Rudy Gives Up on Reaching Granite State Voters

Giuliani's trip to the Granite State today ironically comes as he sharply reduced his ad buy in the region. In lieu of investing his campaign coffers to engage New Hampshire voters, he has decided to save the cash for Florida even when a new poll shows that Giuliani has fallen from first place to third in the state. [The Politico , 12/17/07, Rasmussen Reports , 12/14/07]

Clearly, Giuliani's attempt over the weekend to change the subject from his shady past didn't work. According to the Associated Press, his much-hyped address was just his same old stump speech "but delivered in a new package" and offered no real "turning point" for the campaign. When he delivers it again in New Hampshire today, no doubt Rudy will continue to field questions about his missing business client list and his misuse of taxpayer-paid security for his then-girlfriend Judith Nathan. [AP, 12/16/07]

Rudy's focus on Florida also comes when another scandal involving his consulting firm has been exposed - a previously undisclosed and potentially illegal business deal with, coincidentally, a Florida company. According to news reports, Rudy's firm was hired by a Florida company to line up work with the federal government, a practice that is prohibited under federal law. [The New York Times, 12/14/07 , Time Magazine, 12/13/07 ]

"Rudy Giuliani's ad strategy shows that he has given up on engaging voters in New Hampshire," DNC Spokesman Dag Vega said. "It's clear that the scandals plaguing Giuliani's campaign has taken its toll. Rudy knows that as Granite State voters learn about his secret business dealings and abuse of taxpayer dollars, they are finding that he is neither tested nor ready for the Presidency."

 

Unanswered Questions Rudy Giuliani's Shady Past:

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 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 ]

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 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 ]

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 ]