Key graf in the Rudy defamation case:

Giuliani’s stipulations hold more holes than Swiss cheese, with his latest stipulation expressly reserving “his arguments that the statements complained of are protected and non-actionable opinion for purposes of appeal[,]” Giuliani Superseding Stip. ¶¶ 5-6, which arguments were previously rejected in this Court’s decision denying defendant’s motion to dismiss, see Freeman v. Giuliani, No. CV 21-3354 (BAH), 2022 WL 16551323, at *8 (D.D.C. Oct. 31, 2022). The reservations in Giuliani’s stipulations make clear his goal to bypass the discovery process and a merits trial—at which his defenses may be fully scrutinized and tested in our judicial system’s time-honored adversarial process—and to delay such a fair reckoning by taking his chances on appeal, based on the abbreviated record he forced on plaintiffs. Yet, just as taking shortcuts to win an election carries risks—even potential criminal liability—bypassing the discovery process carries serious sanctions, no matter what reservations a noncompliant party may try artificially to preserve for appeal.