Judge denies Rudy Giuliani request to dismiss defamation damages owed to Georgia election workers

ATLANTA — A federal judge denied Rudy Giuliani’s request to dismiss the $148 million ruling against him in the Georgia election workers case.

Back in December, an unanimous jury in Washington, D.C. awarded Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss damages for defamation and emotional distress.

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The mother and daughter volunteered to count votes at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena during the 2020 presidential election. Giuliani accused the two of mass voter fraud. Both Freeman and Moss said they received death threats.

A judge made a default judgment that Giuliani did defame Freeman and Moss. Giuliani vowed to appeal the verdict, saying the “absurdity of the number merely underscores the absurdity of the entire proceeding.”

On Monday, U.S. Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled against Giuliani’s appeal.

“Giuliani’s renewed motion urging this Court to reverse its prior findings and rulings and to override the jury’s considered verdict on the basis of five threadbare arguments falls well short of persuading that ‘the evidence and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn therefrom are so one-sided that reasonable men and women could not have reached a verdict in [plaintiffs’] favor,’” Howell wrote in her ruling Monday.

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Monday’s ruling comes as Giuliani deals with financial troubles.

After the jury’s decision in December, Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy the next day. He claimed he had less than $10 million in assets but more than $100 million in debt, according to his bankruptcy petition.

ABC News contributed to this report.

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Rudy Giuliani lists $148M judgement as part of reason he has filed for bankruptcy

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