Rudy Guiliani: I made ‘false’ statements about 2 Fulton election workers
The former NYC mayor is no longer contesting the facts in defamation lawsuits filed by two Fulton election workers.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The man once known as America’s mayor has admitted he made “false” statements about two Georgia election workers in the chaotic aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
According to a late Tuesday court filing by his attorneys, Rudy Guiliani also no longer contests the factual allegations in defamation lawsuits filed by Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman, the two Fulton County election workers in question.
Guiliani — who earned a national reputation not only as a fearless federal prosecutor but also as New York City mayor during the 9/11 terror attacks — has been a personal attorney for former President Donald Trump in his efforts to contest the 2020 presidential election’s results.
Guiliani is also the target of a July 11 lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Columbia, in which Freeman and Moss allege Guiliani failed to turn over evidence despite several court orders to do.
Freeman and Moss also have a long-running defamation lawsuit against Guiliani. The lawsuit is requesting U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell to impose sanctions on Guiliani.
Last month, Georgia’s state election board closed its investigation into alleged malfeasance during the 2020 election at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said numerous allegations made against the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections, and specifically, Freeman and Moss, were false and unsubstantiated.
“We are glad the State Election Board finally put this issue to rest,” Raffensperger said. “False claims and knowingly false allegations made against these election workers have done tremendous harm. Election workers deserve our praise for being on the front lines.”
The investigation, which included personnel from Raffensperger’s office and GBI and FBI agents, found “there was no evidence of any type of fraud as alleged,” according to the board.
Trump had zeroed in on the county after he lost Georgia by a slim margin in the November 2020 general election. In phone calls to state election officials and in public comments, Trump made claims of widespread election fraud in Fulton.
Actions he took as he tried to overturn his election loss, including a phone call to Raffensperger, led Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to open an ongoing investigation into whether Trump and others illegally meddled in the state’s election.
Last year, Giuliani testified before Willis’ special grand jury in Fulton County.
The admission by Giuliani on Wednesday could impact the Fulton County investigation into Trump and his allies over efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
“Rudy Giuliani was Donald Trump’s attorney, you figure that anything that Giuliani knew with regard to this election he would’ve passed onto his employer, the man he’s representing,” said Charles Bullock, a University of Georgia political science professo. “If Giuliani was aware that there was no manipulation here, that the elections in Georgia were not rigged, then one assumes that he would have also told Donald Trump that.”
Willis has stated if charges were to come against Giuliani, Trump and other allies, it would happen during the first three weeks of August.
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