b6a626c5-84d5-4cc0-a2d8-465423af7807″),”attributes”:”pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:false,”summary”:true,”blockCreatedOn”:1702489045000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”12.37 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1702490218000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”12.56 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1702490046000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”12.54 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”12.54″,”title”:”Summary”,”contributors”:(),”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 13 Dec 2023 15.01 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Wed 13 Dec 2023 09.08 EST”,”id”:”6579e4118f08e3b7ab1a3248″,”elements”:(“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms Freeman and Ms Moss,” said Ashlee Humphreys, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
“,”elementId”:”07469734-a368-4b73-aabd-89f6f2b75736″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“Ms Freeman and Ms Moss are widely associated with claims of election fraud,” Humphreys added.
“,”elementId”:”b6edfd3a-f048-4244-83da-ad264f24b050″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement”,”html”:”
"The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss," Humphreys says. "Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss as widely associated with claims of election fraud."
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
“,”url”:”https://x.com/srl/status/1734979541146161183?s=20″,”id”:”1734979541146161183″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”e91d69d8-46c5-4508-85f5-f9e7811238a9″),”attributes”:”pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false,”blockCreatedOn”:1702487057000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”12.04 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1702487631000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”12.13 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1702487273000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”12.07 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”12.07″,”title”:”Expert witness: ‘The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact’ on plaintiffs’ reputations”,”contributors”:(),”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 13 Dec 2023 15.01 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Wed 13 Dec 2023 09.08 EST”,”id”:”6579c9f88f088e348c76ed07″,”elements”:(“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Federal judge Beryl Howell called out Rudy Giuliani for disparaging the plaintiffs’ counsel last night following yesterday’s court hearing, saying that it violated a court stipulation, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
“,”elementId”:”7200b4f1-2aae-4681-bc9d-2d356fb10cbc”,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement”,”html”:”
Judge Beryl Howell needled Giuliani again for disparaging plaintiff’s counsel last night after court, saying it violated a court stipulation
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
\n\n”,”url”:”https://x.com/srl/status/1734944563234496875?s=20″,”id”:”1734944563234496875″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”515620bf-a691-4990-842a-040c7a9a3015″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“I thought I could make comments about counsel,” said Giuliani, adding, “I will not do it in the future.”
“,”elementId”:”11cff947-8277-4e6f-88f0-1873207efb39″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
In response, Howell said, “There’s a lot of accidents going on here Mr. Giuliani.”
“,”elementId”:”0324e364-10ed-4beb-8ed8-cf94a7c48340″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement”,”html”:”
"I thought I could make comments about counsel," Giuliani said. "I will not do it in the future."
"There's a lot of accidents going on here Mr. Giuliani," Howell said.
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
\n\n”,”url”:”https://x.com/srl/status/1734945720199741841?s=20″,”id”:”1734945720199741841″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”167be5c1-0c2c-4afc-b52a-573841ae7e6c”),”attributes”:”pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false,”blockCreatedOn”:1702480376000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”10.12 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1702481257000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”10.27 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1702480564000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”10.16 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”10.16″,”title”:”Judge: Giuliani’s remarks on plaintiffs’ counsel violate a court stipulation”,”contributors”:(),”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 13 Dec 2023 15.01 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Wed 13 Dec 2023 09.08 EST”,”id”:”6579c5b58f088e348c76ec9f”,”elements”:(“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Lawyers for Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman are just starting on their first witness of the day, Ashlee Humphreys, a professor at Northwestern University.
“,”elementId”:”e2526838-18c3-42db-91f6-4c29bec1276f”,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Humphreys is an expert witness who studies social media and is expected to testify about how she calculated the damages Moss and Freeman are entitled to.
“,”elementId”:”54f850b6-0874-4aa7-9ba6-79570a75e832″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Just as they have been all week, Moss, Freeman, and Giuliani are in the courtroom. Moss and Freeman are sitting next to each other at a table with their lawyers. Freeman’s back is to Giuliani, who is sitting at a table parallel to them with his lawyer.
“,”elementId”:”576b5fd6-d3ea-4b33-8709-84bfe09c9b78″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Ruby Freeman is expected to testify later today.
“,”elementId”:”85fc3f3c-ec4f-4e11-a5f3-26596c0de517″),”attributes”:”pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false,”blockCreatedOn”:1702479285000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”09.54 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1702487650000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”12.14 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1702479349000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”09.55 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”09.55″,”title”:”Expert witness to testify first on how she calculated damage for election workers”,”contributors”:(“name”:”Sam Levine”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/12/09/Sam_Levine.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=25e62f18000fc746ffbf14a234227fd1″,”largeImageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/12/09/Sam_Levine_Next_Gen.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=b749a487d2c9f5ea6cea0ef137bce319″),”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 13 Dec 2023 15.01 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Wed 13 Dec 2023 09.08 EST”,”id”:”6579aee68f0893fbcb7ce620″,”elements”:(“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The federal trial of Rudy Giuliani, the former lawyer of ex-president Donald Trump and former New York mayor, is set to continue today in Washington DC.
“,”elementId”:”d4f0d924-2ca8-4c16-8985-cab15584812e”,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Giuliani is at the center of a defamation case involving Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss, both of whom served as election workers in Georgia’s Fulton county after the 2020 presidential election.
“,”elementId”:”f7435f37-74e6-4519-92fa-4cf7a4926927″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Both women are seeking up to $43m in compensatory and punitive damages after Giuliani made false statements about them following the election, including accusing them of fraudulently counting mail-in ballots.
“,”elementId”:”52e1e17d-ad59-496e-a62d-e43112419644″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
On Monday, Giuliani’s lawyer told the court that awarding millions of dollars in damages would be like the “death penalty” for his client, adding that “it will be the end of Mr. Giuliani.”
“,”elementId”:”0b81e4f0-669e-4f23-94c9-1cffe6a9860f”,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Meanwhile, during a tearful testimony on Tuesday, Moss said that Giuliani’s lies about her turned her life “upside down” and detailed her anxiety and depression that followed from Giuliani’s lies.
“,”elementId”:”63e7ff4c-b6eb-43e2-ba9a-f42017ee2ec5″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Freeman is expected to testify today.
“,”elementId”:”86053c0f-829d-49ca-845f-259cf8c79355″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Here are other developments in US politics:
“,”elementId”:”b9ad6946-f352-43bf-98a3-a9c445efae23″,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
- \n
-
House Republicans are set to vote today to formalize their impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden.
-
Hunter Biden is set to appear before the House Oversight Committee for a closed-door interview at 9:30am ET, Politico reports.
-
Kamala Harris is launching the Biden administration’s Safer States Initiative to provide states with additional tools to reduce gun violence.
\n
\n
\n
“,”elementId”:”01694fc9-e428-4b0b-ba18-edde0771ca33″),”attributes”:”pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false,”blockCreatedOn”:1702476532000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”09.08 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1702480588000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”10.16 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1702476532000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”09.08 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”09.08″,”title”:”Giuliani defamation trial continues with witness testimony today”,”contributors”:(),”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 13 Dec 2023 15.01 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Wed 13 Dec 2023 09.08 EST”),”filterKeyEvents”:false,”id”:”key-events-carousel-mobile”” config=””renderingTarget”:”Web”,”darkModeAvailable”:false”>
Key events
Joe Sibley, Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, is testing the idea that perhaps Giuliani’s defamation case actually helped Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
Sibley pointed to Freeman and Moss receiving the Presidential Citizens Medal from Joe Biden earlier this year, as well as Moss being awarded the John F Kennedy Profile in Courage award.
Sibley is now testing the idea that perhaps the defamation campaign by Giuliani actually helped Freeman and Moss, noting they were awarded the presidential citizens medal and Moss won the JFK profile in courage award.
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
“,”url”:”https://x.com/srl/status/1735019777578442757?s=20″,”id”:”1735019777578442757″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”974e6423-8f37-40f6-af06-6751ad36bb2e”” config=””renderingTarget”:”Web”,”darkModeAvailable”:false”>
Sibley is now testing the idea that perhaps the defamation campaign by Giuliani actually helped Freeman and Moss, noting they were awarded the presidential citizens medal and Moss won the JFK profile in courage award.
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
Giuliani’s attorney tries to undercut idea it will take tens of millions to repair election workers’ reputation
Sam Levine
Joseph Sibley, Rudy Giuliani’s attorney, has been trying to undercut the idea that tens of millions of dollars are needed to repair the reputations of Freeman and Moss’ reputation.
He has assailed the idea of using a reputational repair campaign as a way of quantifying the harm of a defamed statement. He has suggested that until Humphreys utilized it in the E Jean Carroll defamation case, it has not been used. And under his questioning, Humphreys has been unable to give an example of a private person who has not been able to undertake a reputation repair campaign (she detailed how the brand Dior successfully ran one after John Galliano, its creative director, made antisemitic remarks).
Sibley has also noted that Georgia officials and media outlets have widely reported that the statements about Freeman and Moss are not true. He has pressed Humphreys to acknowledge that she did not fully analyze what effect that could have on the need for a reputation repair campaign. Essentially, he is trying to seed the idea that she only studied Giuliani’s defamatory statements in a vacuum without broader context of efforts to combat lies about Freeman and Moss.
He has also suggested that no campaign can successfully convince Americans the election wasn’t stolen.
According to Law & Crime’s reporter Brandi Buchman, Joe Sibley, Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, said that in the three years since “unfortunate events” happened to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, has there not been a campaign stating they did not commit fraud?
Following some back and forth, federal judge Beryl Powell interjected and said: “Reminding the jurors again, questions are not evidence.”
Sibley says in 3 years since "unfortunate events" happened to Moss/Freeman — hasnt there been a campaign, effectively, stating they did not commit fraud?
Back and forth. Howell cuts in, a bit annoyed
"Reminding the jurors again, questions are not evidence."
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
“,”url”:”https://x.com/Brandi_Buchman/status/1735013053572288773?s=20″,”id”:”1735013053572288773″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”bc503115-80bc-4d15-8254-2bf8c4a7ca0c”” config=””renderingTarget”:”Web”,”darkModeAvailable”:false”>
Sibley says in 3 years since “unfortunate events” happened to Moss/Freeman — hasnt there been a campaign, effectively, stating they did not commit fraud?
Back and forth. Howell cuts in, a bit annoyed
“Reminding the jurors again, questions are not evidence.”— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
Ashlee Humphreys then proceeds to note that one in three people still believe that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent, Buchman reports.
Humphreys noted that 1 in 3 people still believe 2020 election was fraudulent.
Sibley: Thats my point, well, the state of Georgia issued a report saying claims against Moss/Freeman were not true…..
— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
“,”url”:”https://x.com/Brandi_Buchman/status/1735013433290989903?s=20″,”id”:”1735013433290989903″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”ca7698bb-2337-47c8-8d61-5e0b1f629d27″” config=””renderingTarget”:”Web”,”darkModeAvailable”:false”>
Humphreys noted that 1 in 3 people still believe 2020 election was fraudulent.
Sibley: Thats my point, well, the state of Georgia issued a report saying claims against Moss/Freeman were not true…..— Brandi Buchman (@Brandi_Buchman) December 13, 2023
Joe Sibley, Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, asked Ashlee Humphreys why all her individual defamation cases “involve rightwing figures as defendants”, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
“Is there a reason for that?” Sibley asked.
“No,” Humphreys said in response.
Sibley: “Why are all of your individual defamation cases, why do they all involve right wing figures as defendants? Is there a reason for that?”
Humphreys: “No.”
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
“,”url”:”https://x.com/srl/status/1735007610758111634?s=20″,”id”:”1735007610758111634″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”c0e08c4f-14ce-49fd-bb71-73f469e087fd”” config=””renderingTarget”:”Web”,”darkModeAvailable”:false”>
Sibley: “Why are all of your individual defamation cases, why do they all involve right wing figures as defendants? Is there a reason for that?”
Humphreys: “No.”
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, Joe Sibley, is set to cross-examine Ashlee Humphreys, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
“Today’s misinformation might be tomorrow’s truth,” said Sibley, pointing to the Covid-19 lab leak theory and Hunter Biden’s laptop.
In response, the plaintiffs’ lawyers object and it is sustained. Judge Beryl Howell goes on to say, “I don’t know where you’re going with that.”
"Today’s misinformation might be tomorrow’s truth," Rudy Giuliani's attorney, Joe Sibley, says. He goes on to talk about the Covid lab leak theory and Hunter Biden's laptop. Plaintiff's lawyers object and it is sustained. "I don't know where you're going with that," judge says
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
“,”url”:”https://x.com/srl/status/1735004334771814693?s=20″,”id”:”1735004334771814693″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”c12868b3-253b-40f5-8822-a9f511a8c176″” config=””renderingTarget”:”Web”,”darkModeAvailable”:false”>
“Today’s misinformation might be tomorrow’s truth,” Rudy Giuliani’s attorney, Joe Sibley, says. He goes on to talk about the Covid lab leak theory and Hunter Biden’s laptop. Plaintiff’s lawyers object and it is sustained. “I don’t know where you’re going with that,” judge says
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
Court is back in session
The court is back in session.
The federal judge Beryl Howell has just taken the bench, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
Reuters also has a report that Trump cannot assert presidential immunity from a defamation lawsuit by E Jean Carroll, the writer who accused him of rape.
A US appeals court made the ruling on Wednesday, dealing him another setback in litigation she has pursued.
The second US circuit court of appeals in Manhattan upheld a federal judge’s decision to reject Trump’s claim of immunity.
Carroll in the lawsuit sought at least $10m in damages from Trump over comments he made in June 2019, when he was president, after she first publicly accused him of raping her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump denied knowing Carroll, said she was not his “type”, and that she made up the rape claim to promote her upcoming memoir.
Away from the Rudy Giuliani trial, there has been a flurry of news about his former boss in the past few hours.
The supreme court on Wednesday said it would hear an appeal that could upend hundreds of charges stemming from the Capitol riot, including against Donald Trump.
The justices will review an appellate ruling that revived a charge against three defendants accused of obstruction of an official proceeding. The charge refers to the disruption of Congress’s certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Trump.
You can read the full story here:
Summary
The court is currently on break until around 1.3pm ET.
Here is where the day stands:
-
“The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms Freeman and Ms Moss,” said Ashlee Humphreys, a professor from Northwestern University and an expert witness of plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. “Ms Freeman and Ms Moss are widely associated with claims of election fraud,” Humphreys added.
-
Ashlee Humphreys said in court that prior to 3 December 2020, there was almost no search traffic for “Ruby Freeman”. Afterwards, there was an increase, she said.
-
Ashlee Humphreys also analyzed a Donald Trump campaign advertisement about suitcases in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports. According to Humphreys, the advertisement got between 8m and 18.2m impressions from the Trump campaign and Trump Twitter accounts.
-
Ashlee Humphreys also explained the omnipresent nature of podcasts and how they appear on various platforms, according to Law & Crime reporter Brandi Buchman. Humphreys added that Rudy Giuliani’s podcast in which he accused Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman of cheating was widely shared on multiple platforms including his website and One America Network, a far-right cable news channel.
-
Federal judge Beryl Howell called out Rudy Giuliani for disparaging the plaintiffs’ counsel last night following yesterday’s court hearing, saying that it violated a court stipulation. “I thought I could make comments about counsel,” said Giuliani, adding: “I will not do it in the future.” In response, Howell said, “There’s a lot of accidents going on here, Mr Giuliani.”
Sam Levine
At a minimum, it could cost Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss anywhere between $17.8m and $47.4m, an expert just testified in their defamation case against Rudy Giuliani.
Ashlee Humphreys, a marketing professor at Northwestern University, is testifying as an expert witness to try and put a dollar amount to quantify the harm Freeman and Moss suffered as a result of Giuliani’s lies. She was hired by lawyers for Freeman and Moss to perform her analysis.
“The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms Freeman and Ms Moss,” she said.
She began by studying the number of impressions – essentially views – Giuliani’s defamatory statements about the two women had after 3 December 2020. She found there were hundreds of thousands of impressions, typical of information that goes viral.
A reputational repair campaign would have to essentially make as many correctives as the number of impressions Giuliani had across multiple media platforms, including television and social media.
Freeman and Moss have asked for between $13.5m and $43m in damages. In addition to compensatory damages, they are also seeking punitive damages against Giuliani.
Expert witness: ‘The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact’ on plaintiffs’ reputations
“The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms Freeman and Ms Moss,” said Ashlee Humphreys, the Guardian’s Sam Levine reports.
“Ms Freeman and Ms Moss are widely associated with claims of election fraud,” Humphreys added.
"The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss," Humphreys says. "Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss as widely associated with claims of election fraud."
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023
“,”url”:”https://x.com/srl/status/1734979541146161183?s=20″,”id”:”1734979541146161183″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”b0a1f828-cb37-45fa-94fd-9edd16111e52″” config=””renderingTarget”:”Web”,”darkModeAvailable”:false”>
“The defamatory claims had a significant, negative and long-lasting impact on the reputations of Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss,” Humphreys says. “Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss as widely associated with claims of election fraud.”
— Sam Levine (@srl) December 13, 2023