Shaye Moss Testifies in Rudy Giuliani Defamation Trial

Georgia election worker Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss testified on Monday in a jury trial that will determine how much Rudy Giuliani owes her and her mother, Ruby Freeman, in defamation damages. 

In court, Moss described running to her hairdresser and begging her to help change her appearance after realizing that she’d become the target of a right-wing mob egged on by Giuliani, who falsely accused Moss and her mother of working to rig the election. 

“I was afraid for my life,” Moss told the court, echoing testimony she gave to the Jan. 6 Committee in June of last year, when she’d recounted threats made against her by Trump supporters, who went so far as to attempt to conduct a citizen arrest against her and Freeman at her grandmother’s home. 

Moss and Freeman worked counting ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 2020 election. Giuliani falsely claimed that the pair of women had used their access to ballots to manipulate the electoral count and sway Georgia in favor of President Joe Biden. Infamously, Giuliani claimed that footage of Freeman passing Moss a ginger mint was actually an exchange of a “USB drive” full of votes. 

Moss told the court that on Nov. 4, 2020, the day after the election, she realized she had become the subject of a conspiracy theory. Moss was called to the office of her precinct head near the end of her day. “I’ve never missed an election since 2012 … I’m thinking maybe the least I’ll get is a plaque … I go into the office and I have to close the door behind me and I notice I’m the only one cheesing and looking happy. And then I am shown these videos, these lies, everything that’s been going on that I had no clue about.” 

Through tears, Moss explained to the court the lengths she felt she needed to go to protect herself as the ire of Trumpworld fell upon her and her mother. “I went into my hair salon and I asked my stylist to make it so the same person she saw walk in here is not the person who leaves,” she said.

A photo taken of Moss in the following days shows her with blonde hair, and — as she described it — a “puffy face from crying all night.”

On Tuesday, Moss told the jury that the chaos reaped upon her by Trump’s supporters has severely damaged her employment prospects after quitting her job with the Fulton County elections office. She recounted an interview for a position at Chick-fil-A during which the interviewer showed her an article featuring a photo of herself with the word “TRAITOR” superimposed over her face. 

 “Tell me about this. Is this you? Is this true?” the interviewer asked her. 

“The more he was talking, the more I just tuned it out,” Moss said, adding that she was shocked and embarrassed. “I just had to leave. I just left.”

Giuliani has already been found liable for committing defamation against Moss and Freeman, who have requested a sum of between $15.3 million and $43 million in damages as compensation. On Monday, Giuliani’s lawyer complained to the court that the payment sought by the two women was “the civil equivalent of the death penalty,” and would “be the end of Mr. Giuliani.”

Nevertheless, while speaking to reporters, Giuliani once again attacked Moss and Freeman, earning a reprimand from the judge. “Of course I don’t regret it,” Giuliani said while leaving court on Monday. “I told the truth. They were engaged in changing votes.”

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said on Tuesday that Giuliani’s statements could be grounds for “another defamation claim.” 

Giuliani’s lawyer, Joe Sibley, cited his client’s age as a factor for the careless statement. “This has taken a bit of a toll on him. He’s almost 80 years old,” Sibley said. “There are health concerns for Mr. Giuliani.”

Giuliani is in no position to continue racking up court cases, he’s already struggling to pay off the mountain of legal bills on his plate. 

Georgia election worker Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss testified on Monday in a jury trial that will determine how much Rudy Giuliani owes her and her mother, Ruby Freeman, in defamation damages. 

In court, Moss described running to her hairdresser and begging her to help change her appearance after realizing that she’d become the target of a right-wing mob egged on by Giuliani, who falsely accused Moss and her mother of working to rig the election. 

“I was afraid for my life,” Moss told the court, echoing testimony she gave to the Jan. 6 Committee in June of last year, when she’d recounted threats made against her by Trump supporters, who went so far as to attempt to conduct a citizen arrest against her and Freeman at her grandmother’s home. 

Moss and Freeman worked counting ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 2020 election. Giuliani falsely claimed that the pair of women had used their access to ballots to manipulate the electoral count and sway Georgia in favor of President Joe Biden. Infamously, Giuliani claimed that footage of Freeman passing Moss a ginger mint was actually an exchange of a “USB drive” full of votes. 

Moss told the court that on Nov. 4, 2020, the day after the election, she realized she had become the subject of a conspiracy theory. Moss was called to the office of her precinct head near the end of her day. “I’ve never missed an election since 2012 … I’m thinking maybe the least I’ll get is a plaque … I go into the office and I have to close the door behind me and I notice I’m the only one cheesing and looking happy. And then I am shown these videos, these lies, everything that’s been going on that I had no clue about.” 

Through tears, Moss explained to the court the lengths she felt she needed to go to protect herself as the ire of Trumpworld fell upon her and her mother. “I went into my hair salon and I asked my stylist to make it so the same person she saw walk in here is not the person who leaves,” she said.

A photo taken of Moss in the following days shows her with blonde hair, and — as she described it — a “puffy face from crying all night.”

On Tuesday, Moss told the jury that the chaos reaped upon her by Trump’s supporters has severely damaged her employment prospects after quitting her job with the Fulton County elections office. She recounted an interview for a position at Chick-fil-A during which the interviewer showed her an article featuring a photo of herself with the word “TRAITOR” superimposed over her face. 

 “Tell me about this. Is this you? Is this true?” the interviewer asked her. 

“The more he was talking, the more I just tuned it out,” Moss said, adding that she was shocked and embarrassed. “I just had to leave. I just left.”

Giuliani has already been found liable for committing defamation against Moss and Freeman, who have requested a sum of between $15.3 million and $43 million in damages as compensation. On Monday, Giuliani’s lawyer complained to the court that the payment sought by the two women was “the civil equivalent of the death penalty,” and would “be the end of Mr. Giuliani.”

Nevertheless, while speaking to reporters, Giuliani once again attacked Moss and Freeman, earning a reprimand from the judge. “Of course I don’t regret it,” Giuliani said while leaving court on Monday. “I told the truth. They were engaged in changing votes.”

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said on Tuesday that Giuliani’s statements could be grounds for “another defamation claim.” 

Giuliani’s lawyer, Joe Sibley, cited his client’s age as a factor for the careless statement. “This has taken a bit of a toll on him. He’s almost 80 years old,” Sibley said. “There are health concerns for Mr. Giuliani.”

Giuliani is in no position to continue racking up court cases, he’s already struggling to pay off the mountain of legal bills on his plate.