Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's new lawyer, surprised hundreds of attorneys, staff, defendants and judges at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., courthouse Friday afternoon when he appeared as the lawyer of a woman accused of insurance fraud.

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Giuliani said his appearance before Broward County Criminal Court Judge Barbara McCarthy was as much as a character witness as her representative.

And the case, he emphasized, has nothing to do with his main day job representing Trump in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into allegations of collusion with Russia.

'I came to show the court she is just a young woman who made a mistake,' Giuliani said by telephone after his appearance. 'Like a character witness if you wish.

'She works for me and I'm in the best position to show she should be given a break in this instance.

'This has nothing to do with the president. I'm still working a few cases, three to be precise, and I'm taking care of them so that I can focus on the president 100 percent of the time.'

High-profile representation: Rudy Giuliani was in court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to represent Vanessa Ryan, 32, his personal assistant who is facing felony insurance fraud charges

Surprise presence: The ex-New York mayor's day in court was a shock and he was escorted in by ten Broward County deputies, said attorney Michael Gottlieb

Alleged fraudster: Vanessa Ryan, 32, is charged with felony insurance fraud after renewing her car insurance in the aftermath of a traffic accident without telling the insurer Progressive what had happened

Back in court: The Fort Lauderdale judge was the second the ex-New York mayor appeared in front of this week. He was on Judge Jeanine on Fox News on Saturday night being interviewed by Jeanine Pieriro

Giuliani is representing 32-year-old Vanessa Ryan, his personal assistant.

According to court records, Ryan turned herself in to authorities in December 2017 after she found out a warrant had been issued for her arrest.

The warrant was the result of an investigation by Florida state insurance fraud sleuths on a complaint by Progressive Insurance.

According to arrest records, Ryan's car insurance lapsed May 10, 2016 because she failed to renew it.

Eight days later, however, Ryan was involved in a minor car accident near Fort Lauderdale.

She later admitted to calling Progressive from the scene of the crash and renewing her insurance without telling the company she had just been into an accident.

She filed a claim the next day, triggering a fraud alert at Progressive.

Charged with two felony counts with a possible sentence of more than a year in prison, Ryan pleaded not guilty.

Last week, Giuliani filed a motion for permission to represent Ryan since he is not a member of the Florida Bar. His motion was accepted and today's appearance at a five-minute status conference, where we was flanked by Ryan, was his first in the case.

'Vanessa has been working for me as an assistant for several months and she's terrific,' Giuliani said. 'I've also known her whole family. Her mother is a doctor I've known for years and her dad was a great Marine. This is the least I can do.

On the move: Giuliani was in Washington D.C. at the weekend, was at Yankees Stadium in New York on Tuesday to see the Yankees play the Boston Red Sox, and spotted on a plane to Fort Lauderdale on Thursday before appearing in court there Friday

Special permission: How Rudy Giuliani asked for - and was granted - leave to represent his personal assistant in Florida

'A youngster like her doesn't want a felony on her record. So we're working on a deal to make sure she is not adjudicated guilty.'

Another hearing has been scheduled for July 9.

Giuliani had already parted ways with his law firm in New York on Thursday in an awkward public departure.

He said he was stepping down to focus solely on Trump instead o taking a leave of absence.

But the firm then publicly rebuked him for saying he would have used clients' funds to make hush money payments without their knowledge, which is what he said Michael Cohen had done for Trump.

In court Friday Fort Lauderdale attorney Michael Gottlieb, who was waiting his turn before the judge when America's Mayor walked in, said Giuliani was escorted into the courtroom by 10 Broward County Sheriff's deputies.

'I understand he needs security, but everybody at the courthouse noticed him,' Gottlieb said.

'What was weird is that it was a nothing hearing, a "hey, I'm here judge, how are you?" five-minute hearing.

'I'm not sure the president's lawyer should be doing this.'

Trump hired Giuliani, 73, in April to join the White House's legal team assigned to dealing with Mueller's investigation.

But then he became a lightning rod for the Trump legal team as he dropped a bombshell on Sean Hannity's Fox News show that the president knew about the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

He later tried to walk back some of what he said, while the president said he would 'get his facts straight' and claims that he was drinking in excess surfaced.

Trump's legal team rallied behind Giuliani. Ty Cobb, the government lawyer who serves as the liaison to Trump's outside counsel, told DailyMail.com, 'I've never seen him impaired in any form, fashion or otherwise.'

Trump's top personal attorney, Jay Sekulow, likewise said that Giuliani is 'fully engaged' and 'a valuable member of the president's legal team.'

A former U.S. Attorney in New York City credited with taking down the mob, Giuliani's matter-of-fact but efficient response to 9-11 made him one of the country's most admired politicians. He was unsuccessful in a run for president in 2008.

During Trump campaign, Giuliani became one of the businessman's key TV surrogates. He hoped to become Trump's secretary of state but that job went to former Exxon executive Rex Tillerson, who recently was replaced by former CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

Since Giuliani's return to Trump inner circle, however, he has made several highly-controversial TV appearances that contradicted the president on hush payments to porn star and alleged Trump paramour Stormy Daniels.