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Article: White House Looked Past Alarms on Kerik; Giuliani, Gonzales Pushed DHS Bid Forward
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- April 8, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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When former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani urged President
Bush to make Bernard B. Kerik the next secretary of homeland
security, White House aides knew Kerik as the take-charge top cop
from Sept. 11, 2001. But it did not take them long to compile an
extensive dossier of damaging information about the would-be Cabinet
officer.
They learned about questionable financial deals, an ethics
violation, allegations of mismanagement and a top deputy prosecuted
for corruption. Most disturbing, according to people close to the
process, was Kerik's friendship with a businessman who was linked to
organized crime. The businessman had told federal authorities that
Kerik received gifts, including ...