A close friend of former President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, has been ordered to reimburse two women for alleged vote-tampering in 2020, totaling over $148 million (£116 million).
Judges have already determined that Mr. Giuliani was responsible for the false statements he made concerning Georgia poll workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss.
Following the verdict, Ms. Moss stated that the previous several years had been “devastating”.
The penalty was decided upon during a trial that lasted four days.
The eight-member panel decided on Friday to award each victim of slander $20 million.
The jury also decided to pay them each more than $16 million for emotional pain. They were sentenced to divide another $75 million in punitive damages.
They had initially demanded damages from Mr. Giuliani, the former personal attorney of Mr. Trump, ranging from $15 million to $43 million.
Outside the court, Mr. Giuliani remarked to reporters, “I don’t regret a damn thing.”
During Thursday’s closing remarks, Michael Gottlieb, the attorney for Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss, stated that Mr. Giuliani was “patient zero” of the false information.
He claimed that the jury had “experienced a sliver of the unspeakable horror that [Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss] suffered” throughout the course of the three days of testimony and evidence.
He claimed that in order to “send a message” to Mr. Giuliani and “any other powerful figure with a platform,” a severe financial penalty was required.
On Thursday, Mr. Giuliani was scheduled to testify in his own defence; however, those plans were suddenly scrapped.
When the decision was announced on Friday, Mr. Giuliani remarked, “Honestly, I didn’t believe it would do any good,” and he indicated he intended to appeal the “absurd” penalty.
A $50 million estimate for Mr. Giuliani comes from CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
Earlier, his attorneys asked the jury to exercise objectivity when deliberating over the punishment.
They contended that, despite spreading false information following the 2020 presidential election, the former mayor of New York was not as guilty or malevolent as the attorneys representing the two women claimed.
Ms. Freeman described having to leave her home after the FBI warned her that she was in danger and a gathering of Trump fans gathered outside during her testimony in court on Wednesday in Washington, DC.
The event transpired subsequent to Mr. Giuliani disseminating a video of them, which he claimed, in error, demonstrated proof of ballot manipulation.
“I took it as though they were going to hang me with their ropes on my street,” said Ms Freeman. “I was afraid. I had no idea if they were going to murder me.”
Ms. Freeman said that Mr. Giuliani’s actions had left her alone. She claimed that friends and acquaintances started to fear being associated with her, and that persistent worries that she would be recognised in public have made her feel compelled to live a solitary existence.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, the women hinted that more legal action would be taken against other well-known individuals who had disseminated false information about them.
“They also need to be held responsible,” Ms. Freeman declared.
“All of my problems won’t be solved by money,” she said. “I have to be cautious all the time, I can’t move home… I miss my name, my neighbourhood, and my house.”
The Washington, DC, trial was only one of Mr. Giuliani’s court cases.
Giuliani is being charged criminally in Georgia in an election-subversion case against Trump, including making false claims. Giuliani entered a not guilty plea.
He is also facing a $10 million lawsuit from a former business associate for sexual harassment.
Additionally, the Internal Revenue Service has filed court documents indicating that Mr. Giuliani owes more than $500,000 in back taxes.
To gather money for Mr Giuliani’s legal defence fund, Mr Trump allegedly held a $100,000-per-plate dinner at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, in September.
2018 saw allegations of Mr. Giuliani’s extravagant spending brought up in his divorce lawsuit. According to Judith Giuliani, his ex-wife, he spent almost a million dollars in five months.
