Rudy Giuliani avoids testifying in defamation case

Rudy Giuliani has abandoned plans to testify in his own defence as his multi-million defamation case enters its final stage.

Ex-poll worker Ruby Freeman, 64, and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss are suing Mr Giuliani over his false claims they played a role in election fraud.

The pair testified that they had to flee and feared for their lives.

Mr Giuliani has already been found liable, leaving only the penalties in question.

Ms Freeman and Ms Moss are seeking between $15m and $43m (£11.9m to £34m) in damages, which Mr Giuliani – Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer – claims he cannot afford.

The ex-New York City mayor was due to testify in court on Thursday, but his lawyers said during an early morning press conference that he was no longer taking the stand. The reasons for the reversal – which emerged as Mr Giuliani sat in court – were unclear.

In courtroom testimony in Washington DC on Wednesday, Ms Freeman recounted having to flee after a group of Trump supporters gathered at her home and the FBI told her she was in danger after Mr Giuliani shared a video of them, which he falsely alleged was evidence of ballot tampering.

“I took it as though they were going to hang me with their ropes on my street,” Ms Freeman said. “I was scared. I didn’t know if they were coming to kill me.”

Mr Giuliani has previously acknowledged in a court filing that he made defamatory statements about the pair.

Ms Freeman said that she was left isolated by Mr Giuliani’s actions. Friends and acquaintances became afraid to be linked to her, and she has been forced to live a life of seclusion because of lingering fears she will be recognised publicly.

“It’s so scary, any time I go somewhere if I have to use my name,” she said. “Now I don’t have a name, really.”

Lawyers for Ms Freeman and her daughter rested their case on Wednesday. It is clear now that Mr Giuliani will not testify.

Mr Giuliani played a significant part in Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He amplified the former president’s claims that the election was fraudulent.

Northwestern University Professor Ashley Humphreys, a trial witness and sociologist who specialises in consumer behaviour, testified on Wednesday that Mr Giuliani’s defamatory statements were seen up to 56 million times.

The judge in Ms Freeman’s case has forbidden Mr Giuliani from arguing the debunked election fraud claims in court. Outside the court, however, he has continued to claim that the baseless allegations he made about Ms Moss and Ms Freeman were true.

He said on Monday that he didn’t regret his earlier statements and promised the public would “get the whole story” once he testified, which will no longer happen.

Before closing arguments began, Mr Giuliani’s lawyers requested a motion to dismiss some of the evidence, as well as some of his defamatory statements and tweets.

The judge rejected the measure, saying that “these statements made by Giuliani again and again and again were totally false… these same lies [told] up to the very first day of trial”.

Mr Giuliani is facing separate charges in Georgia stemming from his part in an alleged conspiracy to overturn the election results alongside Mr Trump and others. He has pleaded not guilty.