Prometheus 6

Dag Vega, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, questioned why Mr. Giuliani, a Republican, had made Mr. Kerik police commissioner, in light of growing evidence he had been briefed about Mr. Kerik’s connections to a company suspected of having mob ties.

“Rudy Giuliani’s tough-on-crime mantra is laughable given that he promoted Bernard Kerik throughout his career while knowing about his ethical problems,” Mr. Vega said in a statement.

Kerik’s Corruption Case Dogs Giuliani
By MICHAEL COOPER and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM

AMES, Iowa, Nov. 8 — The scene outside the old Victorian-style courthouse in Dubuque on Thursday morning showed that the indictment of Bernard B. Kerik is at the very least a big distraction for Rudolph W. Giuliani’s presidential campaign.

The site had been chosen with care: Mr. Giuliani spoke across from the courthouse, which has a statue of Justice atop its golden cupola. With him were two former United States attorneys who were there to talk about Mr. Giuliani’s record as a corruption-busting federal prosecutor before he became mayor of New York.

But the only federal corruption case that reporters asked about was the one being built against Mr. Kerik — his former driver, police commissioner, partner, and, briefly, choice to head the federal Department of Homeland Security. A grand jury on Thursday voted to charge Mr. Kerik, and he is expected to be arraigned on a sealed indictment at midday Friday in United States District Court in White Plains on corruption-related charges, according to people briefed on the case.

So Mr. Giuliani said once again said that he had made “a mistake in not checking him out more carefully.” He pointed out the successes he had in New York. And almost lost in the mix was Mr. Giuliani’s effort to highlight a less well-known aspect of his own biography, and to talk up his new endorsement from Pat Robertson to Iowa voters.

Of course, a trial during the heat of a presidential campaign could prove another challenge for his bid at a crucial time.