Rudy Giuliani Pours Gasoline on His Own Fire

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani may have added more fuel to his own fire upon leaving the first day of his defamation trial in Georgia Monday, telling members of the media that he stood by everything he said about the election workers behind the claims against him.

Giuliani is on trial in Washington, D.C., this week for spreading false information regarding the work of two Georgia election workers–Rudy Freeman and Shaye Moss–in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. The former mayor, who was working at the time as a legal adviser to ex-President Donald Trump, falsely stated that the mother-daughter duo committed election fraud while they were counting ballots on Election Day in Fulton County.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell already ruled against Giuliani in August, making this week’s trial focused on determining the extent of damages that the former mayor owes the workers. Freeman and Moss are seeking anywhere between $15.5 million and $43 million.

Despite already being found liable, while leaving the courtroom after jury selection and opening statements on Monday, Giuliani continued to attack Freeman and Moss, telling reporters, “Everything I said about them is true.”

“Of course, I don’t regret it,” Giuliani said when asked if he regretted his actions, according to a video of the responses shared to X, formerly Twitter, by the progressive outlet MeidasTouch. “I told the truth. They were engaged in changing votes.”

When a reporter nearby said that there were no proof of Giuliani’s allegations, the former mayor responded, “Oh you’re damn right there is. Stay tuned.”

The statements were highlighted by Howell during jury trial on Tuesday, who said that the repeated accusations could open up new defamation claims against Giuliani on their own.

“Was Mr. Giuliani just playing for the cameras, for the media?” Howell added, according to a report from MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin.

The judge also pointed a finger at Giuliani’s lawyer, Joe Sibley, who during opening statements on Monday said that Freeman and Moss are “good people” who didn’t deserve what happened to them.

According to Politico’s Kyle Cheney, Howell questioned Sibley on how his statements could be true if his client was still calling the women criminals outside the courtroom.

“I’m not sure how it’s reconcilable,” Silbey responded.

“I can’t control everything he does, your honor,” Sibley continued in his response, according to CNN’s report. “I think Mr. Giuliani is well aware of the law of defamation, your honor.”

Former federal prosecutor and legal analyst Harry Litman posted on X Tuesday that Giuliani’s repeated attacks against Freeman and Moss raise questions about the former mayor’s mental state.

“Rudy Giuliani flagrantly defames Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman again on the courthouse steps, saying he doesn’t regret his actions b/c the votes were rigged, even as his lawyer is telling the jury they were good people,” Litman wrote. “He is pretty plainly not well.”

According to Cheney’s reporting, Silbey momentarily defended his client by pointing at Giuliani’s age as the issue at hand.

“This has taken a bit of a toll on him,” the defense lawyer said. “He’s almost 80 years old. I think he was sitting here all day at trial at his age.”

Howell snapped back, however, noting that the former mayor seemed to be paying pretty close attention, Cheney wrote to X.

Court reporters said that Giuliani was exhibiting strange behavior during jury selection on Monday, including showing up late, avoiding eye contact and leaving his belt undone after making it through the building’s security checkpoint.

Newsweek reached out to Giuliani through the contact form on his website for comment.