Jan. 16 (UPI) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has reached a tentative settlement to end all legal actions by two Georgia election workers who successfully accused him of defaming them.
Giuliani skipped a 9 a.m. EST federal court hearing scheduled Thursday in Manhattan, but a court filing made hours later indicates Giuliani and his accusers have reached a tentative settlement agreement.
If approved, the settlement would end “all litigation currently pending between the parties,” the court filing says as reported by the New York Daily News.
“All parties reached a resolution,” Giuliani’s attorney Joseph Cammarata told media outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan.
Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss had won a $148 million defamation judgment against Giuliani, who made false claims against them regarding the 2020 general election.
A federal jury in 2023 found Giuliani guilty of defaming Freeman and Moss by falsely accusing them of tampering with the 2020 presidential vote tallies in Georgia.
Thursday’s hearing was to determine how Giuliani would satisfy the judgment against him, but the settlement negated the hearing.
“We have fought to clear our names, restore our reputations and prove that we did nothing wrong,” Freeman and Moss said in a statement posted on X.
“We have reached an agreement, and we now can move forward with out lives,” Freeman and Moss said. “We have agreed to allow Mr. Giuliani to retain his property in exchange for [undisclosed] compensation and his promise not to ever defame us.”
The undisclosed settlement enables Giuliani to retain his homes in New York and Florida along with all of his belongings.
Giuliani’s son, Andrew, also can keep several World Series rings gifted to him by his father if the U.S. District Court for Southern New York accepts the settlement agreement.
Giuliani was disbarred in New York and Washington, D.C., after losing his license to practice law due to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Federal judges twice in January held Giuliani in contempt for refusing to turn over his property to Freeman and Moss to partially satisfy the judgment against him.
Among items Giuliani was accused of retaining are a signed Joe DiMaggio shirt, a signed Reggie Jackson photo, a signed Yankee Stadium photo and several households items, ABC News reported.
The settlement would enable him to keep those items and others that Giuliani either transferred to Freeman and Moss or was to turnover to them.
