Rudy Giuliani reached a settlement on Thursday that allows the financially struggling former New York City mayor to retain his homes and personal belongings, including his cherished World Series rings, in exchange for undisclosed compensation and a commitment to refrain from speaking negatively about two former Georgia elections workers who were awarded a $148 million defamation judgment against him.
This agreement resolves all outstanding litigation between Giuliani and the election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss.
It also led to the cancellation of a trial scheduled to begin on Thursday, which would have decided the ownership of Giuliani’s Florida condominium and three World Series rings that he, a devoted New York Yankees fan, had received from the team.
Giuliani, 80, was slated to be the trial’s first witness but failed to appear at the federal courthouse in Manhattan. Instead, his attorneys and those representing Freeman and Moss worked toward an agreement.
After several hours of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the lawyers emerged, shaking hands and congratulating each other. Giuliani’s son, Andrew, who had previously claimed ownership of the rings, left the courtroom smiling.
“Today is a good day,” Andrew Giuliani told reporters after the settlement was reached.
However, questions about the specific terms of the deal, including how much Giuliani agreed to pay the women and how he plans to cover the costs, remained unanswered. It is also unclear if anyone is assisting him financially.
Before the settlement, Giuliani had already begun relinquishing some of his assets, including his $5 million Manhattan apartment, a 1980 Mercedes previously owned by actress Lauren Bacall, several luxury watches, and other personal items. His total assets are estimated to be around $10 million.
Freeman and Moss won the significant defamation judgment after Giuliani’s false claims about them, following President-elect Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss, resulted in death threats.
“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,” the women said in a statement. “Today is a major milestone in our journey.”
They expressed relief that the settlement would allow them to “move forward with our lives” and added that they had agreed to let Giuliani keep his property in exchange for compensation and his pledge not to defame them again.
Giuliani, in a statement posted on social media and read to reporters by his lawyer, said the settlement resolved the judgment against him but did not involve an admission of guilt or wrongdoing.
“I am satisfied with and have no grievances relating to the result we have reached,” Giuliani said, adding that the settlement allowed him to keep both his Manhattan apartment and Florida condominium, as well as all of his personal possessions.
“No one deserves to be subjected to threats, harassment, or intimidation,” the former mayor wrote, further noting that the litigation had been taxing for everyone involved. He stated that both parties had agreed not to speak about each other in a defamatory manner and urged others to follow the same approach.
Giuliani’s lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, explained that the deal resulted from intense negotiations over the past three days, which stretched into the late hours.
Rudy Giuliani (Photo: AP)
Had no agreement been reached, Giuliani would have had to testify in court Thursday before the same judge who had found him in contempt the previous week for failing to provide information on some of his assets to the women’s lawyers. As a consequence, Judge Lewis J. Liman had banned Giuliani from using certain evidence.
The trial, which has now been avoided, was not intended to address whether Giuliani defamed the women or to revisit the size of the defamation judgment. Rather, it was to determine the fate of some of his most valuable possessions, including his Florida condo, which is believed to be worth over $3 million, and his World Series rings.
Giuliani had argued that he had established residency in Palm Beach, Florida, near Trump, but lawyers for Freeman and Moss contended that he continued to treat his New York apartment as his residence until he relinquished it last fall as part of the settlement process. Giuliani stated that he had given the rings to his son in 2018.
Andrew Giuliani confirmed his understanding that he would retain possession of the rings.
Giuliani was also found in contempt of court last week in Washington, D.C. after continuing to make defamatory statements about the election workers, repeating false allegations that they had committed election fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
Once hailed as “America’s Mayor” for his leadership in the aftermath of 9/11, Giuliani later served as President Trump’s personal attorney during Trump’s first term.
“SAVE RUDY!!!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
While the lawyers were finalizing the settlement, Giuliani posted a video on social media showing a dog named Vinny at Trump’s Florida estate. The post indicated that the dog “loves hanging out at Mar-a-Lago” but was also “ready to spend a lot more time in Washington, D.C.,” in support of Trump. It was unclear when the video was filmed.
Giuliani filed for bankruptcy shortly after the defamation judgment was handed down, halting efforts to collect on the debt. After a judge dismissed the case last July due to Giuliani’s disregard for the process, Freeman and Moss filed a lawsuit to enforce payment.
Court filings from May indicated that Giuliani had just over $1 million in his retirement account, nearly $94,000 in personal cash, and about $237,000 in his company’s account.
At a recent hearing, Giuliani acknowledged that he was “not impoverished,” but he stated that most of his assets were tied up and inaccessible.
“Everything I have is tied up,” he said.
Giuliani testified in a deposition last month that after leaving office in 2002, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner gifted him rings commemorating each of the four World Series championships the team won during his time as mayor.
Giuliani said he insisted on paying for the rings, which were identical to those given to the players, and told Steinbrenner, “These are for Andrew.” He then gave one of the rings to his son, who was a teenager at the time, and kept the remaining three for safekeeping. Giuliani estimated their combined value at $27,000.
