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.