Rudolph Giuliani: Rudy in Damage Control Mode

October 23, 2007 -- Washington, DC - As he files paperwork to get on the ballot in the Granite State today, Rudolph Giuliani's allies are trying to distance him from potentially embarrassing allegations about his once-close friend Bernard Kerik. According to the New York Post, Giuliani's law partner Marc Mukasey thwarted Kerik's lawyer from interviewing witnesses linked to Giuliani and his consulting firm who may have knowledge of nefarious activity that occurred during Giuliani's watch. [New York Post, 10/22/07, http://www.nypost.com/seven/10222007/news/regionalnews/giuliani_bern_shield.htm]

Rudy Giuliani personally called President Bush and recommended former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik to be Homeland Security chief. According to the Washington Post, even as the nomination broke down amidst massive ethical questions, "Giuliani advised Kerik through the political storm." Since then, Kerik pleaded guilty for accepting $165,000 in gifts from an allegedly mob-linked construction firm and he now faces indictment for tax fraud and other crimes while he was Correction Department commissioner under Rudy Giuliani.

"Americans are not going to want to trade one ethically challenged Republican administration for another," said DNC Spokesman Dag Vega. "You have to question Rudy Giuliani's judgment given that he supported putting a man who is being investigated for mob ties to be in charge of homeland security. Granite State voters will not want to support another leader who puts loyalty ahead of competence."

10 FACTS ABOUT RUDY GIULIANI AND BERNARD KERIK:

1. RUDY PERSONALLY PUSHED BUSH TO APPOINT FLAWED KERIK FOR TOP NATIONAL HOMELAND SECURITY POST: Rudy Giuliani personally called George Bush and urged him to appoint Bernie Kerik to be secretary of the Homeland Security Department. According to the Washington Post, even as the nomination broke down amidst massive ethical questions, "Giuliani advised Kerik through the political storm." The paper also quoted a former White House staffer as blaming the Kerik nomination mess on Giuliani for lobbying for such a flawed candidate. Of course having his former business partner from Giuliani and Kerik as the nation's top homeland security official would have been an economic boon for Rudy's consulting firm. Giuliani himself admitted that "it is good" for the company." When the nomination fell apart, Giuliani said he was "heartbroken." [Washington Post, 4/8/07; New York Times, 12/4/04; ABC, Good Morning America, 12/13/04]

2. EVEN A QUICK LOOK BY WHITE HOUSE SHOWED BIG PROBLEMS: After Rudy recommended his friend and partner to the White House, "a quick FBI search and research by the White House turned up a host of problems in the couple of weeks before the nomination was announced." [Washington Post, 4/8/07]

3. RUDY IGNORED ETHICS PROBLEMS, VETTING PROCESS TO MAKE FAVORED AIDE TOP NYC COP: Despite claiming he only recently learned about Bernie Kerik's ethical problems, in 2006 Giuliani did not dispute evidence presented to a grand jury that he had been briefed on ethics problems in 2000 when he appointed Kerik to be New York's police commissioner. Why Kerik didn't undergo normal vetting in 2000 is also an issue the city is investigating, as problems dating to his days earlier days as Rudy's corrections commissioner come to light. [New York Times, 3/30/07, 7/10/06; Newsday, 12/18/04]

4. RUDY'S FIRM ASSISTED WITH KERIK PAPERS AT ISSUE IN FELONY PROBE: Staff at Giuliani's consulting firm, where he ran a security consulting practice called Giuliani and Kerik, helped fill out background questionnaires for Kerik's White House nomination. Now federal prosecutors are pursuing felony charges against Kerik for providing false information on those forms during his nomination. [Washington Post, 4/8/07]

5. KERIK SUBJECT OF MULTIPLE INVESTIGATIONS AND CHARGES STILL LOOMING…

* Federal Charges Looming: Federal prosecutors "have told Kerik that they are likely to charge him with several felonies, including providing false information to the government when Bush nominated him" In early 2007, he refused a plea bargain involving jail time for charges of federal tax fraud and a wiretap conspiracy involving the New York State election for attorney general. Federal officials are also looking into the finances of a foundation connected to city' Department of Corrections [Washington Post, 4/8/07; New York Times, 3/14/07, 8/4/06]

* New York Officials Continuing Probes: The Bronx District Attorney's office and the New York City Department of Investigation are continuing to investigate various charges relating to Kerik's acceptance of gifts, ethical violations and grand jury testimony, all during his time working for or with Giuliani. [Washington Post, 4/8/07]

* New Jersey Authorities Interested Too: In 2005, NJ gambling enforcement authorities accused Kerik of using his Giuliani administration job to demand gifts from the DiTomasso family, a mob-connected government contractor. [Washington Post, 4/8/07]

6. …AND HE'S ALREADY PLED GUILTY TO SOME CHARGES AND BEEN FINED!

* 2006: Pled Guilty To Ethics Violations. In 2006, Kerik pled guilty in Bronx Supreme Court on two misdemeanor charges -- failing to report a loan and accepting $165,000 in apartment renovations as a gift. [New York Times, 7/1/06]
* 2002: Fine From Ethics Board. In 2002, Kerik was fined $2500 by the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board for using city police officers to research his autobiography, in direct violation of conditions the board had laid out for him. [Associated Press, 2/28/02]

7. KERIK MOB TIES LONG AN ISSUE: Kerik's ties to Lawrence Ray and New Jersey's Interstate Industrial Corporation are a long-running issue. The firm had hired Kerik's best man, Lawrence Ray, as well as his brother Donald, and Kerik admitted lobbying for the company as it sought a city license, which had been refused because of the firm's ties to organized crime. Kerik pled guilty in 2006 to allowing to the company to do $165,000 in free renovations on his Bronx apartment in 1999 and 2000. The two brothers - Frank and Peter DiTommaso - who run the company have been indicted in the Bronx for lying under oath about their dealings with Kerik. Some aspects of Kerik's ties have been known since 2000. [New York Times, 3/30/07, 7/20/06; Washington Post, 4/8/07]

8. KERIK WASTED RECONSTRUCTION FUNDS IN IRAQ: After he and Rudy left office in 2002, Kerik was sent to Iraq by the Bush administration to help train Iraqi police."Kerik's tenure in Iraq generated strong criticism of his management. Iraqi officials complained to U.S. authorities about $1.2 billion Kerik spent to train Iraqi police officers in Jordan, spending they called wasteful. Iraqis also questioned why Kerik spent tens of millions of dollars to buy weapons for Iraqi trainees when the U.S. military had confiscated plenty of such weapons after the invasion." [Washington Post, 3/31/07; 4/8/07]

9. KERIK SUBJECT OF LAWSUIT FOR RETALIATING AGAINST LOVER'S BOSS: Since the fall of 2000, Kerik was the defendant in a federal lawsuit "accusing him of retaliation against a corrections official who had disciplined a female prison guard with whom Kerik was having a relationship. Kerik was scheduled to give a deposition in the case right after his [cabinet] nomination was to be announced." [Washington Post, 4/8/07]

10. KERIK'S GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES: "Kerik, who filed for bankruptcy as a police officer, became rich almost overnight after leaving office. Just before his [cabinet] nomination, he made a quick $6.2 million without investing a dime by exercising stock options from his service on the board of Taser International, a stun-gun firm seeking business with homeland security agencies." [Washington Post, 4/8/07]

Source: DNC

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