H
Harry Hope
Guest
From The Wall Street Journal, 11/7/07:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119440640166884884.html
Qatar Contract Offers Glimpse Into Giuliani Firm
Dealings Have Potential For Trouble If Ex-Mayor Receives Nomination
By MARY JACOBY
November 7, 2007; Page A8
Rudy Giuliani is one of the few candidates ever to pursue the White
House while maintaining a high-ranking role in a private-sector firm.
But since he became a candidate for president, the Republican
front-runner has rebuffed all calls to disclose details about the
clients and dealings of Giuliani Partners, the consulting firm he
founded in 2002.
Some of those clients have controversial records.
Among those he hasn't disclosed is the government of Qatar, a Persian
Gulf state to whom the firm provided security advice, according to the
former U.S. ambassador there.
Qatar is a strategic U.S. military ally and energy supplier, yet also
a country that has been criticized for its conduct toward al Qaeda --
a potential political pitfall for a candidate pitching himself as an
uncompromising foe of Islamic terrorism.
Other potentially controversial dealings have been disclosed by the
firm or by clients over the years.
They include Purdue Pharma, a drug company that hired the firm in 2002
to help with a federal investigation into overdose deaths attributed
to the pharmaceutical firm's powerful OxyContin painkiller, and New
York nuclear-power-plant operator Entergy Nuclear Northeast.
But more recent Giuliani clients aren't known.
Because the firm is closely held, Mr. Giuliani isn't required to
disclose much about his income and wealth, other than his holdings in
the firm itself, where he remains chairman and chief executive and
receives income in the form of guaranteed payments and partnership
distributions.
Campaign watchdog groups say that raises some red flags.
"Are there folks who might want to have greater influence with a
potential President Giuliani? If so, they may be partnering with him
now in the hopes of currying favor with him later," says former
federal prosecutor Melanie Sloan, head of Citizens for Responsibility
and Ethics in Washington, a nonpartisan watchdog group.
Mr. Giuliani so far has fended off all queries.
Giuliani campaign spokeswoman Maria Comella said the campaign wouldn't
comment on any matters to do with the candidate's business, and said
such questions should be answered by Giuliani Partners.
A spokeswoman for Giuliani Partners, Sunny Mindel, said in an email:
"We do not discuss our clients."
Earlier this week, he reiterated that he wouldn't release his client
list in an Associated Press interview.
"Everything I did with Giuliani Partners has been totally legal,
totally ethical," he said.
"They are a very ethical and law-abiding business ... There's nothing
for me to explain about it. We've acted honorably, decently."
Still, Mr. Giuliani could face questions about his business ties if he
wins his party's nomination.
The Qatar contract offers a window into the potential complications.
Many details of the deal aren't known, including whether it is still
in effect.
It was signed with state-run Qatar Petroleum around 2005, according to
Chase Untermeyer, who left a three-year term as President Bush's envoy
to Qatar in August.
It involved a subsidiary, Giuliani Security & Safety LLC, which
offered security advice to a giant natural-gas processing facility in
Qatar.
Mr. Untermeyer provided the information after The Wall Street Journal
asked him about a 2006 speech in which he said Mr. Giuliani's firm had
"important contracts" in Qatar.
He is a Republican who says he hasn't endorsed any candidate in the
party's nominating contest; he hasn't donated to any campaigns this
cycle.
A spokeswoman for Giuliani Partners declined to comment on the
connection.
While Qatar is a U.S. ally, it has drawn scrutiny for its involvement
in the U.S. effort to combat terrorism.
In 1996, the Federal Bureau of Investigation went to Qatar to arrest
al-Qaeda operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, then under indictment in
New York for a plot to blow up U.S.-bound jetliners.
But Mr. Mohammad slipped away, apparently tipped off by an al-Qaeda
sympathizer in the Qatari government, U.S. officials told the
bipartisan 9/11 commission.
Mr. Mohammad went on to mastermind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Qatari officials have denied they tipped off Mr. Mohammad, and a State
Department report says the country has offered "significant"
counterterrorism support to the U.S. since the 2001 attacks.
Phone calls, emails and faxes seeking comment from officials at Qatar
Petroleum in Qatar and at the country's embassy in Washington went
unanswered.
The emirate also hasn't always followed U.S. wishes in recent years.
The Bush administration has pressured Qatar to tone down the
anti-American rhetoric of Al-Jazeera, the television station based
there.
But Qatar rebuffed the request, citing freedom of the press.
Qatar also has lagged behind President Bush's ambitious
global-democracy agenda. While the emir has made limited moves toward
elections, political parties remain banned and proselytizing by
non-Muslims is illegal.
The public financial disclosure report Mr. Giuliani filed in May to
run for president doesn't require him to disclose such contracts as
the one with Qatar.
It requires him only to reveal his 30% equity stake in Giuliani &
Company LLC, the holding company that is the umbrella corporate
structure of Giuliani Partners, Giuliani Security & Safety and other
related entities.
Other 2008 presidential hopefuls also have faced scrutiny of their
private-sector ties and investments.
Democratic hopeful John Edwards worked as a consultant for a
private-equity fund before running for the 2008 nomination but has
faced questions about his $16 million stake in the firm.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney helped found and run
private-equity firm Bain Capital, but he retired from the firm in 1999
before holding public office.
He still has stakes in Bain funds but has no say in how Bain makes or
disposes of its investments, his financial-disclosure report says.
No candidate's wealth is as closely tied to one entity as Mr.
Giuliani's.
He earned income of more than $4 million from Giuliani & Company
between January 2006 and May 2007, his financial-disclosure report
shows.
He values his 30% stake in the company at between $5 million and $25
million.
Barring disclosure from Mr. Giuliani, it isn't known how much the
consulting contract in Qatar contributed toward his income.
In addition, Mr. Giuliani receives $1 million in guaranteed income
each year from his law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, which opened an
office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in June.
____________________________________________________
Hey, Rudy, put your dress on and repeat after
me...9/11..9/11..9/11..9/11..9/11..9/11..9/11..9/11..9/11...
Harry
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119440640166884884.html
Qatar Contract Offers Glimpse Into Giuliani Firm
Dealings Have Potential For Trouble If Ex-Mayor Receives Nomination
By MARY JACOBY
November 7, 2007; Page A8
Rudy Giuliani is one of the few candidates ever to pursue the White
House while maintaining a high-ranking role in a private-sector firm.
But since he became a candidate for president, the Republican
front-runner has rebuffed all calls to disclose details about the
clients and dealings of Giuliani Partners, the consulting firm he
founded in 2002.
Some of those clients have controversial records.
Among those he hasn't disclosed is the government of Qatar, a Persian
Gulf state to whom the firm provided security advice, according to the
former U.S. ambassador there.
Qatar is a strategic U.S. military ally and energy supplier, yet also
a country that has been criticized for its conduct toward al Qaeda --
a potential political pitfall for a candidate pitching himself as an
uncompromising foe of Islamic terrorism.
Other potentially controversial dealings have been disclosed by the
firm or by clients over the years.
They include Purdue Pharma, a drug company that hired the firm in 2002
to help with a federal investigation into overdose deaths attributed
to the pharmaceutical firm's powerful OxyContin painkiller, and New
York nuclear-power-plant operator Entergy Nuclear Northeast.
But more recent Giuliani clients aren't known.
Because the firm is closely held, Mr. Giuliani isn't required to
disclose much about his income and wealth, other than his holdings in
the firm itself, where he remains chairman and chief executive and
receives income in the form of guaranteed payments and partnership
distributions.
Campaign watchdog groups say that raises some red flags.
"Are there folks who might want to have greater influence with a
potential President Giuliani? If so, they may be partnering with him
now in the hopes of currying favor with him later," says former
federal prosecutor Melanie Sloan, head of Citizens for Responsibility
and Ethics in Washington, a nonpartisan watchdog group.
Mr. Giuliani so far has fended off all queries.
Giuliani campaign spokeswoman Maria Comella said the campaign wouldn't
comment on any matters to do with the candidate's business, and said
such questions should be answered by Giuliani Partners.
A spokeswoman for Giuliani Partners, Sunny Mindel, said in an email:
"We do not discuss our clients."
Earlier this week, he reiterated that he wouldn't release his client
list in an Associated Press interview.
"Everything I did with Giuliani Partners has been totally legal,
totally ethical," he said.
"They are a very ethical and law-abiding business ... There's nothing
for me to explain about it. We've acted honorably, decently."
Still, Mr. Giuliani could face questions about his business ties if he
wins his party's nomination.
The Qatar contract offers a window into the potential complications.
Many details of the deal aren't known, including whether it is still
in effect.
It was signed with state-run Qatar Petroleum around 2005, according to
Chase Untermeyer, who left a three-year term as President Bush's envoy
to Qatar in August.
It involved a subsidiary, Giuliani Security & Safety LLC, which
offered security advice to a giant natural-gas processing facility in
Qatar.
Mr. Untermeyer provided the information after The Wall Street Journal
asked him about a 2006 speech in which he said Mr. Giuliani's firm had
"important contracts" in Qatar.
He is a Republican who says he hasn't endorsed any candidate in the
party's nominating contest; he hasn't donated to any campaigns this
cycle.
A spokeswoman for Giuliani Partners declined to comment on the
connection.
While Qatar is a U.S. ally, it has drawn scrutiny for its involvement
in the U.S. effort to combat terrorism.
In 1996, the Federal Bureau of Investigation went to Qatar to arrest
al-Qaeda operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, then under indictment in
New York for a plot to blow up U.S.-bound jetliners.
But Mr. Mohammad slipped away, apparently tipped off by an al-Qaeda
sympathizer in the Qatari government, U.S. officials told the
bipartisan 9/11 commission.
Mr. Mohammad went on to mastermind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Qatari officials have denied they tipped off Mr. Mohammad, and a State
Department report says the country has offered "significant"
counterterrorism support to the U.S. since the 2001 attacks.
Phone calls, emails and faxes seeking comment from officials at Qatar
Petroleum in Qatar and at the country's embassy in Washington went
unanswered.
The emirate also hasn't always followed U.S. wishes in recent years.
The Bush administration has pressured Qatar to tone down the
anti-American rhetoric of Al-Jazeera, the television station based
there.
But Qatar rebuffed the request, citing freedom of the press.
Qatar also has lagged behind President Bush's ambitious
global-democracy agenda. While the emir has made limited moves toward
elections, political parties remain banned and proselytizing by
non-Muslims is illegal.
The public financial disclosure report Mr. Giuliani filed in May to
run for president doesn't require him to disclose such contracts as
the one with Qatar.
It requires him only to reveal his 30% equity stake in Giuliani &
Company LLC, the holding company that is the umbrella corporate
structure of Giuliani Partners, Giuliani Security & Safety and other
related entities.
Other 2008 presidential hopefuls also have faced scrutiny of their
private-sector ties and investments.
Democratic hopeful John Edwards worked as a consultant for a
private-equity fund before running for the 2008 nomination but has
faced questions about his $16 million stake in the firm.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney helped found and run
private-equity firm Bain Capital, but he retired from the firm in 1999
before holding public office.
He still has stakes in Bain funds but has no say in how Bain makes or
disposes of its investments, his financial-disclosure report says.
No candidate's wealth is as closely tied to one entity as Mr.
Giuliani's.
He earned income of more than $4 million from Giuliani & Company
between January 2006 and May 2007, his financial-disclosure report
shows.
He values his 30% stake in the company at between $5 million and $25
million.
Barring disclosure from Mr. Giuliani, it isn't known how much the
consulting contract in Qatar contributed toward his income.
In addition, Mr. Giuliani receives $1 million in guaranteed income
each year from his law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, which opened an
office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in June.
____________________________________________________
Hey, Rudy, put your dress on and repeat after
me...9/11..9/11..9/11..9/11..9/11..9/11..9/11..9/11..9/11...
Harry
