Advice to Rudy: Own Up to Your Shady Past

As he hunkers down with his advisers today and prepares for his appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, Rudy Giuliani should finally answer questions he has been dodging for months. Rudy's interview with Tim Russert this Sunday comes amidst new questions about work his business has done for shady clients and the cover-up of taxpayer-paid security for his then-girlfriend Judith Nathan.

Given the recent drop in his poll numbers, maybe Rudy will finally realize that he needs to own up to his shady past. Below is a cheat sheet of questions he has yet to answer:

1. Why does Rudy stubbornly continue to hide his business dealings? Even after the Chicago Tribune recently reported that Giuliani has business ties to a controversial Hong Kong billionaire connected to the regime of North Korea's Kim Jong Il and international organized crime, Giuliani has refused requests to release a full list of all his business clients to the American people. [Chicago Tribune, 11/21/07]

• Giuliani last week gave four conflicting answers in one sound bite when asked about releasing his full client list. He claimed that all the clients were public; there were possibly a few exceptions; that he can't disclose because of confidentiality agreements; and that only his firm could disclose the list. [ABC, 11/21/07, http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/11/giuliani-respec.html ]
  

2. What is Rudy's role with Giuliani Partners LLP and why hasn't he severed his ties to the firm? Despite the Giuliani campaign's claim that Rudy quit Giuliani Partners LLP in the spring, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that he still has a financial stake in the firm and that the firm's new chairman, Peter Powers, is Rudy's life-long friend. The firm's website cited Giuliani as CEO as recently as two weeks ago. [Wall Street Journal, 12/4/07]

• Giuliani Aides Won't Say If Giuliani Has Taken A Formal Leave Of Absence From Giuliani Partners. 'It was unclear if Giuliani has taken a formal leave of absence, but he is not consulted on new clients or in maintaining old ones, officials said." [New York Post, 12/2/07]

• Giuliani Has 30% Equity Interest In Giuliani Partners. WSJ wrote, "Mr. Giuliani remains a 30% equity owner of Giuliani Partners, Mr. Powers said. Between January 2006 and May 2007, Mr. Giuliani earned $4.1 million from the firm, according to Mr. Giuliani's federal financial disclosure report." The New York Post reported, "He [Peter Powers] added, 'He [Giuliani] has an equity interest in the firm, but he is not involved in the management of the firm. He is not involved in any clients.' [WSJ, 12/4/07; New York Post, 12/2/07]

• Childhood Friend Is New "CEO," Other Top Aides Help Run Company. Giuliani Partner's new CEO, Giuliani Partners, is a "childhood friend of Mr. Giuliani and one of his former deputy mayors." Longtime close advisors Tony Carbonetti, Michael Hess, Richard Sheirer, Dennisson Young and Thomas Van Essen are among the remaining principals at the firm. [WSJ, 12/4/07; http://www.giulianipartners.com/executives.aspx (accessed 12/4/07)]

3. Why did Rudy use obscure city agencies to pay for trips to see then-girlfriend Judy Nathan? After Politico.com revealed that while Rudy Giuliani "billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses" while carrying on an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan, he continues to dodge questions about the scandal. Security costs for numerous private trips were charged to agencies such as the New York City Loft Board, which regulates loft apartments, the Office for People with Disabilities. [Politico.com, 11/28/07, http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/7073.html ]

4. Why did Rudy allow the NYPD to blatantly misuse taxpayer-paid security for Judy Nathan? According to the New York Daily News today, "Judith Nathan got taxpayer-funded chauffeur services from the NYPD earlier than previously disclosed - even before her affair with then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani was revealed." And, "former neighbors of Nathan's, as well as a law enforcement source, describe a full-scale valet service at Nathan's beck and call well before the affair became public." [New York Daily News, 12/7/07, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2007/12/07/2007-12-07_judith_nathan_got_security_earlier.html ]