Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers who were falsely accused of committing election fraud by former President Donald Trump and his allies, are pushing for former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to face "severe sanctions."
In a new court filing flagged by Politico's Kyle Cheney, attorneys representing Freeman and Moss argue that Giuliani deserves punishment for his failure to produce key evidence in their defamation lawsuit against him.
Specifically, the attorneys said Giuliani has completely failed in his obligation to preserve electronic communications he had that related to the case despite the fact that he has been given ample time to comply with their request.
"Defendant Giuliani has had eighteen months since Plaintiffs first filed this suit to take reasonable steps to preserve his electronic evidence, including more than six months since Plaintiffs first raised the question of preservation," the attorneys wrote. "Defendant Giuliani has had nearly three months since Plaintiffs filed the motion to compel. Defendant Giuliani’s failure to preserve his electronic records in the face of repeated reminders, and a personal awareness of his obligations, can and should be interpreted by this Court as a deliberate effort to deprive Plaintiffs of material evidence in this litigation."
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Given all this, the attorneys argue that "severe sanctions are appropriate" against the one-time New York mayor, who is also facing the prospect of disbarment over his efforts to help former President Donald Trump illegally remain in power despite losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.
"Sanctions exist to remedy the precise situation here -- a sophisticated party’s abuse of judicial process designed to avoid accountability, at enormous expense to the parties and this Court," they write. "Defendant Giuliani should know better. His conduct warrants severe sanctions."
