Rudy Giuliani’s legal battle with two Georgia election workers is over after the former New York City mayor “fully satisfied” his end of a mystery deal to resolve the $148 million defamation judgement he owed them, according to court papers.
Judge Lewis Liman on Tuesday signed off on the settlement hashed out in Manhattan federal court to compensate the election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea’ “Shaye” Moss, but also allow Giuliani to keep his $5 million Upper East Side high-rise, his condo in Palm Beach, Florida, his vintage Mercedes, Yankees gear and other prized possessions.
Giuliani, 80, was ordered to pay the whopping sum to Freeman and Moss in December 2023 by a Washington DC jury that found him liable for falsely claiming the pair tried to steal the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump.
Rudolph Giuliani has “fully satisfied” a $148 million judgment won by two Georgia election workers who said he defamed them during the 2020 U.S. presidential election. REUTERSLiman’s agreement to dismiss the case and disband a court-ordered receiver that had been collecting Giuliani’s belongings comes a day after the election workers’ lawyer wrote that the ex-mayor had “fully satisfied” his side of the secret bargain.
The deal was struck on Jan. 16, just days after then President-elect Trump posted “SAVE RUDY!!!” on Truth Social, sending a flurry of donations to Giuliani’s fundraising page.
Yet Giuliani’s online defense fund raised just $169,000 — a far cry from the $148 million he’d been ordered to pay for defaming the mother-daughter duo.
Giuliani’s attorney, Joseph Cammarata, refused to answer when asked, on the day the deal was reached, whether his client was getting help from someone else to pay the settlement sum.
“I’m not going to answer that question, it’s irrelevant,” he said.
The secret agreement allowed Giuliani to avoid a bench trial that was set to decide whether the disbarred former mob-busting head of the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office would have to give up his Florida condo and four Yankees World Series rings gifted to him by the team while he was New York City mayor from 1994 to 2001.
Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea’ “Shaye” Moss said Giuliani defamed them by falsely claiming they helped steal the 2020 U.S. presidential election from Donald Trump, according to court records. REUTERSIn a written statement released after news of the settlement broke, Giuliani agreed not to defame the two election workers in the future.
He also offered a tepid apology to the two women, who testified that mobs of Trump supporters threatened them outside their home after Giuliani repeatedly falsely accused them of voter fraud.
“No one deserves to be subjected to threats, harassment, or intimidation,” the statement read.
Giuliani said after the settlement that he would keep his apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, his condominium in Palm Beach, Florida, and his personal belongings. REUTERS“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.”
Giuliani filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of the massive jury verdict, but a White Plains judge threw out his case after finding that he’d been evasive about his assets.
Reps for Giuliani and the election workers did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment.
