Complaint for wide-ranging sexual assault and harassment, wage theft, and other misconduct against Rudolph W. Giuliani
Noelle Dunphy vs. Rudolph W. Giuliani
Index No.: 650033/2023
by Justin T. Kelton
May 15, 2023
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
NOELLE DUNPHY,
Plaintiff,
-against-
RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI, GIULIANI PARTNERS, LLC, GIULIANI GROUP, LLC, GIULIANI SECURITY & SAFETY, LLC, JOHN and/or JANE DOES 1-10,
Defendants.
Index No.: 650033/2023
VERIFIED COMPLAINT
Plaintiff Noelle Dunphy (“Ms. Dunphy”), by and through her undersigned attorneys, Abrams Fensterman, LLP, brings this Verified Complaint against Defendants Rudolph W. Giuliani (“Giuliani”), Giuliani Partners, LLC (“GP”), Giuliani Group, LLC (“GG”), Giuliani Security & Safety, LLC (“GSS”) (collectively, the “Giuliani Companies”), and John and/or Jane Does 1-10, and alleges as follows upon knowledge as to herself and her own actions, and otherwise upon information and belief:
INTRODUCTION
1. This lawsuit arises from unlawful abuses of power, wide-ranging sexual assault and harassment, wage theft, and other misconduct by Rudolph W. Giuliani and his Companies.
2. When Giuliani hired Ms. Dunphy in January 2019, he was at the height of his influence, serving as the personal lawyer for then-President Donald Trump. He had fashioned himself publicly as a major player in American politics, a successful businessman, and an important powerbroker who wielded enormous control over others.
3. Giuliani worked aggressively to hire Ms. Dunphy, offering her what seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work as his Director of Business Development with a salary of $1 million per year plus expenses. As an added inducement, Giuliani also offered to provide pro bono legal representation to Ms. Dunphy in connection with an ongoing dispute arising from an abusive ex-partner. To Ms. Dunphy, the chance to work for an influential politician once dubbed “America’s Mayor,” combined with the prospect of free legal representation by a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, was a rare opportunity that was simply too good to pass up.
4. But Giuliani’s offer came with a significant catch: Giuliani was in the midst of an acrimonious divorce, and he told Ms. Dunphy that her pay would have to be deferred and her employment kept “secret” until the divorce proceedings finished. He claimed that his “crazy” exwife and her lawyers were watching his cashflow, and that his ex-wife would “attack” and “retaliate” against any female employee that Giuliani hired. Giuliani promised Ms. Dunphy that his divorce would be resolved “any day now,” and therefore the deferral of her pay and the need to keep her employment secret would soon end. Ms. Dunphy reluctantly agreed to defer her pay and not to publicize her employment because she viewed the job, the salary, and the free legal representation as being worth the wait.
5. Unfortunately, Giuliani’s seemingly generous offers were a sham motivated by his secret desire to pursue a sexual relationship with Ms. Dunphy—in total disregard for the restraints that should have protected her as his employee and client. As Giuliani later admitted in a recorded statement, he “wanted [Ms. Dunphy] from the day [he] interviewed [her].”
6. Giuliani began abusing Ms. Dunphy almost immediately after she started working for the Defendants. 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. Giuliani began requiring Ms. Dunphy to work at his home and out of hotel rooms, so that she would be at his beck and call. He drank morning, noon, and night, and was frequently intoxicated, and therefore his behavior was always unpredictable.
7. Giuliani also took Viagra constantly. While working with Ms. Dunphy, Giuliani would look to Ms. Dunphy, point to his erect penis, and tell her that he could not do any work until “you take care of this.” Thus, Ms. Dunphy worked under the constant threat that Giuliani might demand sex from her at any moment. Even when the Covid-19 pandemic halted Giuliani’s ability to physically assault her, he demanded that she disrobe during their work-related videoconferences.
8. Giuliani also abused his position as Ms. Dunphy’s lawyer to pressure her into sex. In one instance, for example, Giuliani promised Ms. Dunphy that he would give her $300,000 if she would forgo her legal rights in connection with her pending case and “fuck me like crazy.” This statement was recorded.1
9. As Ms. Dunphy continued her work for Giuliani and the Giuliani Companies, the work environment became increasingly hostile. In addition to his sexual demands, Giuliani went on alcohol-drenched rants that included sexist, racist, and antisemitic remarks, which made the work environment unbearable. Many of these comments were recorded.
10. Despite the horrible conditions that she endured, Ms. Dunphy excelled at work. She generated substantial business opportunities, was available around the clock, helped Giuliani maintain his public image, and diligently ensured that his day-to-day business needs were met. Ultimately, however, Giuliani and his Companies callously tossed Ms. Dunphy aside, never paying her for the work she performed, and leaving her traumatized by the abuse she had suffered.
11. Giuliani presented himself as a generous employer and a hero who would use his legal prowess to save Ms. Dunphy from a difficult situation. But he was neither of those things. Giuliani assaulted and harassed Ms. Dunphy, forced her to work in a deplorable work environment, in secret, and robbed her of the pay she is owed. Through this case, Ms. Dunphy seeks a measure of justice from a man who thought his power and connections rendered him untouchable.
PARTIES
12. Ms. Dunphy is an individual who resided in New York at certain times and Florida at other times during the relevant time periods.
13. Defendant Rudolph W. Giuliani is an individual who at all relevant times was a resident of the State of New York, New York County.
14. Defendant Giuliani Partners, LLC is a Delaware Limited Liability Company, with a principal place of business in New York, New York County. Upon information and belief, Giuliani was and is the sole member of Giuliani Partners, and exercises operating control over the entity.
15. Defendant Giuliani Group, LLC is a Delaware Limited Liability Company, with a principal place of business in New York, New York County. Upon information and belief, Giuliani was and is the sole member of Giuliani Group, and exercises operating control over the entity.
16. Defendant Giuliani Security & Safety LLC is a Delaware Limited Liability Company, with its principal place of business in New York, New York County. Upon information and belief, Giuliani was and is the sole member of Giuliani Group, and exercises operating control over the entity.
17. Upon information and belief, John and/or Jane Does 1-10 are individuals who reside in the State of New York.
18. The Giuliani Companies comprise a “single employer” or “single integrated enterprise” since they share interrelated operations, centralized control of labor relations, common management, and common ownership or financial control.
19. Upon information and belief, Giuliani owns a controlling interest in each of the Giuliani Companies, and he exercises complete dominion and control over the Giuliani Companies.
20. Giuliani and the Giuliani Companies constitute “joint employers” with respect to Ms. Dunphy since they share authority to hire and fire employees such as Ms. Dunphy, determined rate, method, and timing of her pay, approved payment of business expenses, had authority to discipline her, controlled her work schedule and other terms and conditions of her employment, and directed and supervised her work.
21. The work performed by Ms. Dunphy benefited all Defendants and/or directly or indirectly furthered their joint interests, and Defendants shared control of Ms. Dunphy’s employment, either directly or indirectly, because Defendants either control, are controlled by, or are under common control with each other. Defendants are therefore collectively Ms. Dunphy’s “joint employers” under the New York Labor Law’s broad definition of “employer.” 29 C.F.R. § 791.2(b).
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
22. The Court has personal jurisdiction pursuant to Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) § 301 because, inter alia, Giuliani has resided in New York at all relevant times, and each of the Giuliani Companies had a principal place of business in New York at all relevant times.
23. Venue is proper in this County pursuant to CPLR § 503 because a substantial part of the events giving rise to Ms. Dunphy’s claims took place in New York County, where Giuliani resides, works, and maintains offices for the Giuliani Companies.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
A. Ms. Dunphy’s Background
24. Ms. Dunphy is a Columbia University graduate and skilled businesswoman with 22 years of experience in business development, associate producing, and communications.
25. Ms. Dunphy has owned her own consulting firm, Strategic Consulting, since 2001.
26. Throughout her career, Ms. Dunphy has worked with companies to generate increased business, create new revenue streams, and promote positive brand images.
27. Despite her professional successes, Ms. Dunphy has experienced substantial pain and hardship. When she met Giuliani, Ms. Dunphy was highly vulnerable, having just begun the arduous process of recovering from severe domestic abuse. She was involved in a difficult lawsuit arising from that situation,2 and she was desperate for an opportunity to move forward in a positive direction.
B. Background of Giuliani and the Giuliani Companies
28. Giuliani is a lawyer,3 former Mayor of New York City, and former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
29. Giuliani prides himself on being a well-connected political power broker. When Ms. Dunphy met Giuliani, he was known as a longtime friend and close confidante of then-President Donald Trump, in addition to being a member of Trump’s legal team.
30. Giuliani also owns and manages several businesses, including the Giuliani Companies.
31. Giuliani operated the Giuliani Companies as his personal fiefdoms, disregarding virtually all corporate formalities and blurring the boundaries between the Companies and their personnel. Upon information and belief, employees of the Giuliani Companies regularly acted and referred to themselves as working for Giuliani and did not maintain separation among the Giuliani Companies. For example, Giuliani’s former interim CEO, Maria Ryan, wrote in emails that GP and GSS “are one,” meaning that they operate as a single company. Upon information and belief, the Giuliani Companies had intermingled bank accounts, and Giuliani treated his corporate credit card as a personal credit card.
32. Upon information and belief, Giuliani has a history of using his businesses— including, but not limited to the Giuliani Companies—to groom and aggressively pursue women for sexual relationships.
33. For example, upon information and belief, Giuliani repeatedly agreed to give significant job titles and large salaries to women he found attractive, with the intention of having a sexual relationship with them. Upon information and belief, Giuliani achieved this goal in several instances, and engaged in sexual relationships with women he had hired and whose employment he controlled completely.
34. Upon information and belief, Giuliani had an affair with Maria Ryan, who was Giuliani Partners’ interim CEO, although Giuliani claimed in the media that there was “no proof” that the two had sex.4 In addition, media reports note that Giuliani had an affair with his communications director in the 1990s.5 Media reports also reflect that Giuliani had an affair with Jennifer LeBlanc,6 a GOP fundraiser who, upon information and belief, received indirect payments from Giuliani and who, upon information and belief, worked in Gracie Mansion when Giuliani was Mayor. And, upon information and belief, Giuliani also hired 19-year-old Christianne Allen as the Communications Director for the Giuliani Companies because, as he told Ms. Dunphy, he had “a certain sexual attraction to” Ms. Allen. In fact, Giuliani admitted to Ms. Dunphy that he kissed Ms. Allen. These statements were recorded.
35. Ms. Dunphy knew nothing about this predatory history until she became a victim of the same scheme.
C. Giuliani Tries To Hire Ms. Dunphy In 2016 And Then Again In 2019
i. Giuliani’s First Overture in September 2016
36. In September 2016, Giuliani met Ms. Dunphy while they both were waiting in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan.
37. Giuliani spoke to Ms. Dunphy and began asking for details about her work and life, and then indicated that he was interested in hiring her to work for him.
38. Ms. Dunphy had no reason to believe that the interaction was anything other than business.
39. Giuliani gave Ms. Dunphy his business card at the end of the interaction and asked that she contact him to talk further about working with him.
40. Ms. Dunphy had no intention of working with Giuliani and did not contact him.
41. Ms. Dunphy had no contact with Giuliani until he contacted her again in 2019.
ii. Giuliani’s Second Overture in January 2019
42. On or about January 9, 2019, Giuliani sent Ms. Dunphy an unsolicited Facebook message and friend request. A true and correct copy of the Facebook friend request is annexed hereto as Exhibit A.
43. Ms. Dunphy was surprised that Giuliani had tracked her down years after their first interaction. But the timing was fortuitous, as Ms. Dunphy was seeking new career opportunities, and she also needed legal advice.
44. Ms. Dunphy accepted Giuliani’s friend request and responded to his message. Giuliani invited her to a formal interview for a business development job with his organization.
45. Ms. Dunphy agreed to meet Giuliani for a job interview in Florida, where she was living at the time.
D. Giuliani Hires Ms. Dunphy as Director of Business Development and Agrees to Represent Ms. Dunphy Pro Bono.
46. On January 21, 2019, Giuliani interviewed Ms. Dunphy at the Trump International Golf Club of West Palm Beach, Florida. During the interview, they discussed Ms. Dunphy’s career and experience, and her legal issues. They also spoke about her ability to help Giuliani generate new revenue streams and to support him on a day-to-day basis, including by fielding media inquiries.
47. The interview seemed to go well. Giuliani told Ms. Dunphy that he was impressed by her experience, and he offered her a job as Director of Business Development for the Giuliani Companies, and also as his executive assistant for travel, communications, and public relations.
48. Giuliani told Ms. Dunphy that her salary would be $1 million per year, and that any business expenses she incurred would be reimbursed.
49. Upon information and belief, the salary that Giuliani offered Ms. Dunphy was within the same general range that Giuliani and the Giuliani Companies paid to other employees of Giuliani and the Giuliani Companies, when accounting for expenses and other benefits, including for example Maria Ryan (who served in various roles).
50. During the job interview, Giuliani and Ms. Dunphy discussed that her responsibilities would include generating business opportunities, including speeches and clients which Giuliani told her historically earned him approximately $10 million per year, public relations work (such as editing Giuliani’s social media posts and ensuring that he was presentable to the public), monitoring his email, assisting him with responding to emails, making travel arrangements, scheduling meetings, and generally being “on call” for whatever Giuliani and his Companies needed. Giuliani told Ms. Dunphy that the job required her to be available “24/7.”7
51. As they talked, Ms. Dunphy suggested several ideas for ways in which Giuliani and his Companies could generate revenue. These included creating a podcast,8 creating a Netflix series, documentaries, and other similar endeavors. Later, Giuliani took advantage of several of these suggestions, and Ms. Dunphy worked to develop some of these projects.
52. Giuliani and Ms. Dunphy also discussed during the interview that she one day write a book on Giuliani and Trump.
53. Giuliani gave Ms. Dunphy permission to record her interactions with Giuliani anytime, anywhere, as well as Giuliani’s interactions with others. Giuliani thereafter continually permitted and authorized Ms. Dunphy to make such recordings. He never asked her to stop recording any interaction. At times, Giuliani pressed “record” himself on Ms. Dunphy’s cell phone to record their conversations.
54. As the parties reached agreement on the general terms of Ms. Dunphy’s employment, Giuliani added a strange requirement: Ms. Dunphy’s pay would have to be deferred and her employment kept “secret” until Giuliani’s divorce proceedings finished. Giuliani claimed that this arrangement was necessary because his ex-wife and her lawyers were watching his cashflow and he was limited in what he could spend and who he could hire. Giuliani also claimed that his ex-wife would “attack” and “retaliate” against any female employee that Giuliani hired.
55. Giuliani told Ms. Dunphy that his divorce would settle “any day now” and therefore the need to keep her employment secret and her pay deferred would not last long.
56. Giuliani promised Ms. Dunphy that in the meantime, he would pay her in cash whenever he could so that she could support herself during the deferral period.
57. During the interview, Giuliani offered Ms. Dunphy an additional inducement: he had learned that she was a survivor of domestic abuse and he offered to represent her pro bono in connection with legal matters arising from those circumstances. Giuliani later sent Ms. Dunphy an email confirming this arrangement, a redacted copy of which follows:
![Image](https://rapeutation.com/anoelledunphygiuliani1b.jpg)
58. Giuliani had served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Thus, his offer of pro bono legal representation was an important inducement of seemingly incalculable value due to his experience and recognition in New York legal circles.
59. At the end of the interview, Ms. Dunphy accepted Giuliani’s job offer and reluctantly agreed to defer her pay and keep her employment non-public, based on: ( i) Giuliani’s job offer (including the salary of $1 million per year and expenses); (ii) his claim that his divorce would be finalized soon; and (iii) his promise that he would represent Ms. Dunphy pro bono.
60. Ms. Dunphy was excited, and she called her parents soon after being hired to tell them about her new job and salary.
61. 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.”
E. Ms. Dunphy Begins Working For The Giuliani Defendants.
62. Right after the job interview on January 21, 2019, Giuliani required that Ms. Dunphy attend a work-related meeting with his team and certain of Giuliani’s Ukrainian associates to discuss her work for the Giuliani Companies.
63. During this meeting, Giuliani drank to excess, and he pressured Ms. Dunphy to drink.
64. After a long first day on the job, Giuliani told his bodyguard to take a separate car so he could have privacy in the back seat with Ms. Dunphy as his limo service drove her home in a black SUV. Ms. Dunphy was surprised by this request from her new boss.
65. After the bodyguard left, Giuliani kissed Ms. Dunphy and asked if he could enter her home.
66. Ms. Dunphy was stunned and shaken. She politely declined and thanked him for her new job and his legal representation. As he was preparing to leave, Giuliani told Ms. Dunphy that since they would be working from different locations that week, he would like it if Ms. Dunphy sent him some flirtatious photos. Giuliani’s conduct seemed strange, but Ms. Dunphy still had no idea of what was to come. After his car left, she went into her apartment, locked the door, and tried to make sense of what had just happened.
67. After dropping Ms. Dunphy off, Giuliani called Ms. Dunphy five times that same evening.
F. Giuliani Begins Asking Ms. Dunphy Bizarre And Intrusive Sexual Questions Under The Guise Of Providing Legal Advice.
68. At around the same time that Ms. Dunphy began working for Giuliani and the Giuliani Companies, Giuliani and Ms. Dunphy began working together on her legal matters.
69. Under the guise of providing Ms. Dunphy legal advice, Giuliani started asking Ms. Dunphy for extremely personal details relating to her past, including explicit details about prior sexual encounters.
70. Ms. Dunphy was disturbed by these personal questions, but Giuliani claimed that this information was necessary for his “research” in connection with her case.
71. As Ms. Dunphy would soon learn, Giuliani’s probing questions were not designed to help him provide legal advice. Rather, Ms. Dunphy would come to understand that Giuliani was aroused by discussing Ms. Dunphy’s sexual history and violent relationships. Ms. Dunphy did not know it yet, but Giuliani would force her to repeat the cycle of abuse she had suffered.
G. Giuliani Subjects Ms. Dunphy To A Sexually-Charged And Hostile Work Environment, Repeatedly Assaults Her, And Refuses To Pay Her Salary.
72. After Giuliani hired Ms. Dunphy on January 21, 2019, Giuliani called Ms. Dunphy almost daily, often repeatedly, to discuss current events and business-related issues. For example, Giuliani called Ms. Dunphy 14 times on January 24, 2019.
73. Giuliani often required that Ms. Dunphy discuss business and current events with him on the phone for eight to ten hours a day, sometimes late into the evening. Thus, Ms. Dunphy began working long hours for Giuliani and his Companies.
74. Because Giuliani was both her boss and her lawyer, she felt that she had to respond as he required.
75. On January 25, 2019, Giuliani paid to fly Ms. Dunphy to New York on a semiprivate chartered plane. Giuliani used an employee of the Giuliani Companies, JoAnne Zafonte, to make these travel arrangements. Copies of records related to these travel arrangements are annexed hereto as Exhibit B.
76. That evening, Giuliani, travelling with his security team, met Ms. Dunphy at the airport. Giuliani smelled of alcohol. They had a business dinner that night and planned to travel to the office for work that upcoming Monday.
77. Giuliani insisted that Ms. Dunphy stay in a guest suite in his Upper East Side apartment. Ms. Dunphy was surprised by this unusual request, but Giuliani assured her that employees often slept in his guest suite, which included a private bedroom and private bathroom.
78. Ms. Dunphy was uncomfortable with this arrangement and tried to secure other accommodations. She asked her family and friends for places to stay in New York. But Giuliani insisted that she stay in his apartment. Since Giuliani was her boss and attorney, she felt pressured to do as he asked and ultimately agreed to stay in his guest suite temporarily.
79. Upon arrival at Giuliani’s apartment, Ms. Dunphy was surprised to find that Giuliani had alcoholic beverages ready for them.
80. Ms. Dunphy was not much of a drinker, but Giuliani pressured her to drink with him. Giuliani offered Ms. Dunphy scotch, which she declined because she virtually never drank hard alcohol. Undeterred, Giuliani poured them both glasses of red wine. In an effort to be polite, Ms. Dunphy accepted the wine. Giuliani and Ms. Dunphy each drank two or three glasses of wine.
81. Giuliani was substantially larger than Ms. Dunphy, who was a women’s size small or medium at the time.
82. Ms. Dunphy became intoxicated more easily than Giuliani because of her smaller size and the fact that she rarely drank, while Giuliani often drank large quantities of alcohol.
83. After finishing their drinks, Ms. Dunphy went to the guest suite alone. She put her suitcase on the bed, closed the door to the room, and took a shower.
84. When Ms. Dunphy got out of the shower, she was startled to see that Giuliani had entered the guest suite, uninvited. She was still intoxicated.
85. Ms. Dunphy was frightened. She said she wanted to get dressed, unpack, and settle in. She asked for privacy. She said she would meet him in the living room when she was ready. But Giuliani would not leave. He sat on the bed and pulled down his pants. The following screenshot from the film Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm depicts Giuliani acting in a similar manner to how he acted with Ms. Dunphy:
![Image](https://rapeutation.com/anoelledunphygiuliani1c.jpg)
86. 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.
87. Ms. Dunphy was shocked and saddened by what had happened. She did not want to have any sexual encounter with Giuliani, of any kind. But Ms. Dunphy felt extreme pressure to go along with Giuliani’s demands because she could not lose her promised salary or her legal representation by the uniquely qualified and connected lawyer.
88. After pressuring her into performing oral sex, Giuliani required Ms. Dunphy to accompany him to a late dinner with Giuliani’s friend and business associate Lev Parnas. Ms. Dunphy asked Giuliani for the name of the Human Resources director, because she was considering reporting what had happened. Giuliani said that he did not have a Human Resources department and bragged that no one would ever sue him because he was connected to President Trump, and he had private investigators who would punish anyone who complained.
89. They went to the work dinner, which involved discussions about various matters including media relations, certain legal issues, and the political climate.
90. Over the following two days (Saturday and Sunday), Giuliani and Ms. Dunphy worked from his residence. They sat at the dining room table in his three-bedroom penthouse apartment, and sometimes worked from the living room couch. Her tasks that weekend included bringing him scotch on demand and brainstorming ideas for interviews, shows, and Netflix series.
91. She also reviewed her contacts with entertainment industry professionals, sought their advice, analyzed various options, and researched documentary makers and producers. She later reached out to certain producers and had lengthy meetings with them about potential projects for Giuliani.
H. Giuliani Loads His Email Account Onto Ms. Dunphy’s Computer.
92. Giuliani told Ms. Dunphy that part of her duties would involve monitoring his email, notifying him about important emails, working with him to craft responses if needed, reminding him about scheduled meetings and appearances, and keeping track of files in case he needed them.
93. Therefore, Giuliani added one of his work email accounts into Ms. Dunphy’s email program on her computer, typing his password onto her computer.
94. Once Giuliani’s email account was loaded onto Ms. Dunphy’s computer, at least 23,000 emails associated with the account, including many from before her employment with Giuliani, were stored on her computer.
95. Since Giuliani gave Ms. Dunphy access to his email account, she had access to information that was, upon information and belief, privileged, confidential, and highly sensitive.
96. For example, Ms. Dunphy was given access to emails from, to, or concerning President Trump, the Trump family (including emails from Donald Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump), Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former FBI director Louis Freeh, Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow, Secretaries of State, former aides to President Trump such as Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, and Kellyanne Conway, former Attorneys General Michael Mukasey and Jeff Sessions, media figures such as Rupert Murdoch, Sean Hannity, and Tucker Carlson, and other notable figures including Newt Gingrich, presidential candidates for Ukraine, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, the Ailes family, the LeFrak family, Bernard Kerik, Igor Fruman, Lev Parnas, and attorneys Marc Mukasey, Robert Costello, Victoria Toensing, Fred Fielding, and Joe DeGenova.
97. Ms. Dunphy understood that she was given access to these emails because she was employed by Giuliani and the Giuliani Companies. Indeed, although Giuliani and his surrogates have argued that Ms. Dunphy was not an employee of Giuliani or the Giuliani Companies, it is impossible to understand Giuliani’s decision to give Ms. Dunphy complete access to (and copies of) these sensitive emails in any other context.
98. As a lawyer, Giuliani sent and received emails containing privileged information that could not legally be shared with Ms. Dunphy if she were not an employee or consultant. Likewise, Giuliani’s business often involved highly confidential information, and upon information and belief, there were confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements governing access to some of this information. Upon information and belief, those agreements barred Giuliani from sharing covered confidential information with someone who was not an employee or consultant.
99. Giuliani never asked Ms. Dunphy to sign a non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement.
100. As part of her work, Ms. Dunphy warned Giuliani about the dangers of his use of a regular Gmail account for his work, and about his habit of logging in from unsecured Wi-Fi networks in foreign nations and hotel lobbies. She researched additional security measures for him, recommended them to him, and recommended experts to review his practices.
I. Giuliani Takes Ms. Dunphy To The Giuliani Companies’ Office And Introduces Her As A New Employee, And Ms. Dunphy Continues Working For Defendants.
101. On Monday, January 28, 2019, Giuliani took Ms. Dunphy to the Giuliani Companies’ office at 445 Park Avenue, 18th floor, New York, New York.
102. At the office, Ms. Dunphy met several employees of the Giuliani Companies, including Giuliani’s office manager JoAnne Zafonte, CEO of GSS John Huvane, Giuliani’s head of security and friend Beau Wagner, attorney and Giuliani friend Dennison Young, and other staff.
103. Ms. Dunphy continued working for Defendants during the course of that week. For example, she began to coordinate travel arrangements for Giuliani through JetSmarter and negotiated a better plan and travel membership for him. A true and correct copy of an email chain between Ms. Dunphy and a representative from JetSmarter dated January 30, 2019 is annexed hereto as Exhibit C.
104. Ms. Dunphy also helped Giuliani prepare for an upcoming interview about Roger Ailes, the former Chairman of Fox News. Ms. Dunphy tried to discourage Giuliani from participating in the interview because an employee of Fox had publicly alleged that Mr. Ailes sexually abused her and blackmailed her into becoming his “sex slave.” But Giuliani insisted that Ailes, who had passed away, was a “good friend” and he decided to participate in the interview. Therefore, Ms. Dunphy prepared Giuliani to try to avoid or deflect from topics that could harm Giuliani’s reputation, since part of her job was public relations for Giuliani. Ms. Dunphy accompanied Giuliani to this interview on January 29, 2019, to ensure Giuliani would not embarrass himself. This interview, including out-takes, was recorded.
105. Giuliani kept working with Ms. Dunphy on her legal matters during this time. He edited and drafted affidavits, drafted and revised agreements for her, and communicated with the attorney who was making court appearances on Ms. Dunphy’s behalf, Christopher Mukon, Esq. (“Mr. Mukon”).
J. Giuliani Moves Ms. Dunphy’s Work Location From The Companies’ Offices To His Apartment And Continues Forcing Ms. Dunphy To Satisfy His Sexual Demands.
106. Over the next few days, Giuliani grew obsessive and would not let Ms. Dunphy out of his sight. He aggressively pursued a sexual relationship with Ms. Dunphy, and to facilitate this goal, he insisted that they work mostly at his apartment rather than the Giuliani Companies’ offices. Giuliani made clear that satisfying his sexual demands was a requirement of Ms. Dunphy’s employment.
107. Giuliani preferred working with Ms. Dunphy in his home (and later from hotels) so that he could easily transition from work, to demanding sexual gratification, and back to work. Thus, Ms. Dunphy worked under the virtually constant threat that Giuliani might initiate sexual contact at any moment. Although Ms. Dunphy never knew when Giuliani might force sexual contact on her, upon information and belief, his actions were premeditated because, in many instances, he had taken Viagra or similar medication beforehand in preparation.
108. Giuliani often demanded that she work naked, in a bikini, or in short shorts with an American flag on them that he bought for 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.
109. Throughout the employment and attorney-client relationship, Giuliani forced Ms. Dunphy to perform oral sex on him. He often demanded oral sex while he took phone calls on speaker phone from high-profile friends and clients, including then-President Trump. Giuliani told Ms. Dunphy that he enjoyed engaging in this conduct while on the telephone because it made him “feel like Bill Clinton.”
110. Upon information and belief, some of the individuals who Giuliani spoke with on these calls were law clients of Giuliani (such as Mr. Trump), who were unaware that Ms. Dunphy was in the room and could overhear their conversations. At certain times, Ms. Dunphy overheard discussions which contained, upon information and belief, privileged or confidential information. These discussions included, for example, strategies as to how to deal with the investigation being conducted by Robert Mueller, and whether it might be possible to distract, intimidate, or otherwise dissuade Mueller from proceeding against Trump.
111. As part of her duties, Giuliani and Ms. Dunphy had discussions about documents that might help counteract the Mueller investigation, including reviewing documents labeled “Executive Privilege” and discussing potential legal arguments summarized in documents that Giuliani had received from another lawyer.
112. During this time, the work environment was regularly affected by Giuliani’s chronic alcoholism. Giuliani was rarely sober around Ms. Dunphy. Since he regularly drank all day and night, it became part of Ms. Dunphy’s responsibilities to fetch his alcohol and make sure that he was a “functioning alcoholic.” She worked hard to ensure that despite Giuliani’s excessive drinking, he did not appear drunk. If Giuliani became too drunk, it was her job to remove him from the situation. Ultimately, the most important and time-consuming aspect of Ms. Dunphy’s job became preventing Giuliani from creating media disasters. During this time, when Ms. Dunphy was not by his side, he appeared with hair dye dripping from his forehead, appeared wearing excessive amounts of self-tanner, and hosted a press conference in the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping.
113. Giuliani began to tell Ms. Dunphy that he loved her. Often, this was while he was coercing her into performing oral sex on him. He sometimes also referred to her as a “best friend” and he often told her that he “needed” her. Due to Ms. Dunphy’s vulnerable state, and the power imbalance between them as boss/employee and lawyer/client, she began to believe him. And Giuliani engaged in a pattern of conduct that was designed to make her financially and emotionally dependent on him, and to coerce her to remain as his secret employee.
114. Ms. Dunphy confided in a friend about the abuse she had experienced. She told her friend that Giuliani acted like performing oral sex was a requirement of her job, and that he pressured her for oral sex constantly. Ms. Dunphy also told the friend how she felt like she had no choice but to comply, given the circumstances.
K. Giuliani Keeps Refusing To Pay Ms. Dunphy The Salary She Is Owed, But Strings Her Along With Small Cash Payments.
115. All the while, Giuliani was telling Ms. Dunphy that he needed to keep deferring her pay and keep her employment secret, but he promised her that she would eventually be paid in full and receive credit for her work.
116. Giuliani also continued to tell Ms. Dunphy that his divorce would settle “any day,” and then he and his Companies would make her whole by paying what she was owed.
117. To tide Ms. Dunphy over and keep her obedient to him, Giuliani sometimes paid Ms. Dunphy in increments of no more than $5,000 in cash, at random times. For example, Giuliani paid Ms. Dunphy $4,000 in cash on February 1, 2019, before she traveled from New York to Florida, as part of her “deferred pay.”
118. Giuliani also authorized certain of Ms. Dunphy’s business expenses to be paid by using a corporate credit card for one of the Companies. These expenses included, for example, Uber and Lyft expenses for work-related travel.
119. To bolster his claims about the need to keep Ms. Dunphy’s employment “secret,” Giuliani told Ms. Dunphy about other schemes he undertook to reduce the amounts he owed to his ex-wife.9 For example, Giuliani told Ms. Dunphy that someone owed him $1 million, but Giuliani hinted that instead of having the money paid to him, he had his friend, Robert Stryk, hold it for him. He said, “Robert Stryk just got me a million-dollar payment.” This statement was recorded.
120. Likewise, Giuliani told Ms. Dunphy about other instances in which he would have others receive and hold money that was due to him so that his ex-wife would not know that he received the money. Upon information and belief, these individuals holding the money would give Giuliani cash from time to time so that the funds could not be traced to Giuliani.