Rudy Giuliani and Dominion Voting Systems settle defamation suit over his 2020 election claims

[Thiệu Ngô]

NEW YORK (AP) — Rudy Giuliani has reached a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems in its $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit over his baseless 2020 election-rigging claims.

By NEW YORK (AP)

The two sides said in a filing in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Friday that they have agreed to permanently dismiss the suit against the former New York City mayor and former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump.

The brief filing doesn’t cite the settlement terms. Spokespeople for Giuliani and the Colorado-based company said Saturday that the terms are confidential and declined to comment further.

Dominion sued Giuliani in 2021 for $1.3 billion in damages after he led Trump’s efforts to cast doubt on the 2020 election results.

Conservatives and other Trump supporters blamed the company, one of the nation’s top voting machine makers, for the Republican’s loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Many alleged, without evidence, that its systems were easily manipulated. Dominion had provided voting machines for the state of Georgia, a critical battleground that Biden won and which flipped control of the U.S. Senate.

The web of conspiracy theories following the the 2020 election not only caused headaches for Dominion but also undermined public confidence in U.S. elections, led to calls to ban voting machines and triggered death threats against elections officials.

Fox News also agreed to a nearly $800 million settlement with Dominion in 2023, and another politically conservative network, Newsmax, agreed to a $67 million settlement with Dominion over its election claims.

The company’s suit against Giuliani was based on statements the onetime presidential hopeful made on social media, on conservative news outlets and during legislative hearings in which he claimed the company conspired to flip votes to Biden.

Dominion’s lawsuit was among a series of legal and financial setbacks for Giuliani stemming from his role in spreading election conspiracy theories.

Earlier this month, a New York judge ordered the Republican, once celebrated as “America’s mayor” for his leadership after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, to pay $1.36 million in legal fees.

Giuliani, in recent years, has also been disbarred as an attorney in New York and Washington; filed for bankruptcy and reached an undisclosed settlement to keep his homes and belongings after he was ordered to pay $148 million to two former Georgia elections workers he defamed.