Yakety Sax might as well be playing behind the newest filings in the court case where former Georgia election workers are suing Rudy Giuliani.
Lawyers for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss are trying to prove that Giuliani defamed them, inflicted emotional distress upon them and engaged in criminal conspiracy when he falsely accused the two of playing a key role in a fabricated conspiracy to steal Georgia’s election results from Donald Trump. Freeman and Moss testified publicly to the deluge of threats they received after being plucked out of obscurity to become villains in the MAGA universe; their testimony became one of the most emotional moments of the Jan. 6 committee hearings.
But the Trump-orbit figures at the center of the lawsuit are making things difficult, lawyers for the two say.
Freeman and Moss’ lawyers complain in a new filing that former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis has been dodging their attempts to serve her with a subpoena for months.
The first late March meeting with Ellis’ lawyers, the lawyers write, went well. Then, the firm went silent. So Freeman and Moss’ lawyers prepared a subpoena, which they served on the law firm in mid-April.
“On April 21, 2023, Kleinbard Counsel refused to accept service of the Ellis Subpoena and on April 28, 2023 — after more than a month of negotiations about the deposition subpoena and more than nine months after beginning to confer on the earlier subpoena (to which Ms. Ellis never produced documents) — Kleinbard Counsel represented, for the first time, that they no longer represented Ms. Ellis,” the lawyers write.
So, the lawyers write, they tried to track Ellis down themselves. They began with the Colorado address where they believed she was living.
“On at least one attempt, a woman was in the house when the process server attempted service, but refused to come to the door,” they write. “On information and belief, Plaintiffs now believe this address is Ms. Ellis’ mother’s house and that Ms. Ellis previously resided there.”
The lawyers write that they discovered that Ellis had moved to Florida from her tweets. They say that they even hired a private investigator to track her down, but that he’s been unsuccessful.
They’re now asking that the judge let them serve the subpoena through less orthodox channels, including messaging her a copy on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
This latest episode comes on the heels of Freeman and Moss’ lawyers’ exasperation with Giuliani, who they say has just unilaterally decided that he’s provided enough information in the discovery process.
“Defendant Giuliani fails to provide any explanation for the gaping holes in his production other than to declare, based on his own opinion, that he is finished with discovery in this case,” they write.
Among other excuses, Giuliani claimed that he doesn’t have enough money to conduct some of the document searches.
But that explanation doesn’t cover the full gamut of what’s been asked of him in the case, Freeman and Moss’ lawyers argue, pointing out that he hasn’t even provided an excuse for his refusal to turn over some of the potentially relevant communication.
“Defendant does not provide any explanation for why he lacks access or when he lost access to his work emails,” they write. “For example, it is possible that he cannot access his accounts because he forgot the password.”
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell has scheduled a discovery hearing for later this month.
Read the filing here:
