Giuliani Rejects Releasing a Client List
Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani rebuffed a call to produce a list of companies with which his legal and consulting firms have worked, and he defended those business arrangements that already have been disclosed.
Giuliani, a Republican candidate for president, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he has released a substantial number of financial disclosures and would do so again as required by federal law, but as for releasing a full list, he said, "I can't do that. There are confidentiality agreements."
After leaving the mayor's office in 2001, Giuliani formed a consulting business, Giuliani Partners, and became a name partner of a Houston law firm, Bracewell and Giuliani.
It is the work of Giuliani Partners that has drawn particular media interest. The firm advises clients on security issues, and those who have hired it include the Persian Gulf country of Qatar. The law firm has represented an American subsidiary of an oil company controlled by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
Giuliani told reporters in April that he was "largely out" of Giuliani Partners, "and I'm pretty much going to be out of it at some point pretty soon." In June, he told CNBC that he was spending no more than 10 percent of his time doing work for Giuliani Partners, "trying to settle up last-minute things."
But the firm continued to list him as chairman until just last month, and he retains an equity stake in the company during his run for the presidency. Last year, that ownership share earned him $4.1 million.
On NBC, Giuliani rejected the suggestion that his companies have worked on behalf of Chavez, a Qatar official supportive of terrorism or Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea.
"We'll obviously meet all the standards that the law requires" regarding disclosure, he said. "We will meet all of those like everyone else has."
Giuliani, the only guest on the show, leads national polls of the Republican candidates, although he trails in both Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states that will vote on the 2008 candidates. He vowed to continue his campaign regardless of the results of those states; Giuliani is widely regarded to be focused on the vast number of delegates up for grabs on Feb. 5, which many states will hold their primaries.
Giuliani was asked about his involvement with the Iraq Study Group, the 2006 commission led by former secretary of state James Baker and former congressman Lee Hamilton investigating the best options forward in Iraq.
Giuliani said that he resigned shortly after he was named to the commission because he was at the time considering running for president and "realized this would be a terrible conflict." He said he told Baker that reason.
Giuliani was named March 15 as one of the commission's 10 members, but he attended none of its meetings before ultimately resigning.
In his May 24 resignation letter to Baker, Giuliani cited "previous time commitments," and the former New York mayor made roughly $11 million last year through speaking engagements.
He said Sunday that it is important for the U.S. military to stay in Iraq "as long as necessary to get the strategic objective achieved."
Giuliani was also quizzed about his former police commissioner and friend Bernard Kerik, who has been indicted on charges including fraud and corruption. Kerik has pleaded not guilty.
On Giuliani's recommendation, President Bush nominated Kerik in 2004 to be secretary of homeland security. "I made a mistake in not vetting him carefully enough," Giuliani said, calling it "a very tragic and terrible situation."
Rockefeller Refuses to Talk About Any More CIA Tapes
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, would not say whether he knows of other tapes of CIA officers interrogating terrorism suspects.
The CIA is coming under fierce criticism for destroying tapes of officers administering severe interrogation techniques against two al-Qaeda suspects.
"I cannot comment on that [possibility]. I simply cannot comment on that, " Rockefeller said on CBS's "Face the Nation." " And if there were other tapes, it would be very interesting to know, do they still exist? Were some destroyed? Were some not? Which ones? I have no information on that at all."
Rockefeller said CIA Director Michael Hayden would come before his committee Tuesday to talk about interrogation techniques.
Huckabee Stands by His 1992 Comments on AIDS
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, another Republican running for the presidency, declined to revise comments he made about AIDS in 1992, as he defended himself on "Fox News Sunday" against a rising torrent of criticism.
In 1992, Huckabee opposed increased federal funding to find an AIDS cure and called homosexuality a "sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous health risk."
He also told the Associated Press, while running that year for the U.S. Senate, "If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague."
Huckabee said Sunday that he was attempting to point out the uniqueness of a public health crisis involving an infectious disease in which the carriers were not isolated.
"We didn't really know just how extensive and how dramatic it could be and the impact of it," Huckabee said.
"Now, would I say things a little differently in 2007? Probably so," he added. "But I'm not going to recant or retract from the statement that I did make because, again, the point was not saying we ought to lock people up who have HIV/AIDS."
Huckabee, a Baptist minister, said people should not evaluate fellow candidate Mitt Romney, a Mormon, on his religion.
"I do think that's inappropriate. I think people should judge Mitt Romney on his record," Huckabee said. "Is he consistent?"
-- Zachary A. Goldfarb
By Post Editor |
December 9, 2007; 2:30 PM ET
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Posted by: J.E. Nelson | December 9, 2007 8:08 PM
If Mr. Giuliani truly wants to advance his candidacy, he should divulge his business contacts. There has been a few unsavory and unflattering matters that have come up in the last few weeks, and of those, some personal in nature, the disclosure of who he did business with is probably something that should be in the public domain for obvious reasons. The tactic of letting certain people try to clear the air with explanations, is quite common I believe in the power world. But for credibiity, the host who undertakes the interview, should show he is dealing seriously with the situation, otherwise it does become transparent and something of a sideshow. In a cynical way,it's believed that the Clinton/Giulianai matchup should produce some headlines and fireworks.
Posted by: jblee | December 10, 2007 12:55 AM
Mr. Giuliani is being held to a higher standard than other candidates. He has an excellent reputation as mayor of New York City. His legal business transactions are not anyone's business because lawyers have a protected relationship with their clients.
Posted by: rmorris | December 10, 2007 10:26 AM
Wadda ya mean revealing names...
Porca madona! Whyya talkin ta me lathat..Got no respect punk
Ya know who I am, dontya, stupido ?!
Shaddap ya face...
Suckers get zotzed for too much talkin, an no respect. YO!
Posted by: Bekabo | December 11, 2007 1:17 PM
Dr. Ron Paul, just raised close to $20 million, Hillary-type money. He has won the majority of local GOP straw polls. He will easily be in the top-five in real elections. Yet, Fox is trying to exclude him from a five-man roundtable. Fishy, no?
Let's look at Fox' Board of Directors for another explanation. Here are some members: Rupert Murdoch, CEO News Corp.; Andrew S.B. Knight of Rothschild Investment Trust , the banking dynasty ; Former Education Secretary Rod Paige; and Viet Dinh Professor of Law, author of the Patriot Act.
A glance at the Communist Manifesto shows that government schools, central banking, and control of communications are several of the basic tenets of collectivism. Fox' Board members are A-list practictioners of this philosophy.
In contrast, Ron Paul' opposes federal control of educaton, and the loss of our freedoms in the Patriot Act. He wants a sound currency based on savings and tangible assets, not debt and thin air.
Moreover, "Republican" propagandist News Corp is a big donor to Hillary. Her top donor is Goldman Sachs, and they throw plenty to Obama and leveraged-buyout king Romney. This is a "Who's Who" list of the housing bubble and dollar destruction, not fair arbiters in an election. Ron Paul's top donors? Individuals from the Armed Forces. I say we exclude Fox - we need Dr. Ron Paul.
Posted by: Rothschilds Empire | January 2, 2008 2:40 PM
Guliani's clients include the manufacturer of oxycontin who benefitted from his assistance when the government was investigating the highly addictive qualities of the drug. The NY Times released an incredible investigative piece, unfortunately timed for the day after Bhutton's assassination. Everyone should read it!
Posted by: Anonymous | January 6, 2008 11:04 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Tim Russert was not all that forceful in questioning of Rudy Giuliani. My suspiction
is that this appearance was designed to repair Giuliani's reputation and stop his downward slide in the polls. The mainstream media, of which Mr. Russert is a charter member, seems to have some vested interest in seeing Rudy get the Republican nomination. Meanwhile the Wash. Post today and the New York Times on earlier in the weekend, committed their front pages primarily to stories defending the faltering candidacy of Hillary Clinton. Could it be that the powers that be want this match-up, and will do anything possible to see this is the poor choice the voters will get?