Rudy Giuliani admits making false claims of Georgia voter fraud

Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump's former lawyer, has conceded he made "false" statements by accusing two Georgia election workers of ballot fraud.

But in a court filing, Mr Giuliani also maintained that his statements were protected by freedom of speech.

Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss testified to Congress last year that they received threats over the false claims.

The ex-New York City mayor could still face sanctions from the court, including legal fees and costs.

The lawsuit was filed in 2021 by Ms Freeman and Ms Moss, who are mother and daughter respectively.

The legal action notes that Mr Giuliani and others shared a video that wrongly claimed to show the two altering ballots while they were working for the Fulton County Board of Elections in 2020.

In a two-page concession, filed on Tuesday night, Mr Giuliani said his statements were "false" and admitted his remarks "carry meaning that is defamatory per se".

Mr Giuliani, though, argued that his statements were "constitutionally protected" under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

He did not acknowledge in the filing causing any damages to the mother and daughter.

His lawyer, Joseph Sibley, told the court: "While Giuliani does not admit to plaintiffs' allegations, he - for purposes of this litigation only - does not contest the factual allegations."

Ted Goodman, a political adviser to Mr Giuliani, said in a statement: "This is a legal issue, not a factual issue.

"Those out to smear the mayor are ignoring the fact that this stipulation is designed to get to the legal issues of the case."

Even after Fulton County and Georgia officials refuted accusations against Ms Freeman and Ms Moss, Mr Giuliani continued to share false claims that they had pulled thousands of fraudulent ballots from a suitcase and fed them through voting machines.

The mother and daughter testified last year to the US House of Representatives select committee that investigated the Capitol riot how the voter fraud claims left them living in fear.

Michael J Gottlieb, a lawyer for Ms Freeman and Ms Moss, welcomed Mr Giuliani's filing.

He said it affirms what they knew - that the two "honourably performed their civic duties in the 2020 presidential election in full compliance with the law; and the allegations of election fraud he and former President Trump made against them have been false since day one".