Rudy Giuliani’s attorney Monday compared his client to Johnny Depp’s ex-wife, likened civil litigation to the death penalty and wrapped up his opening statement in about five minutes, according to a reporter in the courtroom.
Joe Sibley’s slapdash summary came after Giuliani infuriated the Washington D.C. civil court judge overseeing two Georgia poll worker's $43 million civil defamation case by strolling into court late.
"It will be the end of Mr. Giuliani," Sibley reportedly told the court.
Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss have said they faced death threats after Giuliani accused them of interfering with the 2020 election by passing around a USB drive like illegal drugs. The object turned out to be a ginger mint.
In their opening statements, attorneys for Freeman and Moss say their lives became a “perpetual nightmare” when they were targeted by Giuliani without evidence, according to CBS News reporter Scott MacFarlane.
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That didn’t stop Sibley from slamming the women’s attorneys Monday for seeking “civil equivalent of the death penalty” in damages, reports MacFarlane.
Sibley then tried to compare the large amount sought by Freeman and Moss to those Depp demanded from Amanda Heard, who was unable to pay the movie star $15 million in damages for calling herself a survivor of domestic abuse, according to MacFarlane and CNN reporter Zachary Cohen.
According to MacFarlane, Judge Beryl Howell ordered Sibley to stick with his own case.
“You’ll see a lot of evidence of harm,” Sibley reportedly argued. “But not a lot of evidence Mr. Giuliani was the cause.”
