Rudy Giuliani's Smart Move in Court

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has decided not to testify in his defamation trial in Washington, D.C., this week, where a jury is set to determine how much in damages he should pay two Georgia election workers for lying about their work in the 2020 election.

Giuliani has already been found liable for defaming Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss for baselessly accusing the women of committing election fraud while they were counting 2020 ballots in Fulton County. The mother and daughter are seeking between $15.5 million and $43 million in damages, stating in testimony this week that they received a flood of harassment and threats in the aftermath of ex-President Donald Trump's loss to Joe Biden.

When it was time for him to take the stand on Thursday, Giuliani's attorney said the defendant would no longer be testifying. Legal experts told Newsweek that the decision was likely a smart move by the defense team, given that Giuliani had already angered U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell earlier this week.

"I think that Rudy really wanted to testify, but his recent out-of-court statements made his lawyers put the brakes on such a move," Dave Aronberg, the state attorney for Palm Beach, Florida, said. "It would have been a big mistake for Rudy to testify because he could have inflamed the judge and jury with his obnoxious lies, and his comments would have been used against him in his pending prosecution in Georgia."

Newsweek reached out to Giuliani's defense attorney, Joe Sibley, via email for comment Thursday afternoon.

Following opening statements and jury selection on Monday, Giuliani told reporters outside the courthouse that he doesn't regret what he said about Freeman and Moss because he was telling "the truth." Howell raised concerns with Giuliani's statements during the trial on Tuesday and said that the comments could be grounds for opening new defamation claims against him.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek that he was not "surprised" by Giuliani's decision not to testify in the case, given that Howell had already ruled against him.

"Giuliani is also focused on the appeal to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals because he thinks his First Amendment defense has a good chance on appeal," Rahmani, the president of the West Coast Trial Lawyers law firm, said. "That's one of the reasons he hasn't aggressively defended the case on the merits in District Court, including contesting the claims or providing discovery."

Rahmani added that Giuliani may be putting himself at greater risk in his election subversion case in Fulton County court by testifying this week. The former mayor is facing charges alongside Trump and 17 others for allegedly scheming to overturn Georiga's 2020 election results. At the time, Giuliani was working as Trump's personal attorney.

"Giuliani also has significantly more exposure in the Georgia election fraud case, and he can't risk saying something in the civil case to try to save some money that may be used against him in the criminal case and help send him to prison," Rahmani told Newsweek. "That's the same reason Trump decided not to testify this week in his civil fraud case. It's just too risky when criminal charges are pending. Giuliani is an experienced lawyer and former prosecutor, so he knows this."

Anthony Kreis, a professor at Georgia State University College of Law, agreed in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that it was best for Giuliani's defense not to have him testify.

"Allowing Rudy Giuliani to take the stand would have been the stupidest thing in the world from his attorneys' perspective--and by that I really mean his Georgia legal team--and so I am not terribly surprised he isn't taking the stand," Kreis wrote. "I would have been shocked had it happened."

Giuliani's decision to skip his chance to testify means that the trial moved into closing arguments on Thursday. According to court reporters with NBC News, Freeman and Moss's lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, ripped Giuliani for being a "bully" towards the plaintiffs and urged the jury to "send a message" with their verdict.

"[Giuliani] has no right to offer up defenseless civil servants up to virtual mob in order to overturn an election," Gottlieb added, according to NBC News.