Rudy Giuliani's Witness List Unsealed After Judge's Ruling: See Who's on It

2 days ago 5

The list of witnesses Rudy Giuliani plans to call in his defense in his looming trial was made public after a ruling by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman on Monday.

Newsweek reached out to an attorney representing Giuliani for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, has faced legal and financial problems in recent years over his alleged role in President-elect Donald Trump's alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Giuliani was found liable last year for defaming two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, after falsely accusing them of ballot tampering during the 2020 election.

What To Know

Giuliani will be headed to trial in January to determine whether he must hand over his Florida condo to Freeman and Moss. He was ordered to pay them about $148 million in damages, which could include the $3.5 million condo, depending on the trial outcome. Liman will determine whether the Florida condo is Giuliani's primary residence.

Liman on Monday ruled that Giuliani's witness list must be made public, writing, "The list was filed under seal in both dockets. The Court has neither directed nor permitted this list to be filed under seal."

The witness list contains several of Giuliani's associates.

Giuliani adviser Maria Ryan, his former bookkeeper Ryan Medrano and spokesperson Michael Ragusa are set to testify about his relocation from New York City to Palm Beach County, Florida, according to court documents.

Monsignor Alan Placa, a Catholic priest who has allegedly had involvement in moving priests accused of sexual wrongdoing to different parishes (but has never been charged), is also expected to testify about "discussions of" Giuliani's relocation to Florida.

Another Giuliani spokesperson, Theodore Goodman, was listed as a potential witness, if needed, to testify about photographs taken of Giuliani. The filing didn't specify which photos he would be testifying about.

What People Are Saying

Rudy Giuliani, during earlier court proceedings: "I'm not impoverished. Everything I have is tied up. I don't have a car. I don't have a credit card. I don't have cash. I can't get to bank accounts that truly would be mine because they have put...stop orders on, for example, my Social Security account, which they have no right to do."

Michael Gottlieb, an attorney for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, in an earlier filing: Gottlieb previously argued that Giuliani was "brazenly violating" orders not to repeat claims about Freeman and Moss that led to the initial defamation suit.

"These statements repeat the exact same lies for which Mr. Giuliani has already been held liable, and which he agreed to be bound by court order to stop repeating."