Rudy Giuliani, who served as former President Donald Trump’s attorney, has admitted to making defamatory statements against two Georgia election workers as part of a lawsuit they filed against him, court records show.

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In documents filed Tuesday, Giuliani conceded that he made false statements about Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss during the 2020 presidential election. The mother and daughter pair volunteered to count votes at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena during the 2020 presidential election, WSB-TV reported.

In a complaint filed last year, attorneys for Freeman and Moss said Giuliani claimed the two had committed election fraud — which he dubbed the “crime of the century” — aimed at changing the outcome of the election in Georgia. The pair testified last year before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying they endured years of harassment due to the false allegations.

Giuliani maintained Tuesday that his statements were constitutionally protected speech and said they caused no damage to Moss or Freeman. In a statement obtained by USA Today, Giuliani’s political adviser, Ted Goodman, said he “did not acknowledge that the statements were false but did not contest it in order to move on to the portion of the case that will permit a motion to dismiss.”

“This is a legal issue, not a factual issue,” he added.

In a complaint filed last year in court, Freeman and Moss said Giuliani spread false accusations against them. Among other things, they pointed to claims that they brought “suitcases” of illegal ballots to count and that they counted the same ballots multiple times to swing the election results.

No evidence has surfaced to support Giuliani’s claims. Last month, Georgia election officials cleared Freeman and Moss of any wrongdoing, WSB-TV reported.

In a statement obtained by the news station, an attorney representing Freeman and Moss said Giuliani’s concession in court “serves as further evidence that Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss — while doing their patriotic duty and serving their community — were simply collateral damage in a coordinated effort to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election.”

Giuliani’s court filing Tuesday came in response to a motion from attorneys for Freeman and Moss that sought to sanction the former New York City mayor for failing to properly preserve evidence in the case. In the response, Giuliani denied the allegations and admitted to “any pertinent facts for which discovery from him would be needed.”

As of Wednesday, the filing had yet to be reviewed by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell. Attorneys for Freeman and Moss have until Aug. 1 to respond to the filing in court.

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