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A woman who says she worked as a freelance employee for Rudy Giuliani during his stint as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer alleges in court papers that the former New York City mayor coerced her into sex and owes her nearly €1.8 million in unpaid wages.
Noelle Dunphy said in the lawsuit that she was Giuliani’s business development director and public relations consultant from 2019 to 2021.
She initially made her allegations public in January, but she detailed her claims further in a 70-page legal complaint filed on Monday in New York.
Mr Giuliani “vehemently” denied the allegations through a spokesperson. His lawyer had also previously denied that Ms Dunphy ever worked for Mr Giuliani.
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“Mayor Giuliani’s lifetime of public service speaks for itself, and he will pursue all available remedies and counterclaims,” said Mr Giuliani’s communications adviser, Ted Goodman.
The new court filing portrays Mr Giuliani (78) as a hard-drinking, Viagra-popping womaniser who made satisfying his sexual demands “an absolute requirement of her employment”.
She is seeking at least €9 million.
Ms Dunphy claimed in the lawsuit to have made numerous audio recordings of Mr Giuliani, including some in which she says he can be heard making sexual comments, demanding sex and making sexist, racist, and anti-Semitic remarks.
Ms Dunphy’s legal team declined a request from the Associated Press to share those recordings, saying they were part of the litigation.
Included in the complaint are screenshots of suggestive text messages purportedly from Mr Giuliani.
The lawsuit claims Mr Giuliani hired Ms Dunphy in January 2019 and promised to pay her $1 million per year for her consulting work.
But he told her that he had to defer paying her until he settled his divorce from his third wife, Judith, according to the lawsuit.
Almost immediately, according to the complaint, Mr Giuliani started making sexual advances, including kissing her in the back of an SUV on her first day and demanding that she take care of him sexually, sometimes while he was on the phone with high-profile friends and clients.
Often, Ms Dunphy alleges, Mr Giuliani would demand she work in a bikini or in American flag-themed shorts he bought for her, and he urged her to strip naked for him during video meetings.
Mr Giuliani reached a divorce settlement in December 2019, but Ms Dunphy said all she got from him were a few cash payments totalling $12,000 dollars to cover living expenses.
Ms Dunphy also contended that Mr Giuliani had reneged on a promise to represent her, for free, in a protracted legal fight involving claims of domestic violence. – AP