How the Giuliani case is a warning for Trump in Georgia

Gripping testimony from Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss in their defamation case against Rudy Giuliani led to a staggering $148 million in damages — and potential lessons for Fulton County (Ga.) District Attorney Fani Willis as she prepares to take her complex case to court.

Freeman and Moss, who are also set to be star witnesses in the Georgia case, won some $100 million more than they requested, as a Washington, D.C., jury found they were not only defamed by Giuliani but also suffered severe emotional harm after he accused them of election fraud against former President Trump.

That Giuliani defamed the two Black women was largely undisputed, but the duo’s testimony detailing how their lives were turned upside down by an onslaught of horrific threats stemming from his baseless claims clearly made a big impact on the jury.

The Georgia case is complicated and centers on an alleged effort by Trump, Giuliani and others to subvert the electoral process. The successes of Freeman and Moss in Washington could be a roadmap of sorts for Willis as she seeks to make a human connection with jurors and show that real people in her county were harmed by attempts to overturn an election.

“They’re important witnesses that speak to the willingness to do anything and everything to secure power — and, in a way that victimizes the average, everyday citizens of Fulton County, who are also members of the jury,” said Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University.

Freeman and Moss were forced into the national spotlight after their names were made synonymous with the false claims of election fraud spread widely by Trump and his allies in the aftermath of the 2020 election. 

Giuliani claimed in a December 2020 tweet that video footage showed the mother-daughter duo pulling suitcases stuffed with ballots from under a table after others were ordered to leave the room at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena where votes were being counted — the start of persisting conspiracy theories about the women.

Trump later leveraged the accusations against Freeman while attempting to sway Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to investigate purported election fraud in the state.

In August, Trump and 18 others were indicted in Fulton County on charges they joined a criminal enterprise bent on keeping Trump in power, no matter the cost. Their alleged efforts included falsely accusing the women of election crimes to Georgia legislators and officials as part of a pressure campaign aimed at changing the outcome of the election. The 98-page indictment also accuses three lesser-known Trump allies of attempting to influence Freeman’s statements about what happened at the arena.

Freeman and Moss are expected to be two of the state’s nearly 200 witnesses, who are also set to include former Trump administration and Georgia elected officials. Even with all the big names and history, however, the election workers’ testimony will likely stand out.

“They’re just two regular people, doing their jobs, who suddenly were plucked from virtual obscurity by Rudy Giuliani and thrust into this public spotlight,” said Kay Levine, a law professor at Emory University. “I think their lives will be forever changed by that. It’s a terrifying prospect, really, for anybody.”

On the witness stand in Giuliani’s defamation trial, Moss told the jury through tears that “a lot of dark moments” followed election fraud accusations lodged against her. She questioned how Giuliani could spread baseless claims “he obviously has no clue about” as “someone with so much power.” 

With a shaking voice, Freeman read hateful messages that “terrorized” her. Many called her racial slurs and depicted racist imagery.

She said she’s now fearful of being recognized by name and criticized Trump as “mean” and “evil” for using her name to sway Raffensperger to investigate purported fraud. Giuliani’s lawyer declined to cross-examine Freeman, later saying she had “been through enough.” 

“In some ways, it might be harder for people to grasp that more abstract idea about being robbed of your right to vote,” Levine said. “The harm that Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss experienced might be easier for people to really understand, to put themselves in that space.

“Like, ‘There but for the grace of God — that could have been me,’” she added. 

The real-world impact of Trump and his allies’ efforts to overturn the election has been defined in large part by regular people: aides, police officers and election workers who were just doing their jobs.

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman captured the public eye after putting himself in harm’s way to lead a group of Jan. 6 rioters away from the Senate chamber where lawmakers were still evacuating. Other officers detailed the horrors they faced while beating back the mob that day, sustaining serious injuries and fearing they wouldn’t make it home alive. 

Cassidy Hutchinson, now 27 and a former aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, made headlines for offering testimony to the House panel that investigated the Capitol attack. She also faced online threats and fled D.C. for her safety after testifying.

Making an emotional connection with jurors — who, themselves, are everyday people asked to listen to the facts of a case and reach a verdict — can make all the difference, said Michael Mears, a professor at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School.

“Anytime a prosecutor has the ability to put a live, breathing victim on the stand, it’s always going to get the jurors attention,” Mears said. 

“Here, you’ve got two people that can actually be a face of some of these crimes,” he added.

Raffensperger — Georgia’s secretary of state, who is also expected to be a witness in the racketeering case — faced threats after refusing to overturn the state’s election results in Trump’s favor. But his typically “calm and collected” demeanor and status as a public official, not a private citizen, might not resonate as viscerally with jurors, the legal experts agreed. 

“It’s unlikely that a significant portion of the jury pool can understand how it feels to be an elected government official charged with running an election,” Levine said. “But to understand how it feels to be a regular person just doing your job, and then to feel like you’re unfairly attacked — that may inspire more empathy.”

Though a trial date has not yet been set in the 2020 election subversion case, Fulton County prosecutors have requested an August 2024 start. 

“You put somebody like a Ruby Freeman or Shaye [Moss] on the stand, they’re going to bring light to that courtroom, and they’re going to bring heat to that testimony,” Mears said. “And I think that’s why they’re going to be a very significant part of getting a conviction.”