Giuliani finally reaches settlement in defamation suit
Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! Today’s newsletter is below.
P.S. The Morning Edition is a reader-supported publication. It delivers Monday-Saturday.
Daily Bible Verse
4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Isaiah 46:4 KJV
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE LAST EPISODE OF HUCKABEE
Mike's interview with Gary Sinise
Watch here: Mike's interview with Gary Sinise - Read Mike's News Analysis - Mike Huckabee
Mike's interview with Kid Rock
Watch here: Mike's interview with Kid Rock - Read Mike's News Analysis - Mike Huckabee
Mike interviews Rich Little and Chonda Pierce
Watch here: Rich Little and Chonda Pierce - Read Mike's News Analysis - Mike Huckabee
Mike interviews Congressman James Comer
Watch here: Mike's interview with Congressman James Comer - Read Mike's News Analysis - Mike Huckabee
Mike interviews Seth Dillon from the Babylon Bee
Watch here: Mike interviews Seth Dillon of the Babylon Bee - Read Mike's News Analysis - Mike Huckabee
Mike interviews Scott Hamilton
Watch here: Mike's interview with Scott Hamilton - Read Mike's News Analysis - Mike Huckabee
The Spinners Perform
Watch here: The Spinners perform - Read Mike's News Analysis - Mike Huckabee
More Biden
With his days in office finally running out, President Biden’s assaults on the rule of law (or his staff’s) are getting more creative. Friday, his official X account announced that he was declaring the Equal Rights Amendment to be the “law of the land” and the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. Small problem: the ERA's ratification process had a deadline of 1982, and not enough states passed it until 2020. So no, it’s not part of the Constitution.
https://instapundit.com/696871/
Related: Bob Hoge at Redstate.com covers Biden’s final presidential interview, with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell. Brace yourselves. Amazingly, here’s Biden lamenting that the norms of limited power are eroding:
"There’s a presidency that says you have really limited powers. I mean, you’re the top dog, but you can’t dictate everything. And I don’t know, they seem to just be chipping away at all those elements.”
He might have to declare a new Constitutional Amendment banning dictatorial presidential powers.
Giuliani finally reaches settlement in defamation suit
After four years of litigation, the two Fulton County election workers’ defamation case against former New York Mayor and Trump attorney/campaign adviser Rudy Giuliani --- which drove him into bankruptcy court after a jury decided in their favor --- was settled on Thursday, and he gets to keep his Florida residence, New York coop apartment, personal belongings and prized mementoes such as his World Series rings.
A statement released Thursday by the two plaintiffs said, “The past four years have been a living nightmare,” but, really, who had the worse nightmare? More pointedly today, whose nightmare will continue? This mother and daughter won their complaint and are considered heroes by leftist media. Giuliani isn’t even allowed to practice law.
He posted on X Thursday, “This resolution does not involve an admission of liability or wrongdoing by any of the Parties. This litigation has taken its toll on all parties. The 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.”
The women had testified --- before the January 6 “Select” Committee no less --- about “mobs of Trump supporters” threatening them outside their home after what Rudy had said, and Rudy included in his statement Thursday that “No one deserves to be subjected to threats, harassment or intimidation.” That’s true, but how much of the intimidation they allege was caused specifically by Rudy’s words, and how much was due to what virtually everyone saw on Election Night security video in State Farm Arena. We all remember that, and what many people besides Rudy said about it. So it seems like quite a stretch to point the finger of blame at Rudy, to the tune of almost (gasp) $150 million.
These women claim to have been “scapegoats,” but if anyone in this story was scapegoated, it seems to have been Rudy, as they made him pay for the alleged sins of many.
Both sides came to an agreement on the day a bench trial was scheduled to begin. In December 2023, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and Ruby Freeman were awarded (yes) $148 million in damages. Of course, this princely sum was far more than Rudy and most humans could possibly pay, so in order to satisfy the judgment, the two women sued “America’s Mayor” in the Southern District of New York and sought control of his assets. As in, everything.
This story from two months ago in LAW & CRIME will give you an idea of the kind of fighting that was going on over Rudy’s personal possessions.
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/rudy-giuliani-hires-new-lawyer-in-defamation-case/
ASIDE: Isn’t it interesting that when Trump, a Trump associate or Trump supporter has to go to court, it’s typically in either DC or the Southern District of New York? (Even Trump’s Mar-A-Lago “classified documents” case, though tried in Florida, had a DC grand jury, thanks to Jack Smith’s maneuvering.) And they tend to find their cases a mighty tough slog, with both judge and jury.
Anyway, outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse in New York City, son Andrew Giuliani --- who had reportedly been given the World Series rings by his dad and will retain possession --- told reporters that “To see what [my father has] been put through over the past four years...to see on a daily basis just how he’s persevered, I couldn’t be any more proud of him as I am right now.”
Rudy had been found in contempt of court for allegedly refusing to comply with court orders, but attorneys for both sides asked presiding Judge Lewis Liman in a letter to reschedule the upcoming contempt hearing for after February 25, and it looks as though they’ve worked that out, too, because as stated in the letter, the agreement “would result in the conclusion of all litigation currently pending between and among the parties.”
Accordingly, Judge Liman adjourned until March 3. Perhaps then the court will reveal the value of the assets that Giuliani is to turn over to the women, presumably to be split in some fashion with their attorney Von DuBose of Atlanta. (This attorney has, according to CNN, been working pro bono, but that seems inconsistent with reports that Rudy told the court he couldn’t afford to reimburse the plaintiffs for their attorney fees.) But don’t be surprised if terms of the settlement remain under seal.
If you really want to watch, here’s MSNBC’s Joy Reid interviewing DuBose about his clients, heroic women fighting for election integrity.
Giuliani alleged that these workers were doing, well, what it LOOKED like they were doing: committing some hanky-panky out of sight of poll watchers. DuBose has maintained Rudy was deliberately lying about them.
The Georgia Elections Board investigated the allegations against the two and concluded they were “false and unsubstantiated.” That’s when they filed suit against Rudy.
Rudy’s still disbarred in both DC and New York State. As THE EPOCH TIMES reported in September, “A three-judge panel on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals...noted, among other things, Giuliani’s disbarment in the State of New York, where an appeals court similarly accused Giuliani of making ‘demonstrably false and misleading statements to the courts, lawmakers and the public at large.’”
In June 2023, the DC Bar’s Board of Professional Responsibility issued a report saying Giuliani “claimed massive election fraud [in Pennsylvania] but had no evidence of it.” This one is particularly infuriating, because the panel accused him of trying to “undermine the integrity of the 2020 presidential election” and “destabilize our democracy.” Actually, he was trying to do the opposite; as his attorneys argued, he was acting in good faith and a genuine belief “that there were irregularities in the 2020 election that deserved to be examined and challenged.”
Besides, some still allege there WERE issues in Pennsylvania. Just this week on FOX NEWS, civil rights attorney Alan Dershowitz referred to the likely unconstitutionality of the election there and even speculated about whether Biden would have won the Electoral College without that state’s 19 electoral votes. (Dershowitz believes Biden still would have won the presidency, but he wasn’t looking at questions of constitutionality in other states, such as Arizona and Wisconsin.)
But getting back to Rudy, it hurts to read this now about someone who has contributed so much in his professional life:
“In its decision on July 7, the panel said that Mr. Giuliani’s efforts to help Mr. Trump challenge the 2020 election overshadowed the renowned prosecutor and mayor’s prior record.
“‘The misconduct here sadly transcends all his past accomplishments,’ the panel concluded.”
Rudy has also pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges in Arizona involving allegations that he spread “false claims of election fraud” there after the 2020 election. According to THE EPOCH TIMES, he also faces criminal charges in Georgia, as one of the defendants in Fani Willis’ (unraveling) case.
RELATED BREAKING STORY: To get an idea of how off-kilter our legal system is, compare Rudy’s story with the defamation judgment announced Friday against CNN for what they said about Navy vet Zachary Young. (Full details at link below.) After Rudy got hit with a $148 million judgment, all big ol’ CNN has to pay, at least so far, is $4 million in financial damages and $1 million in emotional damages. Punitive damages might also be coming, but we don’t know as of Friday midday; we’ll update Monday.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/breaking-jury-finds-cnn-committed-defamation-against-navy/
RIP DAVID LYNCH, BOB UECKER AND ANITA BRYANT
By “Huckabee” pop culture guru Pat Reeder (http://www.hollywoodhifi.com)
Thursday was a doubly-sad day for pop culture fans. First, it was announced that director David Lynch had died at 78 after a struggle with emphysema following a lifetime of smoking.
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/david-lynch-dead-director-blue-velvet-twin-peaks-1236276106/
Lynch was known for his unsettling and surrealistic style, beginning with the cult movie “Eraserhead” in 1977. He got a bit more mainstream, but always remained reliably bizarre as he earned success and four Oscar nominations and a honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement for such films as “Blue Velvet,” “Mulholland Drive,” “Lost Highway” and “Dune,” plus the surprise weird TV hit, “Twin Peaks.”
Also on Thursday, the Milwaukee Brewers announced that longtime announcer Bob Uecker had died of cancer at 90.
https://variety.com/2025/sports/news/bob-uecker-dead-milwaukee-brewers-broadcaster-1236276027/
Uecker played two seasons as a catcher for the then-Milwaukee Braves, as well as for St. Louis and Philadelphia before becoming a radio game announcer. But his quick wit and self-deprecating humor took him beyond the game. His hilarious appearances on “The Tonight Show” as the Rodney Dangerfield of baseball earned him the sarcastic nickname of "Mr. Baseball" from Johnny Carson and led to a role on the hit sitcom “Mr. Belvedere” and other movie and TV appearances, as well as iconic commercials for Miller Lite beer.
Finally, a reader called to our attention that we hadn’t reported the passing of singer Anita Bryant. She died last month at 84, but her family didn’t announce it until last week.
The Variety obituary has a lengthy write-up of her long and varied career, which included popular singer, Miss America second runner-up (many fans thought she’d won), orange juice pitch person (she helped supercharge sales), frequent TV variety show guest, and later, a controversial political figure for her opposition to the burgeoning gay rights movement and Christian and gospel artist. RIP to them all.
Thank you for reading the newsletter.
Rudy is a hero!
The settlements for things like defamation and other non physical perceived injustices are way out of proportion to the injury. There really needs to be some limitation on the awards for certain injuries. Even the awards for death and physical injury can be ridiculous. Judges and juries have forgotten how to be fair. We are not better than those than countries we decry. I’m not sure any President can fix this problem because it is the result of strongly held conviction. These judges and juries do not appear to be concerned with justice but are politically motivated. They may think they mean well because those around them applaud their decisions. Brain washing does work. It’s not that people are evil, they just have come to be believe that those who disagree with them deserve punishment.