Judge Mutes Ranting Rudy Giuliani During Bonkers Hearing

Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Last week, Rudy Giuliani was ordered to hand over basically everything he owns — including his Upper East Side apartment, his 1980 Mercedes, and even his television — in order to pay $148 million in damages for defaming Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.

Now, a separate and arguably more appalling Giuliani sexual-assault case brought by a former aide last year is finally moving forward, having been put on hold as the former mayor unsuccessfully tried to declare bankruptcy. But there was more chaos during a virtual hearing on Wednesday: Giuliani admitted to being “confused” about whether he’s representing himself, and the judge wound up muting him mid-rant.

Noelle Dunphy, Giuliani’s former employee, had filed the civil suit accusing him of sexual assault, sexual harassment, wage theft, and abuse of power. The first oral arguments in the suit took place on a Microsoft Teams call that was “plagued by technical difficulties,” according to The Independent. The confusion didn’t end there. Former Giuliani associate Lev Parnas tried to crash the hearing, as The Independent reported:

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.

Then, Giuliani admitted to New York Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Moyne that he wasn’t sure if he’s being represented by attorney Adam Katz or acting as his own counsel, per Law & Crime:

After attorney Justin Kelton entered an appearance for Dunphy and Adam Katz for the Giuliani corporate defendants in the case, Giuliani coughed, confirmed he could hear Moyne, and said he was representing himself.

“You are in fact representing yourself?” Moyne asked. “Is that correct?”

Giuliani then said that was his belief, but that he needed to check.

“Can I talk to Mr. Katz about it? I am confused, you are correct, your honor,” Giuliani said. “I am confused.”

Nearly two hours later, when the judge again said that Giuliani is proceeding pro se, Giuliani responded that he would prefer that Katz represent him. The judge directed the two to talk about that offline …

Later in the hearing, Judge Moyne allowed Giuliani to speak but encouraged him not to deliver a tirade or make personal attacks. Giuliani proceeded to accuse Dunphy of “being a professional plaintiff in court to extort men” and ranted that the lawsuit “should be dismissed based on injustice.” Moyne yelled at Giuliani several times, then said he was muting him for his own good, as the New York Daily News reported:

“Your honor, this is outrageous,” Dunphy’s lawyer, Justin Kelton, said.

State Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Moyne yelled at Giuliani multiple times, asking him to stop talking. Finally, he put him on mute.

“Mr. Giuliani, you’re going to cause yourself harm by doing this, okay? So I’m going to protect you from yourself at this time,” Moyne said.

“These are not legal arguments that you’re making right now,” he said. “These are personal attacks, and this is not the time for that, okay? I’m not going to allow it, I’m sorry. I tried to treat you with respect and with deference, but you have to follow my rules.”

After he was silenced, Giulani continued shouting at the camera for a while, then sat back down.

The hearing wasn’t a total wash for Giuliani. Moyne agreed with his request to strike some parts of Dunphy’s complaint from the record, including references to Giuliani’s appearance in the Borat sequel along with allegations about Giuliani’s extramarital affairs and attempts to sell pardons from Donald Trump while working as the president’s personal lawyer. The judge told Giuliani to file an answer to the complaint within 45 days, noting that he gave him some extra time to figure out who’s representing him.