Rudy Giuliani reaches settlement tied to Georgia election worker defamation case

NEW YORK — Rudy Giuliani reached a tentative settlement agreement with the Georgia election workers he defamed on Thursday, walking away in a stunning turn of event with all of his belongings as he was thought to be on the cusp of total financial ruin.

A filing posted to the docket hours after Giuliani was due to appear in Manhattan federal court for his bench trial at 9 a.m. said the deal “would result in the conclusion of all litigation currently pending between and among the Parties.”

In a statement posted on X that his lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, read outside the courthouse, Giuliani noted he would get to keep his Upper East Side co-op apartment, which he’d already turned over to the women he defamed, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, his Florida condo, and all other personal property.

“I am satisfied with and have no grievances relating to the result we have reached,” Giuliani wrote.

ADVERTISEMENT

“No one deserves to be subjected to threats, harassment, or intimidation. This litigation has taken its toll on all parties. This whole episode was unfortunate. I and the Plaintiffs have agreed not to ever talk about each other in any defamatory manner, and I urge others to do the same.”

Federal Judge Lewis Liman was set to determine at the trial whether Giuliani could keep his Florida property, whose seizure he said would render him homeless, and the World Series rings he claims he gifted his son Andrew. Giuliani had been slated to take the stand as the trial’s first witness but never turned up — posting a video of a dog on social media at Mar-a-Lago while reporters questioned his whereabouts.

The action stems from the defamation case against Giuliani brought by Freeman and Moss, who he was found liable for baselessly accusing of ballot fraud, leading to death threats and sending them into hiding. He was ordered to pay the women around$148 million in late 2023 for the harm caused by his lies.

“The past four years have been a living nightmare. We have fought to clear our names, restore our reputations, and prove that we did nothing wrong. Today is a major milestone in our journey,” Freeman and Moss said in a statement.

“We have reached an agreement and we can now move forward with our lives. We have agreed to allow Mr. Giuliani to retain his property in exchange for compensation and his promise not to ever defame us.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Hours before the deal was disclosed, Giuliani was positioned to lose almost everything he owned of value to Freeman and Moss, who had been trying to collect the sum through litigation in Manhattan.

Last year, Liman ordered him to provide the women his stake in his 10-room Upper East Side apartment, his Mercedes-Benz once owned by the actress Lauren Bacall, and various sports memorabilia toward satisfying the mammoth judgment.

Giuliani was recently held in contempt and sanctioned by Liman for failing to turn over items and relevant documentation on time. That ruling barred him from presenting evidence central to his trial defense, all but ensuring Freeman and Moss would be victorious.

Less than a week later, the Washington, D.C. judge in the original defamation matter separately found him in contempt for continuing to defame Freeman and Moss.

---------