Report: Giuliani law firm lobbying was 'threat' to Bush antiterror efforts 
The law firm of GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, whose stated commitment to fighting global terrorism is a central campaign theme, was involved in lobbying Congress to pass legislation that the Bush administration believes could have harmed its antiterror policies, according to a new report.
Giuliani's firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, pushed for "legislation that the Bush administration calls a threat to antiterrorism efforts in the Horn of Africa," report Eric Lipton and Russ Buettner in the New York Times. The former mayor was not "personally involved" in the lobbying, however, says the paper.
The law firm's client was an Ethiopian political party called Coalition for Unity and Democracy, which sought to convince Congress to restrict aid to Ethiopia if the country's government did agree to "share power with opposition parties and take other steps promoting democracy," according to the Times. But the Bush administration backs the current Ethiopian regime, which it believes is an ally in fighting terrorism in the region.
Bracewell & Giuliani "used Mr. Giuliani's name in its pitch to win the assignment, and his clout was a reason it landed the job," Seyoum Solomon, an Ethiopian-American who helped the law firm land the deal, told the Times. "He is a popular Republican, a good friend of the president and he might have some influence on the State Department," Solomon said.
"As part of its work, the Giuliani group set up a meeting at the White House last year at which the administration was urged to consider the viewpoint of a consortium of Ethiopian political parties," reports the paper.
"The reality is, in fact, it does harm a relationship" with an ally, a State Department source told the Times about the legislation promoted by the law firm. A spokesman for the Giuliani campaign suggested the candidate's "views were not necessarily consistent with the lobbying stands taken in Washington by Bracewell & Giuliani."
The relationship between Giuliani's firm and the Ethiopian group ended last year, according to Solomon, because "the firm had not lined up more news coverage and never delivered on a promised meeting with Mr. Giuliani." Bracewell & Giuliani told the paper such a meeting had never been promised.
Giuliani calls it quits at consulting firm
In addition to his law firm, Giuliani has also maintained extensive -- and at times, controversial -- business ties through his consulting group, Giuliani Partners, which he founded shortly after leaving office as New York mayor.
As reported last month by the Wall Street Journal, one of the firm's clients is the government of Qatar, a country thought to have harbored alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shekh Mohammad. The Village Voice's Wayne Barrett recently detailed what he asserts are further connections between the former mayor's consulting firm and aiders and abettors of terrorists in Qatar.
But Giuliani has now stepped down from the firm according to a Tuesday report from the Journal's Mary Jacoby, although no official announcement of the move was ever made. "As recently as two weeks ago, the firm's Web site identified the candidate as its chairman and CEO," writes Jacoby. "Over the past few months, the firm didn't correct media reports that said Mr. Giuliani retained his positions at the firm while running for office."
Peter Powers, Giuliani Partners' new chairman, told the paper that Giuliani currently has "no role in the management of the firm," and hasn't since this past spring. Giuliani remains, however, a 30% equity owner in the business, Powers said.
In the January issue of Vanity Fair, Michal Shnayerson weighs in on what he characterizes as sharp contrasts between Giuliani's campaign persona and the "poor judgment" of the former mayor's business decisions. "There are, it seems, at least two Rudolph Giulianis. One is the crusading former U.S. attorney and 9/11-bedecked ex-mayor of New York," writes Shnayerson. "The other Rudy Giuliani is the one who has brazenly built a business on his 9/11 fame."
| 
del.icio.us .gif)
