Judge won’t dismiss election workers’ suit against Giuliani

By KATE BRUMBACK
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge has declined to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani by two women who served as election workers in Georgia in November 2020. In the lawsuit filed last December, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss accused Giuliani of defaming them by falsely stating that the pair engaged in election fraud while counting ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Giuliani argued to dismiss the lawsuit in a motion filed in June, saying the claims against him were inadequately pleaded and barred by First Amendment protections for free speech. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell in Washington on Monday rejected those arguments, allowing the lawsuit to move forward.