Leah Millis/Reuters
On day one of Rudy Giuliani’s trial to determine how much he’ll owe a pair of Georgia poll workers he defamed, his attorney claimed that forcing him to pay the $43 million in damages requested by his victims—or anywhere near it—would be a “death penalty” to Giuliani.
The bizarre claim came in defense attorney Joseph Sibley’s opening statement to jurors on Monday afternoon, in which he claimed Giuliani wasn’t the direct reason Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss received death threats and crippling harassment after the 2020 election—despite a federal judge ruling in August that Giuliani was liable.
“If you award them what they are asking for, it will be the end of Mr. Giuliani,” Sibley said.