Democratic National Committee: Rudy's Reluctant Candidacy Exposes Controversial Business Dealings

Feb 05, 07:42 PM

Current Headlines: To: POLITICAL EDITORS

Contact: Dag Vega or Karen Finney, +1-202-862-8148, both of the Democratic National Committee

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Democratic National Committee:

After months of giving non-committal responses to questions about a possible presidential run, Rudy Giuliani today filed his "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission. The timing of his announcement raised questions about whether or not the move was orchestrated as a politically calculated effort to hide Giuliani's business deals. A recent article in Newsday noted, "by holding off [his candidacy in November], Giuliani avoided the risk of having to file a personal financial disclosure form by mid- December... and lay bare several intriguing, and possibly controversial, facts about Rudy the businessman that have never surfaced publicly." [Newsday, 2/3/07]

"Rudy Giuliani has plenty to hide from conservative voters," said DNC Spokesperson Dag Vega. "While Rudy has recently been trying to cast himself as a loyal foot soldier of the right wing, the fact is that now that he's in the race, Republican primary voters will learn the truth. No doubt, the more Republican primary voters learn about Giuliani's questionable business dealings, the more they'll realize that he's out of step with their values and interests."

The Rudy Giuliani Conservative Voters Don't Yet Know

Giuliani's Reluctant Candidacy:

Giuliani Purposely Didn't Include Party When He Filed Paperwork For His Presidential Exploratory Committee. Newsday reported that Giuliani's party affiliation was left off the paperwork for his presidential exploratory committee and initially, a Giuliani lawyer said the campaign made a judgment that it didn't need to list the party. Then, a Giuliani aide released this statement: "Upon review, while this omission was understandable, it was an omission nonetheless. This has been corrected on the now-available form,'' filed Jan. 31, which lists REP for Giuliani. [Monterey County Herald, 2/4/07]

Giuliani's Had Not Submitted A Declaration Form. "The ex-mayor still is holding back from submitting the simple one-page form declaring himself a possible candidate, despite raising $1.4 million to run. And asked what party he belongs to on a different form, Giuliani didn't say -- he left the answer blank. Not so for chief rivals John McCain and Mitt Romney. Both have filed the candidacy paperwork, and both gave a straightforward answer when asked their party affiliation: "Rep," or Republican." [Newsday (New York), 2/2/ 07]

Giuliani Has History of Unusual Filings. This isn't Giuliani's first unusual filing. In 1998, he filed a statement of candidacy -- but put on the line for office sought "undecided." Responding to an FEC query, he replied, "I am as of now still undecided as to the federal office, if any, for which I may become a candidate." [Newsday (New York), 2/2/07]

Giuliani's War Profiteering:

Giuliani Maintains "Strategic Alliance" with Vanguard Systems. "Vanguard Response Systems Inc. (TSX: VRS) today announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance with Giuliani Partners LLC, headed by former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, in a joint effort to market products that improve readiness and response capability against chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive (CBRNE) devices or materials." [Vanguard Press Release, 5/ 4/04]

Vanguard Systems' Products Are Used in Iraq. "Vanguard's products are in use in theatres of conflict such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and have been deployed as countermeasures in domestic terrorist incidents." [Vanguard Press Release, 5/4/04]

Giuliani Partners Invested $800K in Vanguard; Interest Convertible to Common Shares. Giuliani Partners has elected to invest $800,000 of their strategic advisory fees in Vanguard in the form of a convertible debenture, which will bear interest at 5% and will be convertible into Vanguard common shares at a price of Cdn $4.00 per share. [Vanguard Press Release, 5/4/04]

Giuliani Worked For PhRMA, Spoke Out Against Re-importation of Pharmaceutical Drugs for Seniors:

Giuliani Partners Had Multi-Million Contract With PhRMA. Giuliani was a paid consultant to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the drugmaker trade group that is fighting drug importation proposals in Congress. Giuliani Partners was hired by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) to study the safety of reimported prescription drugs. The National Journal reported, "Giuliani Partners, industry lobbyists said, has a one-year deal with PhRMA that was valued at a few million dollars. And one of Giuliani's key assignments, according to lobbyists, was to speak out often on the dangers of imported prescription medications." PhRMA spokesman Jeff Trewhitt vowed that the research would be carried out independently though the drug industry opposed reimportation. "We need a large amount of evidence to shed light on the issue," he commented. "We think that we need more credible data and that we can get it from Giuliani." [Chain Drug Review, 4/26/04; National Journal, 3/13/04]

Probe by Giuliani Found That Imported Drugs Were Dangerous. Speaking before the US Senate on the probe's conclusions, Giuliani said his research showed that U.S.government inspectors look at only about 10 percent of packages containing pharmaceuticals that are sent from abroad. "It is pretty much right now a wide open system," Giuliani told senators. The report asserted safety and security risks "far outweigh any alleged benefits for US residents." The report also said, "It is not difficult to imagine a scenario in which terrorist groups could use this system to finance their operations or, worse, as a vehicle of attack." Giuliani also touted the report's findings to the public. On Fox, he said, "I mean, the reality is that there are dangers [with the importation of Canadian drugs]." [Contemporary Pediatrics, 5/1/05; Tulsa World (Oklahoma), 6/ 18/04; Biotech Business Week, 7/15/06; United Press International, 4/ 26/04; O'Reilly Factor, Fox News Network, 5/11/04]

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, http://www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

SOURCE Democratic National Committee

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