Rudy Giuliani’s sexual assault case hearing spiraled into chaos for two hours that ended with the former New York City mayor being muted by the judge.
The first oral arguments in the civil suit, brought by accuser Noelle Dunphy, unfolded on Wednesday after a series of delays in the case that was first filed in early 2023. Dunphy, who claims to be his former employee, is accusing Giuliani of wide-ranging misconduct, including sexual harassment, assault, battery and a hostile work environment. The hearing was streamed online and journalists were allowed to watch.
The remote hearing was plagued by technical difficulties, high-pitched acoustic feedback and confusion. At one point, Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian businessman and former Giuliani associate-turned-critic, tried to be admitted to the virtual meeting — a move that the ex-mayor vocally objected to. The judge didn’t let Parnas in. Justin Kelton, Dunphy’s lawyer, said he was a potential witness in the case.
Adam Katz, the lawyer representing Giuliani’s businesses in this matter, struggled to be heard during the Microsoft Teams call as his connection kept dropping while the former mayor spoke when the judge expressed wanting him to be muted.
Almost immediately, confusion ensued.
The judge asked whether Giuliani — who appeared in black suit and a yellow and purple striped tie — was representing himself in the case or whether Katz was. Judge Nicholas Moyne clarified: “I ask not because I’m attempting to criticize you. I’m wondering if there’s any confusion on your end, Mr Giuliani,” pointing out that earlier in the case, the former mayor had told another judge that Katz would be representing him.
Giuliani replied: “Can I talk to Mr Katz about it? I am confused.” This matter didn’t come up again until the end of the hearing, when the judge warned Giuliani about the risks of representing himself.
“You were a lawyer. Now you’re representing yourself pro se. You know the pitfalls of that…I would encourage you to find counsel,” the judge said emphasizing that the former mayor would be held to the same rules and ethical guidelines that a lawyer would be. Giuliani, once the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, is now disbarred in New York and Washington, DC.
Giuliani said he understood and that he preferred Katz represent him.
He then requested a chance to be heard. The judge allowed Giuliani to make his legal arguments, with a caveat. “Please do not go on a soliloquy. I believe that would not be in your best interest, anyway,” Moyne said, and urged him to avoid “personal attacks.”
That’s when the hearing went off the rails. The former Trump lawyer made a series of salacious attacks against Dunphy, who was also on the call, wearing a white blazer, mint green shirt and round glasses.
“The case should be dismissed based on injustice,” Guiliani said, alleging that she previously sued her ex-boyfriend in a similar way. Moyne directed his staff to mute Giuliani.
Even with his sound turned off, Giuliani kept talking.
Giuliani’s remarks were “inappropriate,” the judge said. Speaking directly to Giuliani, he explained that he muted the former mayor because “you are going to cause yourself harm by doing this, so I’m going to protect you from yourself.” Moyne then encouraged Giuliani to find counsel.
After some time, Giluliani unmuted himself and promised to ask the judge a question that was “not inflammatory.” He asked about the legality of Dunphy’s recordings. Much of Dunphy’s complaint involves comments that Giuliani allegedly made that she recorded; she claims it was with his permission. Her complaint even states: “At times, Giuliani pressed ‘record’ himself on Ms. Dunphy’s cell phone to record their conversations.”
The judge told Giuliani that he could raise these arguments in a formal response: either an answer to the complaint or a motion to dismiss. Giuliani and his team still have not filed a formal answer to Dunphy’s lawsuit.
The former mayor replied apologetically: “I made a mistake. I’m sorry. Because [an argument] was brought up, I thought I had a right to respond to it.”
While a comedy of errors reigned at Wednesday’s hearing, it was scheduled to address both sides’ motions for sanctions and Giuliani’s motion to strike parts of Dunphy’s May 2023 complaint from the record.
The judge rejected both motions for sanctions. “The temperature on this case is already sky high...This case has taken a very very long time to get to a point and we are still at a preliminary point,” Judge Moyned said. “We’re not going to get tracked down in side issues. I’m not going to get tracked down in side issues. What we need now is a formal response to the complaint.”
As for the motions to strike, Giuliani had requested to remove portions of the complaint that include references to his drinking, derogatory comments he made about famous people, a claim that he was “selling pardons for $2 million”, his appearance in the second Borat film and allegations of other affairs — all of which Giuliani described in a filing as “unnecessary, inflammatory, scandalous, and unduly prejudicial.”
Regarding the many references in the complaint that suggest Giuliani was “rarely sober” when interacting with her. The former mayor shook his head with his head in his hands while the judge summarized the allegations.
Katz argued they should be stricken because “these have nothing to do with Ms Dunphy,” but the judge disagreed, and decided to keep these portions. He argued the allegations “are at the heart of the claims,” as they refer to hostile work environment and sexual harassment.
For example, Moyne said, her claims say that the former mayor allegedly “forced her to watch movies and TV films that she felt uncomfortable…that would be a claim for hostile work environment.”
Dunphy’s complaint also mentions a few alleged affairs that Giuliani had, including with Maria Ryan. The judge ordered to strike any mentions to the affairs unless the “affairs occurred in an employment context or there was an employment relationship when the affair was going on.”
Moyne also agreed to strike the sale of pardons allegation, calling them “clearly prejudicial.” He said the claim doesn’t seem to be relevant to the case and also “accuses [Giuliani] of a serious crime.”
Then there was the Borat reference. In Dunphy’s complaint, she describes the alleged assault and includes a photo of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm that depicts Giuliani lying down on a bed in a hotel room with his hands down his pants. Kelton argued that this should be included because the image “as close an illustration as possible to the situation” that Dunphy allegedly experienced.
Katz, though, said that this comparison is like apples and oranges: “It’s comparing what happened in a Hollywood movie in a fake interview” to Dunphy’s allegations. The judge ultimately sided with Katz, and struck the photo and the reference to the comedy movie.
At one point during the hearing, Giuliani appeared to be munching on cookies before sipping on a white mug with a tiny red heart. At another, he seemed to be fiddling with his iPad while the hearing was ongoing. At others, he appeared to be talking to a brunette woman, whose manicured nails sometimes tapped his mute button on his behalf.
The judge directed the defense to file an answer to the complaint within 45 days of Wednesday’s hearing, adding that he gave Giuliani extra time to figure out the matter of representation.
This hearing comes after the case was stalled for months as Giuliani’s bankruptcy case played out. He was ordered to pay nearly $150 million to a pair of Georgia election workers that he defamed. The pair are now preparing to seize a long list of valuables, including his 1980 Mercedes Benz once owned by Lauren Bacall, 26 watches, and his Manhattan penthouse after a federal judge ordered him to turn over his possessions to the court.
