In a resolution equal parts legal closure and late-night promotional stunt, Rudy Giuliani and voting-technology firm Dominion agreed Tuesday to settle their long-running defamation fight for a confidential sum and announced an audacious plan to defuse public curiosity: a nationwide guessing contest.
“We wanted transparency where transparency was least appropriate,” Giuliani said in a statement issued through a spokesperson who also handled his tie. “So we’re letting the people weigh in. It’s democracy, but with prize money. Very American.”
Under terms signed off by a federal judge and a compliance officer whose job description now apparently includes event planning, members of the public may submit sealed guesses online.
If someone nails the exact amount, that entrant may elect to be paid immediately or to receive equal annual installments over 30 years (plus a modest humility fee and standard taxes).
Dominion’s general counsel leaned into the promotional tone. “Confidentiality clauses are boring,” she said. “But citizens’ interest is not. Instead of litigating the rumor mill, we figured: let’s turn it into a contest. It’s efficient, transparent, and—frankly—an excellent way to sell out advertising inventory for our neutral third-party overseer.”
As part of the settlement package, the parties agreed to a raft of ancillary promotional tie-ins: a live televised “Guess the Settlement” finale, commemorative NFTs for the top 100 closest guesses, and a quasi-judicial trivia segment hosted by an anchor who once covered bankruptcy court for a small town paper.
“It’s a win for everyone,” Giuliani’s spokesperson declared. “He gets closure, Dominion gets to move forward, and America gets a game show. What could be more restorative?”
