The damages process is the latest form of accountability for those who supported Trump's attempt to undermine the 2020 election. While criminal cases against Trump, Giuliani and others progressed slowly, efforts to punish the perpetrators in other ways, from civil suits to debarment proceedings, moved more quickly. For example, Giuliani's law license was revoked last year after D.C. law enforcement concluded he had violated professional ethics in his efforts to overturn millions of votes in Pennsylvania. A decision on whether this sanction should become permanent is still pending.
Freeman and Moss are key figures in two criminal cases against Trump – his federal conspiracy case in Washington, D.C. and his extortion case in Georgia. In both cases, prosecutors described how Trump amplified Giuliani's lies about the women, including in a now-infamous phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on January 2, 2021.
Giuliani is identified as “Co-Conspirator 1” in the federal case, which is taking place in the same courthouse where he is awaiting sentencing in the civil case against the poll workers. And Giuliani — along with several other Trump allies accused of plotting to harass and intimidate workers — faces criminal charges alongside Trump in the Georgia case.
Freeman and Moss, testifying at a House select committee hearing on Jan. 6 last year, described a barrage of death threats and attacks that have dogged them over the past three years, at times forcing them to leave their homes. to stay safe. And Trump has renewed his attacks on Freeman, a fact that federal prosecutors noted in a Dec. 4 court filing outlining their intention to present evidence of Trump's more recent behavior in his criminal trial, which is scheduled to begin March 4.
Howell, the Obama-appointed judge who will preside over Giuliani's trial this week, has had a front-row seat to many of the legal proceedings surrounding Trump's attempt to disrupt the transfer of power. Until March, she was the county's chief judge, handling all grand jury matters related to the former president's federal criminal case. Their rulings included several rejecting Trump's efforts to assert executive privilege and deny testimony from key former aides such as White House counsel Pat Cipollone and chief of staff Mark Meadows. She also authorized special counsel Jack Smith to obtain data from Trump's Twitter feed and agreed with prosecutors that Trump's rhetoric posed a danger to participants and witnesses in the case.
Key evidence in the case against Giuliani is expected from several close associates who took part in the testimony, including former New York police chief Bernie Kerik and Giuliani himself, who may be called as a witness. Freeman and Moss have also announced plans to call an expert who can quantify the scope of Giuliani's statements and the extent of the damage they say he has caused.
Howell ruled that Giuliani was liable for defamation after finding that he had repeatedly shirked his responsibility to preserve and produce evidence in the case. She has issued a series of targeted rulings alleging that Giuliani defied her orders. And she has at times requested his presence in the courtroom for pretrial proceedings, a rarity in civil cases. Last week, Howell reprimanded Giuliani's attorney, Joe Sibley, for failing to inform Giuliani that she expected him to be present at the final pretrial conference.
Giuliani has taken more aggressive steps against Howell in his recent statements.
“The biases and prejudices of judges are well known and have been demonstrated in this and many other cases – where trial is punishment,” Giuliani's political adviser and spokesman Ted Goodman said in a statement last week. “In time, this will be seen as a dark chapter in the American justice system because this entire process is causing great, irreparable harm.”
In addition to his criminal charges, his firing process and the lawsuit filed by Freeman and Moss, Giuliani has been sued by several other people – including President Joe Biden's son Hunter – who claim he spread false allegations about them in 2020. He described extreme finances as he struggles to cover his legal fees, but has recently touted high-dollar fundraising efforts to support his defense in these cases. Trump's PAC helped cover a $300,000 bill earlier this year from a vendor who helped Giuliani gather evidence for the Freeman-Moss lawsuit.
Howell plans to seat an eight-member jury, and attorneys for Freeman and Moss expect they will need three days to present their case.
