Nominee’s Withdrawal Could Taint Giuliani

As local newspapers reported a series of new allegations against Bernard Kerik, New York political observers suggested Monday that he hadn’t withdrawn his nomination as Homeland Security secretary solely because of a nanny problem.

And Democrats and Republicans predicted that former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who had pushed Kerik’s candidacy with members of the Bush administration, would take the greatest political heat for the failed nomination.

Over the last two days, the media reported that Kerik, one-time head of the city’s corrections department who was police commissioner on Sept. 11, allegedly had helped a mob-linked Staten Island firm win a city sanitation contract.

Other stories suggested that he had failed to disclose thousands of dollars in gifts as required by city law and that he had carried on extramarital affairs with two women, including Judith Regan, a prominent editor who published Kerik’s autobiography.

“People are going to wonder, how could the [former] mayor not have known that Kerik had all these problems?” asked Nelson Warfield, a GOP consultant. “It adds up to a highly embarrassing development for Giuliani, especially with other Republicans.”

At the White House, however, officials said the failed nomination would not affect Bush’s relationship with Giuliani, who campaigned for the president and has been a strong supporter.

“Absolutely not,” White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said. “In fact, they are very good friends.” The press secretary noted that Giuliani had offered an apology to the president when the two had dinner Sunday night, adding: “I don’t think the president felt that one was necessary.”

Giuliani did not comment on the controversy Monday. But his spokeswoman, Sunny Mindel, said that during the White House dinner, which had been planned several weeks ago, “the president was very gracious.... They remain good friends.”

Kerik withdrew his nomination Friday evening, saying that he had discovered that his family had hired an illegal immigrant to take care of his children. He explained that he had learned this when filling out forms for the confirmation process, and immediately decided to withdraw his nomination.

“What trash talk,” former Mayor Edward I. Koch said in an online commentary. “Most people who can afford a nanny know what questions to ask if she is able to legally work in the U.S. Even if he were not the smartest cop on the beat, and Giuliani appointed him police commissioner, he had to know it was illegal on his part not to pay Social Security taxes on her employment.”

On Monday, Kerik made a brief appearance outside his Times Square office, where he works for Giuliani’s security consulting firm. He asked the media to leave his family out of the burgeoning news coverage.

“For my family, this is a difficult time,” he said. “We have seen things written and heard things, sort of unbearable things ... you know, some true, some not true, accurate, inaccurate.

“If you want to attack me, attack me,” he said. “But don’t attack my family. Don’t chase people down the street near my house.”

The new allegations, published in the New York Daily News and the New York Times, were the product of investigations begun before Bush nominated Kerick earlier this month for the domestic security post.

The News reported on Sunday that Kerik allegedly received and failed to disclose thousands of dollars in cash and other gifts while he was New York City police commissioner.

As the city’s corrections chief in the late 1990s, Kerik allegedly interceded with the city’s Trade Waste Commission to get a license for a company suspected of having mob connections, according to reports in the Daily News and the New York Times.

On Monday, the Daily News also alleged that Kerik had carried on two extramarital affairs -- one with Regan, the other with Jeanette Pinero, a city corrections officer. The paper said that Kerik had met with the two women in a Battery Park apartment rented for such purposes.

Kerik’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, said Monday that his client had done nothing illegal, but declined to speak about Kerik’s personal life. Tacopina did say that Kerik and Regan in the past had denied having an affair.

On Monday, Kerik acknowledged a relationship with Pinero, but said it happened when he was not married. Regan was traveling Monday and had no comment, according to a spokeswoman. Pinero could not be reached for comment.

And late Monday, Newsday reported that a background check found Kerik had a former marriage that he apparently kept secret for the last 20 years.

Giuliani continued to stress Monday that Kerik was obliged to withdraw his nomination because of the nanny issue. The housekeeper, who has not been identified, left the country several weeks ago, Kerik has said.

Several observers said that the nanny issue clearly wasn’t Kerik’s only problem.

“It’s impossible to believe this was all about a nanny,” said Mike Long, chairman of the New York State Conservative Party. “According to what’s coming out in the papers now, finances weren’t disclosed, and there were personal indiscretions.”

The worst fallout, he suggested, may be for Giuliani. The former mayor already has taken positions, including his support for abortion rights and pro-immigration policies, that many conservative Republicans do not support, Long said.

“The fallout from Kerik only adds to this problem,” Long said.