Rudy Giuliani sued for $10m for alleged sexual assault by former employee

Rudy Giuliani has been sued for $10m for sexual assault, harassment, wage theft and other misconduct by a former associate who claims he forced her to perform sex acts on him and work in the nude.

Noelle Dunphy alleges that the former New York City mayor made “sexual demands” throughout her employment and went on “alcohol-drenched rants that included sexist, racist, and antisemitic remarks,” many of which she recorded.

She also alleges that the ex-New York City mayor and then-president Donald Trump were offering to sell presidential pardons for $2 million apiece, according to court documents.

“He made clear that satisfying his sexual demands-which came virtually anytime, anywhere-was an absolute requirement of her employment and of his legal representation,” the lawsuit states.

She claims that she agreed to start working for Mr Giuliani for a salary of $1m per year, but he told her he would have to defer payment as he was going through a divorce with his “crazy” ex-wife.

Ms Dunphy states that she was also asked to record conversations with Mr Giuliani “as well as Giuliani’s interactions with others.”

“But unbeknownst to Ms Dunphy, Giuliani apparently decided during the interview that he would use the job offer and his representation as a pretext to develop a quid pro quo sexual relationship with Ms Dunphy. He was later recorded telling Ms Dunphy, ‘I’ve wanted you from the day I interviewed you,’” the lawsuit states.

She also claims that the first week she worked for Mr Giuliani, 78, he flew her to New York and invited her to stay at his apartment in the city, where they drank together.

“Giuliani then pulled her head onto his penis, without asking for or obtaining any form of consent. He held her by her hair. It became clear to Ms Dunphy that there was no way out of giving him oral sex. She did so, against her will,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit also states that Mr Giuliani insisted that she carried out her work naked, wearing a bikini, or tiny shorts with an American flag on them that he provided for her.

And she accuses him of inappropriate conduct while on video calls with her.

“When they were apart, they would often work remotely via videoconference, and during those conferences Giuliani almost always asked her to remove her clothes on camera. He often called from his bed, where he was visibly touching himself under a white sheet,” the lawsuit states.

Ms Duphy’s lawsuit details an interaction she allegedly had with Mr Giuliani on or about 16 February 2019, when he was serving as Mr Trump’s personal attorney and attempting to dig up overseas dirt on then-former vice president Joe Biden, who at the time was two months away from entering the 2020 presidential race against Mr Trump.

She writes that as they reviewed emails between him and Ukrainian government officials, she asked if he had to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and offered to do the required paperwork for him.

The former mayor replied that he was allowed to violate Fara and other US laws because “[he had] immunity”.

She then states that Mr Giuliani asked her “if she knew anyone in need of a pardon” because he was “selling pardons for $2 million, which he and President Trump would split”.

“He told Ms Dunphy that she could refer individuals seeking pardons to him, so long as they did not go through “the normal channels” of the Office of the Pardon Attorney, because correspondence going to that office would be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act,” she added.

The lawsuit states that she began working for Mr Giuliani in January 2019 and that he fired her in January 2021, without paying her the deferred salary.

She is seeking $10m from Mr Giuliani and three of his namesake companies.

Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for and adviser to Mr Giuliani, told The Independent in an email that the former New York mayor “unequivocally denies the allegations raised by Ms Dunphy”.

“Mayor Giuliani’s lifetime of public service speaks for itself and he will pursue all available remedies and counterclaims,” he added.