Gateway Pundit Settles 2020 Defamation Lawsuit
Far-right conspiracy site Gateway Pundit settles 2020 defamation lawsuit brought by Georgia election workers.
By Marshall Cohen, CNN
Washington CNN —
Gateway Pundit, the far-right conspiracy site, has settled a defamation lawsuit from two Georgia election workers who were falsely accused of rigging the 2020 results.
Details of the settlement were not made public. But the parties said in a court filing this week that they have “reached agreement to settle all claims and counterclaims.”
The lawsuit is one of several major defamation cases filed by the election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shae Moss, after the 2020 election. Their case against ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani ended in December with the former mayor being ordered to pay them $148 million.
The dispute between the parties has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties through a fair and reasonable settlement,” attorneys for Freeman and Moss said in a statement.
The Gateway Pundit, infamous for publishing extremely partisan and sensationalized material, often dabbles in baseless right-wing conspiracy theories. The website’s founder, Jim Hoft, is a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump.
The company tried to declare bankruptcy in April, saying the 2020 defamation cases were threatening its solvency. But a federal judge decided in July that the company acted in “bad faith” and was trying to abuse bankruptcy protections to dodge a potentially massive legal bill from the defamation lawsuits. Gateway Pundit is appealing that ruling.
CNN has reached out to Gateway Pundit’s lawyers seeking comment.
Freeman and Moss are simultaneously still fighting Giuliani in court to collect on the roughly $150 million he owes them, after they won their defamation case against him before a jury.
Giuliani has paid none of the debt, and lawyers for Freeman and Moss are before a separate judge now trying to seize his two multimillion-dollar apartments, multiple New York Yankees World Series rings, and his large collection of luxury watches, which include two given to him after Sept. 11, 2001, by European heads of state.
Freeman, Moss and Giuliani have a major hearing on the debt-collection efforts scheduled for next week in federal court in New York.
CNN’s Katelyn Polantz contributed reporting.
By Marshall Cohen, CNN
Washington CNN —
Gateway Pundit, the far-right conspiracy site, has settled a defamation lawsuit from two Georgia election workers who were falsely accused of rigging the 2020 results.
Details of the settlement were not made public. But the parties said in a court filing this week that they have “reached agreement to settle all claims and counterclaims.”
The lawsuit is one of several major defamation cases filed by the election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shae Moss, after the 2020 election. Their case against ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani ended in December with the former mayor being ordered to pay them $148 million.
The dispute between the parties has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties through a fair and reasonable settlement,” attorneys for Freeman and Moss said in a statement.
The Gateway Pundit, infamous for publishing extremely partisan and sensationalized material, often dabbles in baseless right-wing conspiracy theories. The website’s founder, Jim Hoft, is a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump.
The company tried to declare bankruptcy in April, saying the 2020 defamation cases were threatening its solvency. But a federal judge decided in July that the company acted in “bad faith” and was trying to abuse bankruptcy protections to dodge a potentially massive legal bill from the defamation lawsuits. Gateway Pundit is appealing that ruling.
CNN has reached out to Gateway Pundit’s lawyers seeking comment.
Freeman and Moss are simultaneously still fighting Giuliani in court to collect on the roughly $150 million he owes them, after they won their defamation case against him before a jury.
Giuliani has paid none of the debt, and lawyers for Freeman and Moss are before a separate judge now trying to seize his two multimillion-dollar apartments, multiple New York Yankees World Series rings, and his large collection of luxury watches, which include two given to him after Sept. 11, 2001, by European heads of state.
Freeman, Moss and Giuliani have a major hearing on the debt-collection efforts scheduled for next week in federal court in New York.
CNN’s Katelyn Polantz contributed reporting.
