Source: CNN
Rudy Giuliani has reached an agreement with two Georgia election workers that he defamed to settle the nearly $150 million judgment against him, in a deal that will allow him to keep his home and most valuable possessions.
The settlement agreement brings to an end a yearslong saga over Giuliani’s false statements after the 2020 presidential election, when the former New York City mayor was a lawyer for then-President Donald Trump.
Giuliani was about to face trial and potentially lose the Florida condo in which he says he lives and several New York Yankees World Series rings. He had been in litigation with the women, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, over whether his $3.5 million Florida condo is his primary residence and can be exempt from the women’s debt collection efforts.
“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,” Freeman and Moss said in a statement. “Today is a major milestone in our journey. 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.”
Freeman and Moss had already been awarded in court a slew of Giuliani’s most valuable possessions, including his $6 million Manhattan apartment, more than a dozen luxury watches, furniture and baseball memorabilia. Yet they have struggled to collect some of the items in recent months, despite multiple court orders for Giuliani to turn over his possessions.
Giuliani said in a post on X on Thursday that he would be keeping all of his “personal belongings” the Georgia election workers have pursued or won, and that he would also keep his New York City apartment and Florida oceanside condo. “This resolution does not involve an admission of liability or wrongdoing by any of the Parties,” he said in the post after the settlement was announced.
“This litigation has taken its toll on all parties. This whole episode was unfortunate,” Giuliani continued. “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.”
With Giuliani’s net worth at an estimated $10 million, including his real estate holdings, Moss and Freeman never were likely to recoup the full $150 million they won from Giuliani.
But millions of dollars would have been needed to match even the most basic debts Freeman and Moss got court approval to collect from him. Moss and Freeman’s attorneys, working pro bono, had also invested tens of thousands of dollars of legal work into their case, and courts had been telling Giuliani he must pay some of their fees.
Outside the courthouse Thursday, Giuliani’s attorney refused to answer many questions about details of the settlement, including if there was any money involved. He declined to say if anyone stepped in to assist Giuliani and even cut off a reporter who began to ask about the president-elect.
“No comment on anything with the president,” Giuliani’s attorney Joseph Cammarata said. “This is about America’s mayor.”
In recent days, Trump himself had posted on social media “SAVE RUDY!!!”
Giuliani, 80, has been struggling with physical health issues in recent months, he has said. He’s shown up to court repeatedly for hearings and been placed under oath several times in recent weeks, as the Georgia election workers’ lawyers and judges have questioned him repeatedly about following court orders.
In recent days, federal judges held him in contempt of court twice.
Giuliani has said he plans to attend events around Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration next week.
On Thursday morning, at the time his trial was to be going on, Giuliani posted a video on X of a small dog wearing a tie next to a fountain at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club. The song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” plays in the video clip.
“Vinny loves hanging out at Mar-a-Lago, but he’s ready to spend a lot more time in Washington, D.C. Over the course of the next four years in support of his favorite President-Donald J. Trump!,” said the post, which included an American flag emoji.
This story has been updated with additional developments.