Gateway Pundit, a far-right conspiracy site, has settled a defamation lawsuit with two Georgia election workers who were falsely accused of rigging the 2020 election results. While details of the settlement were not disclosed, both parties agreed to settle all claims and counterclaims in a court filing this week. This lawsuit is one of several defamation cases filed by the election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shae Moss, after the 2020 election, with another case against Rudy Giuliani resulting in a $148 million judgment against the ex-Trump lawyer.
Attorneys for Freeman and Moss issued a statement saying that the dispute between the parties has been resolved to their mutual satisfaction through a fair and reasonable settlement. The Gateway Pundit, known for its extremely partisan and sensationalized content, often delves into baseless right-wing conspiracy theories. The website’s founder, Jim Hoft, is a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump. The company attempted to declare bankruptcy in April, citing the 2020 defamation cases as a threat to its solvency, but a federal judge ruled in July that the company was acting in bad faith, seeking to avoid a potentially massive legal bill from the defamation lawsuits.
Despite settling with the election workers, Gateway Pundit is appealing the ruling that determined the company was abusing bankruptcy protections. CNN has reached out to Gateway Pundit’s lawyers for comment on the matter. Meanwhile, Freeman and Moss are still pursuing Giuliani in court to collect the roughly $150 million judgment against him. Giuliani has not paid any of the debt, and their lawyers are now attempting to seize his assets to enforce the judgment, including two multimillion-dollar apartments, New York Yankees World Series rings, and a collection of luxury watches given to him after September 11, 2001, by European heads of state. A major hearing on the debt-collection efforts is scheduled for next week in federal court in New York.
The ongoing legal battles between Freeman, Moss, and Giuliani highlight the repercussions of spreading false information and baseless claims. The defamation lawsuit settlements and efforts to collect the judgments against Giuliani serve as a warning to individuals and media outlets who engage in spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories. The outcome of these cases can have far-reaching consequences for the accountability of those who participate in spreading falsehoods that can harm the reputations and livelihoods of others. As these legal battles continue, the importance of upholding truth and integrity in reporting and public discourse is underscored in the pursuit of justice and accountability.
