From Pizzagate to the 2020 Election: Forcing Liars to Pay or Apologize
Michael J. Gottlieb is part of a cadre of lawyers deploying defamation, one of the oldest areas of the law, against a tide of political disinformation.
“I’ve always despised bullies that pick on defenseless or seemingly defenseless people,” said Michael J. Gottlieb, who has represented clients targeted by political disinformation. Credit... Jason Andrew for The New York Times
Elizabeth Williamson has covered the Sandy Hook families’ long court battle against Alex Jones for The Times and her book. She reported from Washington.
Michael J. Gottlieb can never remember the exact amount — it’s $148,169,000— that a jury ordered Rudolph W. Giuliani to pay the Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. But Ms. Freeman’s words after the December 2023 victory are indelible to him.
“Don’t waste your time being angry at those who did this to me and my daughter,” said Ms. Freeman, 65, who with her daughter Ms. Moss, 39, was falsely accused by Mr. Giuliani of aiding an imagined plot to steal the 2020 presidential election.
