Rudy Giuliani accused of being ‘sexist sexual predator and abuser’ in lawsuit from former employee

A woman in New York is suing former mayor Rudy Giuliani, claiming he sexually harassed her while she was an employee at his company and then threatened her after he fired her, noting his closeness with former President Donald Trump.

Mr Giuliani’s attorney told The Daily Beast that he "categorically denies all of the allegations of this frivolous complaint," but did not offer any comment on whether or not the former mayor and the accuser had any preexisting relationship.

The Independent has reached out for comment.

Noelle Dunphy, the woman accusing Mr Giuliani, called him a "sexist sexual predator and abuser" in a summons filed on Wednesday in New York. The summons is seeking a jury trial and compensatory damages of $3.1m. It also names several of Mr Giuliani’s businesses as well as 10 John and Jane Does as defendants.

Ms Dunphy is representing herself in the lawsuit.

The accuser said she worked for Mr Giuliani in early 2019, and claims during that time the former mayor made frequent racist and antisemitic remarks, often during "confused and hostile alcohol-laced tirades."

She claimed that Mr Giuliani’s alleged alcohol abuse was the result of his ongoing divorce and numerous political and legal controversies.

Ms Dunphy claims in the summons that Mr Giuliani sexually harassed her and asked her for sexual favours until she was fired without substantial compensation in 2021. After her firing, she claims Mr Giuliani demanded she stay silent about her interactions with him.

“At these times, Giuliani threatened [Dunphy] with further retaliation if she did not stay silent, stating that his private investigators and political connections to President Trump enabled him to retaliate in other ways, express and implied,” she wrote in the summons.

Speaking with The Daily Beast, Ms Dunphy claimed she and Mr Giuliani were involved in a romantic relationship during her time under his employ.

"It began with Rudy as my boss and lawyer and later turned romantic," she wrote in text messages to the publication. She went on to call him a "manipulative abuser."

She went on to say that "seeking justice against a powerful man is terrifying," but that she "can’t be silent any longer."

Mr Giuliani’s attorney, Robert Costello, told the outlet that she "never worked for any Giuliani entity."

“These are libelous allegations drafted by an individual with no lawyer, because no lawyer would associate themselves with this nonsense,” he told The Daily Beast. “Unfortunately, when you are in the public eye, you become a target for these predators. Any cursory due diligence will reveal that this person is not truthful and any publication of these lies will be purely malicious on the part of your publication.”

Ms Dunphy told the publication that "his categorical denial is a huge red flag because he knows where there is smoke, there is fire."

“I have hard evidence to be introduced at trial and look forward to holding him accountable in court. Rudy Giuliani is lashing out because he has nothing else to offer and is afraid that the evidence I have will come before a jury," she said. “Rudy is lashing out because he knows what I know and is frightened it is finally coming out."

According to The Daily Beast, Ms Dunphy tried to back out of a previous suit she filed against another former romantic partner in 2015, citing psychological distress. An appeals court refused to allow her to back out after her initial filing, which alleged that a man repeatedly abused her.

The target of that lawsuit counter-sued and claimed her allegations were false and meant to wrestle a payment out of him. He said she was trying to "defraud high net-worth men," citing a previous, allegedly false rape claim that he said earned her a $5m payout.

Eventually the two settled their suits, and he agreed to pay her $10,000.

The Independent has reached out to Ms Dunphy for comment.

According to the summons, Ms Dunphy said Mr Giuliani offered her pro bono legal services in January 2019 for a court case involving "assault and abuse that she suffered as a victim of domestic violence."

She says in the summons that Mr Giuliani was "frequently intoxicated while discussing matters of law, and he leveraged his counsel to pressure her for sexual quid-pro-quos during lawyer-client consultations."

According to the summons, “on every day of the week, Giuliani would begin drinking shortly after awakening and would continue consuming alcohol persistently and in excess, affecting his behavior as her boss and lawyer.”