Lawyers for Rudy Giuliani claim that he has “fully” paid the $148m he owed two Georgia election workers he defamed, potentially bringing an end to a saga that has played out in courtrooms in Washington, DC and New York.
The judgment against him was “fully satisfied” and attorneys moved to dismiss the case on Monday, according to federal court filings, after Giuliani reached a settlement with Fulton County election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss last month.
President Donald Trump’s former attorney repeatedly and falsely accused the pair of manipulating election results after the 2020 presidential election, which fueled a wave of harassment and abuse directed at the women.
They sued him for defamation in Washington, DC, and in December 2023, a jury awarded them $148m in damages. Giuliani’s short-lived bankruptcy case was dismissed last year, letting Giuliani and his many creditors battle for control of his assets in separate courtrooms overseeing the lawsuits against him.
According to the settlement reached in January, which averted a trial to determine whether he has to give the women control of his Florida condominium after he relinquished his New York penthouse apartment and 1980 Mercedes-Benz convertible, the parties “reached an agreement and we can now move forward with our lives”, the election workers said in a statement at the time.
“We have agreed to allow Mr Giuliani to retain his property in exchange for compensation and his promise not to ever defame us,” she said.
The Independent has contacted Giuliani for comment.
Speaking after the settlement in January, Freeman and Moss described the past four years as “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,” they said.
Giuliani called the ordeal “unfortunate” speaking after the settlement was reached in January.
“No one deserves to be subjected to threats, harassment, or intimidation. This litigation has taken its toll on all parties,” he said in a statement at the time. “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.”
A joint letter to the courts from Giuliani and election workers said the settlement would “result in the conclusion of all litigation currently pending between and among the parties”.
Following a two-day hearing in Manhattan, Giuliani was found in contempt of court for repeatedly blowing deadlines and dodging court orders. A few days later, in a different court with a different judge in Washington, DC, Giuliani was held in contempt for repeatedly lying about the women he defamed.
In a federal courtroom in Manhattan last year in a series of hearings to force the former mayor to hand over his property, Giuliani was repeatedly admonished by District Judge Lewis Liman for failing to keep up with court orders.
At one point, Giuliani claimed he was cash-strapped and interrupted the judge.
“Your implication that I’ve not been diligent about it is totally incorrect,” he said. “Everything I have is tied up. I don’t have a car. I don’t have a credit card. I don’t have cash. I can’t get to bank accounts that truly would be mine because they have put stop orders on, for example, my social security account … I don’t have a penny, and it’s been tied up by them.”
Liman warned Giuliani that he would not be allowed to speak next time, or “the court will have to take action”.
During a press conference outside the courthouse after his outburst, Giuliani claimed that he was being “punished” by the Biden administration for his efforts to publicize the contents of the so-called Hunter-Biden laptop.
“The reality is I have no cash,” he said. “So right now, if I wanted to call a taxi cab, I can’t do it. I don’t have a credit card. I don’t have a checking account.”
