Opening statements are set to begin Monday afternoon in the trial of former Trump attorney and ex-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who could be on the hook for up to $43.5 million in damages in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by two Georgia election workers.
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Rudy Giuliani’s election defamation trial to start today with opening statements
Giuliani has been in U.S. District Court in D.C. all morning, where he had earlier been found liable for more than a dozen defamatory statements against the mother and daughter. The jury of eight selected Monday will only decide how much he should pay in damages for violent threats and harassment the pair received.
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Donald Trump is facing historic legal scrutiny for a former president. He has been indicted on 78 felony charges in two federal cases and one state case and is under investigation elsewhere. He has denied all wrongdoing. Here is a list of the key probes and where they stand.
Manhattan district attorney’s investigation
Trump has been indicted on 34 felony charges following an investigation by District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) of business matters involving Trump, including his alleged role in hush money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. The trial has been scheduled for March 2024.
Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation
Trump has been indicted on 40 felony charges after FBI agents found more than 100 classified documents during a search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Aug. 8 as part of a criminal probe into possible mishandling of classified information. The trial has been scheduled for May 2024.
Justice Dept. criminal probe of Jan. 6
Trump has been indicted on four felony charges. Prosecutors are focusing on the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and whether Trump or his aides conspired to obstruct Congress’s certification of the 2020 election or committed fraud to block the peaceful transfer of power. Prosecutor Jack Smith is also overseeing the Mar-a-Lago investigation.
Georgia election results investigation
Former president Donald Trump and 18 others were criminally charged in connection with efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Georgia. The indictment follows a 2½-year investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D). The grand jury issued arrest warrants for those charged, and they have until noon on Aug. 25 to voluntarily surrender.
Lawsuit over Trump business practices in New York
Attorney General Letitia James (D) filed a lawsuit Sept. 21 against Trump, some of his children and the Trump Organization, accusing them of flagrantly manipulating property valuations to get tax breaks and better terms on loans and insurance policies. A trial is scheduled for October.
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U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A.Howell previously ordered Giuliani to pay the women $230,000 in legal fees and sanctions for failing to turn over relevant information. She said those failures, combined with Giuliani’s own admissions, compelled her to rule without a trial that he defamed both women, intentionally inflicted emotional distress on them as part of a civil conspiracy, and owes punitive damages.
Freeman and Moss are expected to testify in the case, and the defense has signaled Giuliani could take the witness stand in his defense.
The showdown between Giuliani and the two temporary poll workers he baselessly accused of ballot tampering in 2020 will highlight a major court battle over false claims that became central to former president Donald Trump’s efforts to stay in power and is now at the heart of two criminal cases against him.
In court filings, attorneys for the Georgia workers hint they might put on new evidence about the scope of the alleged conspiracy between Giuliani, Trump, and participants with his legal and campaign teams. According to state prosecutors in Georgia, three Trump supporters tried to pressure Freeman into going along with the false claims, including by showing up at her home.
The prospect of a humbling or debilitating financial judgment is only the latest legal risk for Giuliani. He faces state prosecution in Georgia, in part for his dissemination of the false claims about Freeman and Moss. He’s also considered an unindicted co-conspirator in Trump’s indictment on federal charges for obstruction of the 2020 election. He and one of his lawyers are being sued by Hunter Biden for allegedly mishandling the presidential son’s laptop, and that lawyer is accusing Giuliani of not paying legal bills. Giuliani also faces suit from a former employee accusing him of wage theft and sexual harassment.
Giuliani has pleaded not guilty in the Georgia criminal cases, and denied all claims of wrongdoing in all cases.
Trump hosted a $100,000-per-person fundraiser for Giuliani in September, and spoke of his former attorney during a speech at the New York Young Republican Club’s annual gala Saturday night, saying the city was “safe” and “prosperous” during Giuliani’s tenure as mayor of New York and asserting that “judges didn’t have the courage to do what they should have done.”
“Rudy is a warrior, he’s a brave guy, he’s a brilliant man and he’s been our friend and there’s nobody like him, really,” Trump said. “When I see what’s happened to the city in such a short period of time, it’s very sad.”