(Cupventi.com) – A federal judge has told Rudolph W. Giuliani, a lawyer, to quickly pay $148 million to two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. Giuliani wrongly accused them of messing with votes in the 2020 election. The judge, Beryl A. Howell, worries Giuliani might hide his money if he waits to pay. This is another legal problem for Giuliani, who tried to help Donald J. Trump stay president after losing the election.
Even though the judge told Giuliani to pay fast, it’s unclear if he has that much money. Freeman and Moss asked the judge to make Giuliani pay sooner than the usual 30 days. They said Giuliani didn’t follow other court orders and has money troubles.
The judge agreed with the women. She said Giuliani lied about them and often didn’t follow court orders. During the trial, Freeman and Moss told the jury about threats and racist comments they got after Giuliani told his followers to watch a video of them in a Georgia vote counting place. Giuliani wrongly said they cheated for Trump.
The judge decided to speed up the payments because of Giuliani’s history of not following court rules. Even if Giuliani appeals the money he has to pay, the judge said the jury’s amount was actually a “conservative” estimate. If he appeals, he might ask to wait before paying, but he would need to show he can pay at least some money if he loses.
In a 13-page order, Judge Howell said, “Giuliani feebly counters concerns about him hiding assets, stating that there is no evidence in the record of any attempt by him to dissipate assets. This statement simply ignores the ample record in this case of Giuliani’s efforts to conceal or hide his assets.”
So, even though the judge says Giuliani has to pay fast, it’s still not clear if he can or will.