With new allegations of sexual misconduct, Rudy Giuliani’s story gets even dirtier

Slime and sleaze levels in America have surged even higher this week.

Even for those of us who aren’t squeamish or easily shocked, the new lawsuit

archived

in return for

Rudy Rudolph W

Giuliani is ugly and nasty.

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On the heels of the E. Jean Carroll case in which former President Trump was explicitly accused of rape and found guilty by a jury of sexual assault, Noelle Dunphy makes a series of detailed allegations about

Trump has been the former president once

personal attorney, the man once known as the mayor of America.

Dunphy’s allegations are, if possible, even more grisly and distasteful than those Trump just faced. We’re not talking

funny stuff about how Giuliani’s hair dye runs down the side of his face or how he once accidentally scheduled a press conference at a landscaping company next to a sex shop. He is no longer just a pathetic aging figure who is the target of a Borat movie.

Dunphy claims in court documents that she worked for Giuliani as an off-the-books employee as of 2019. She alleges a long list of serious misconduct that he forced her to have sex, subjected her to alcohol-soaked diatribes including and anti-Semitic remarks and did not pay her the wages she was owed.

Dunphy’s 70-page file, asking for $10 million

compensation and

injury

contains includes

allegations that Giuliani forced her to perform oral sex on him in his apartment while he was talking on the phone

included

to Trump

among other things

. She says Giuliani has made it clear that he meets his sexual demands

which came almost always and everywhere was an absolute requirement for her work.”

He also allegedly told her that he sold a federal pardon for $2 million and split the money with it

former President Trump

. (That chimes with a claim previously made by a pardon seeker in the final days of the Trump administration.)

Dunphy says she has tapes that support some of her claims

.

What should we make of it

this

court case? Dunphy’s claiming these things certainly doesn’t make them true. We haven’t seen her evidence; the Associated Press asked to hear the tapes, but the tapes never came. The suit is

not a criminal case brought by a prosecutor based on thorough police work or an indictment by a grand jury.

currently

it’s just one woman saying it. Maybe she’s making it up and hoping a jury believes her.

Or maybe she isn’t.

Giuliani’s immediate response to the lawsuit was that his spokesmen vehemently denied the allegations. But a rep acknowledged that Giuliani dated Dunphy for a while, according to the New York Daily News. Moreover, if she has tapes, Giuliani’s people said, they were obtained illegally, which is different from saying they are fake or misleading.

As for the implication that she was sexually harassed on the job

or the victim of wage theft, they say she has not been an employee at all.

But no matter who speaks the truth,

i

It gets tiring being held hostage by the childish tabloid cover scandals of Trump and his coterie. The US, once respected for its democratic process and ideals, now regularly shocks the world with its confident, sex-driven soap operas.

Of course, sexual misconduct isn’t limited to Republicans or Trump and his ilk. We’ve seen enough since the #MeToo movement began to know that sexual harassment and assault take place in the humblest of workplaces and in the biggest corporate suites.

twofold in government and politics. Bill Clinton’s presidency was known for its sex scandal.

But the Trump era has passed

something special. We were warned this would happen even before the 2016 election. We knew about the “Access Hollywood” grab ’em by the pussy tape. More than a dozen women accused Trump of sexual misconduct before or during his campaign. We chose him anyway.

As regards

Dunphy’s accusations

,

they are

simply the latest in a long line of

shake head

Giuliani

developments.

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The man who once led New York City’s courageous response to the 9/11 attack has become a parody of himself. He made many mistakes, but he most seriously damaged his reputation when he agreed to be Trump’s pit bull and leading public election denier. Ultimately, his license to practice law was suspended by a New York court over his demonstrably false and misleading statements about the 2020 election.

Dunphy, for what it’s worth, has something to say about that too. She claims Giuliani told her prior to November 2020 that if Trump lost the race, his team planned to claim voter fraud and that Trump

,

in fact won.

Is that true? Are any of her claims true? We’ll find out

,

I hope. Anyway, our country will look a little worse for the rest of the world.

@nick_goldberg