If uncle Rudy want to be a "security advisor" he should immediately give up his bar license, or be disbarred. This is the worst imaginable type of conflict for an attorney who personally represents the President.
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” Giuliani said without a shred of embarrassment over the transparent absurdity of his boast. Giuliani has been around Donald Trump so long that he's beginning to sound just like him: a preening, loudmouthed braggart. And he's feeding off his official connection with Trump to benefit in his connections with foreign governments, whose interests usually in no way parallel those of the United States.
3
Giuliani and Trump are cut from the same cloth. That’s why they are friends in crime.
1
Giuliani is one of the most repulsive people in the Trump circle. He lies, distorts, whitewashes, and spins to defend the indefensible and make look pretty the ugly. Come on man, have some respect for truth, your family and friends. It looks like his real agenda is to line his pockets by using his position.
1
This guy foolishly had OEM up high in WTC 7 on 9/11 resulting in poor communication at the site for first responders. 343 firefighters died that day as their radios failed to work. His police commissioner was a crook and his fire commissioner was a union hack. He then went along with the “air is safe” story which will result over time with more than the 3,000 9/11 deaths among the first responder community. If Rudy Tuesday is a “ security expert”, then pigs can fly, and if he’s “the most ethical person you ever met”, you’ve been living in a cave without human contact.
5
Why does this revelation feel NOT new? Seems to me the article simply lays bare the kind of corporate/ K-Street/ government self-dealing morass that's gone on for years.
The swamp is all over the place, nationally and internationally. Hrumph.
1
"I'm probably the most ethical person you ever met," (Giuliani) said.
Sure, Rudy. That's why you work for a moral titan like Trump.
Mother Theresa, move over!
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” he said. “I follow all the rules. I have no desire to trade on anything,” This seems to be the mantra of Trump and his associates while they relentlessly pursue wealth and opportunity while trading on position and influence, willing to trade away the interests of the country for self benefit.
1
Trump spits on morals, ethics, honor, respect and decency... it won't send him to jail spitting on all of this and he makes a great deal more money being immoral, unethical, disrespectful and indecent
Rudy Giuliani was a bigot, a racist, and an authoritarian before 9/11. For four months he miraculously rose above himself and did the next right thing most of the time. After leaving office, he reverted to being a bigot, a racist, and an authoritarian, but now with the manufactured cache of being "America's Mayor." But that was just PR. America didn't vote for him, and majority of New Yorkers who didn't vote for him either were simply relieved that he was finally on the job for all New Yorkers, not just the white ones.
Now, he has simply become a buffoon who does not know when to exit the stage, and in his delayed departure has proven what a morally corrupt individual he is. It is not illegal to be immortal, but it is illegal to be illegal and as an attorney, Giuliani should know this. If he were still a prosecutor, he would probably score points for prosecuting his current activities.
1
Guiliani was on his way to being a cipher in NYC history until 9/11, which he played up so successfully that he was, briefly, considered as a credible candidate for President. Now he's playing up his relationship with the most corrupt and unqualified president in history to sniff out money in the Middle East. I'm choking on the irony, to say nothing of the hypocrisy.
A grifter is a grifter is a grifter.
1
Rudy's ``I am probably the most ...'' is right out of the trump book.
1
Some of Giuliani's claims sound grossly like Trump himself, such as, "I'm probably the most ethical person you ever met", and "I have the energy of a 25 year old".
Hint to Giuliani: Name one ethical person who wants to work for Trump.
1
Thanks for keeping an eye out for these side shows Mr Vogel. No wonder the GOP hates and fears a free press, or an electorate that can read and vote.
3
Well, since Giuliani alleges he has no conflicts of his business interests with his private firm(s) and with representing Trump, he should have no problem being investigated by the appropriate House Committee in January, 2019, and have the appropriate NY State licensing entity investigate his actions, to either confirm his bifurcated actions are appropriate, or not, under these circumstances.
28
Giuliani is a part of the administration in stature, if not in actual contract. As such, when he travels to foreign governments who are allies of the US and pitches business for himself - his company - it is (wink wink, nod nod ) assumed that these countries - by giving him a contract- may get special treatment from the administration that Mr. Giuliani represents. If thats the case - which is pretty obvious - then yes, it is a conflict. He is not looking for clients for his law firm, he is looking for business clients unrelated to law, he is capitalizing on his connection - very personal and very direct to 45. He is tying his fortunes to this President and this country - favor for favor - which is simply wrong, he has no ethics if he thinks otherwise, how is this even a question?
25
Giuliani is a part of the administration in stature, if not in actual contract. As such, when he travels to foreign governments who are allies of the US and pitches business for himself - his company - it is (wink wink, nod nod ) assumed that these countries - by giving him a contract- may get special treatment from the administration that Mr. Giuliani represents. If thats the case - which is pretty obvious - then yes, it is a conflict. He is not looking for clients for his law firm, he is looking for business clients unrelated to law, he is capitalizing on his connection - very personal and very direct to 45. He is typing his forti=unes to this President and this country which is simply wrong, he has no ethics if he thinks otherwise.
1
Hey, Giuliani is just killing two birds with one stone. Nothing wrong with that! Meeting for diplomacy and national security and drumming up a little business on the side. No problem as far as I concerned. Let's see more of it. And besides its good for the planet as he is taking only one polluting flight, cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions. Whoever said the Trump Administration was not interested in curbing climate change? I support the President. I support Trump. I support Giuliani! Go, Rudy, go! America First! MAGA! Thank you.
1
The more I read about Mr. T's lawyers, the more I see the humor in lawyer jokes. Unfortunately this criminal enterprise
seems to grow everyday.
4
All we need to know is that the lobbyist who put Giuliani in the picture did so to help Bahrain and its ambassador to Washington “facilitate meetings and interactions with U.S. administration officials.”
1
Take your pick: Double dipping? Conflict of interest? Profiteering from presidential influence? or Just More LIES?
3
Giuliani needs to placed in the same jail cell where Gotti died. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree and his hate for his mob father and his own self-loathing are one and the same.
3
“America’s Mayor”, “Mr. 9/11”, is now just another Trump Crime Family grifter.
2
Do they still chant “Drain the Swamp” at Trump rallies?
5
How is this not playing a straight up "go to jail" card? If we don't have distinct rules on the books to prevent this garbage we need them yesterday. How do we not have a politician running on a strict anti-corruption platform? Disgusting behavior.
Patriotism is just an inconvenient and quaint word for the wealthy and powerful.
For the same reason the adage is true regarding religion and suffering - I believe that the truest Americans left are the middle class and poor.
3
Giuliani is a lawyer. He is a lawyer for Trump. He is using the legal connection to bring attention to his private business. Giuliani is aware of the Disciplinary Rules and Ethical Considerations of the Bar. Central to those Rules and Considerations is any action by an attorney that has "the appearance of impropriety". His wheeling/dealing to get contracts for his business while representing the president of the USA and the prestige and attention that may flow from that arrangement clearly gives his wheeling/dealing an appearance of impropriety, violating Disciplinary Rules as a lawyer. This article should alarm the NY Bar.
37
Whenever a politician engages in the crime of capitalism, the democrats pitch a fit. But if you sell access form money like the Clintons did through their fake foundation, that is perfectly fine. Hillary and Bill will end up indicted. That horse has left the barn. Stay tuned.
I wonder if there isn't even one Republican in Trump's administration who isn't a crook. Giuliani's work for Trump, like Kushner's, implies that he is working for the United States government. Was he elected? Was he nominated? No, he simply has the president's ear and is running around the world, no doubt on the taxpayer's dime, schmoozing, making money for himself, and making back door policy through the "relationships" he's building that could just as well end up having us bomb children in other countries besides Yemen.
1
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, you’ll never guess what it probably is, albeit it one with ethics, unless you realize that ‘the truth is not the truth.’ Unfortunately, lapses such as this have become more the rule than the exception in our country as well as the rare issue that’s truly bipartisan in its behavior.
The tentacles of kakistocracy are alive, well and growing ...
Its almost 5.20am and I have read most of the headline news and op-eds in the NYT. Between feeling nauseous and disgusted, I doubt I would eat anything today. The best thing I can do today is go on my personal hunger strike and continue to see the patients in the office.
Thanks Mr Giuliani, I feel cheated by you because I respected you after 9-11 but now......I'm totally disgusted.
3
He has for some time been unrepentant and corrupt. Gone from New York hero to doing anything it takes (like Cohen) to make money. He is typical of the supporters of Donald Trump, as they all have the most basic attribute in common...willing to do anything, and say any untruth if money is to be made. Birds of a feather controlling US government and the world.
1
Strange thing, Giuliani Security & Safety. I cannot imagine that anyone interested in actual _security_ would hire him/them. That only leaves the option that he tries to sell something else.
3
Why else? Th guy is washed up
1
If I was the leader of a foreign country looking to spend millions/multi millions to hire a security consultant would I, after having watched Giuliani on TV for the past three years, seek out Giuliani? Heck no. The man has shown himself, time and again, to be a liar, a fraud, a propagandist: zero competency. So, if I put all that aside and hire Giuliani I would only do it because of his close connection with Trump.
17
How is it that we have created a system that will give power, respect and influence to people like Giuliani, Trump, Christie, et al?
talk about the deep state
16
Thinking about the confluence of outcomes for the last person who volunteered his services for djt and the just-sentenced djt personal attorney . . . and hoping this “I’m-so-ethical” grifter enjoys the same sort of treatment. Scuzz, all.
4
Even Giuliani is smart enough to know that Trump is a skinflint of the first order. He got to pay bills. A little thing like conflict of interest is small potatoes when working for an unindicted co-conspirator.
3
i think rudy got ptsd from 9/11
3
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” which sounds like an utterance made by Trump. An old adage from China says do not touch your headgear under a plum tree.
3
The notion that either Giuliani or Trump recognizes "an embarrassing situation" is really laughable. They both embarrass themselves with such regularity that it's absurd. I hope they both go down together.
6
To these guys selling influence and entitlement are as natural as breathing. Giuliani knows he has more cache working for Trump, and he knows how to play the spaces between private enrichment and representation of Individual-1. It may not be illegal, but it's blatantly unethical.
We're back to the 'greed is good' days of the 80s and Gordon Gecko, except now it's the president and his staff--Zinke, Pruitt, Carson, DeVos, Ross, Price, Trump's family ... who am I forgetting?? And his cult following, which while they're cheering wildly for a billionaire (so we're told) con man who pretended to be a populist, point to bread crumbs and pump their fists at symbolic political 'victories' that will weaken their already perilous economic footing.
While the MAGA leadership team, everyone for themselves at this point (with Trump out front), bag their winnings and wait for the next suckers to come along.
13
So Rudy is trying to make a buck selling stuff to foreigners? I thought that was what American business people are supposed to do.
This seems wrong to me. There is no way I would think that a lawyer I hired at great expense to represent me would not at least test the waters for me if I needed a favor from one of his other clients.
If these foreign nationals have taken five minutes to watch Giuliani on TV defending Trump and are still stupid enough to hire him, I would certainly hope they want to curry favor with Trump, because otherwise they have no common sense. Five minutes watching Giuliani shows me the man is a lying, manipulative, grating fool. I know he was legendary in his time in the Justice Department but in my lifetime, I haven't seen much to admire since September 12, 2001.
7
Is there anyone involved or in the Trump administration whose primary focus is not self enrichment? Guess the saying for the Trump folks is “government of the people, by the people, on the backs of those people”.
4
As sleazy as trump et al
4
'I'm probably the most ethical person I know'. - As an attorney, professional ethics bar him from making false statements. So he's proved himself wrong in one sentence.
'I follow all the rules.' - Ask his first three wives.
'I have no reason to trade on anything.' - He's done nothing but since being Mayor of 9/11.
8
As I recall Rudi said: "Truth isn't truth."
So~~~every word he is uttering is a lie.
Right?
5
"I'm probably the most ethical person you've ever met." Talk to your boss, Rudy. He says he's already claimed that title. Just by the way, he also has the best words, and the biggest brain, so don't go getting any ideas.
For heaven's sake, he's not blurring ethical lines, he's brazenly ignoring them, in the manner of his capo.
5
Sickening. America's major? NO. Where are the heroes and patriots? Our founding fathers and mothers turning over in their graves.
3
Why oh why exactly would we call Giuliani an “emergency response expert?” What action after the planes hit the buildings entitled him to that title?
6
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,”
Good one Rudy!
5
Mr. Mueller, please investigate and indict this evil man asap. He should be the next one in prison. Thanks.
6
Why isn't America's Mayor in Washington working on Mr. Trump's defense instead of feathering his own nest? Of course if the roles were reversed, Mr. Trump would be doing the same thing. Apparently Mr. Giuliani isn't Trump's lawyer - that's fake news - he's just a hard-working shyster whose working philosophy is "truth isn't truth." Let's hope he's not traveling on the taxpayer's buck.
4
would never trade on it? nobody in the US traded more on his supposed 911 "heroics" and nobody cashed in on that tragedy more than this fraud. Giuliani is a disgrace. he and Trump are a perfect pair
6
This joker has no ethic. I can sense from his pretentious smile. Frankly, I can tolerate Trump more than him.
1
The GOP is all about the smash and grab.
5
Maybe he is scouting palaces for his very high profile client. I keep wondering where the first family will be welcome, if this goes very badly. Bahrain does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. Coincidence?
4
The most criminal and corrupt administration the US has ever seen
9
They just can't stop themselves, can they? They seem to have an irresistible compulsion to violate ethics rules to translate political position to money making opportunities.
Sad.
How many examples of Big Money political corruption is it going to take before voters get that corruption is why legislation works for Big Corporate sectors and not average Americans. The great thing about trump is how open he is about his disregard for the law and those without money and power. The swamp he was going to drain is even more fetid than usual. But make no mistake, it is fetid under all administrations.
Corporatist Democrats do the same things but with a cynical fake sympathy nod toward whatever identity group seems in vogue. New Democrats which are Third Way (should be third rail) democrats ARE the problem and it's time to make them irrelevant. That can be done by electing only candidates who refuse big money campaign donations and eschew the party establishment (also radically corrupt) running their election activities. Democrats have to be people powered, not corporate powered, if they want anything done for people that is not a compromise to actually favor big business, as the ACA was.
Why not if his boss could run for president of the US while secretly trying to negotiate a deal to put up a Dump Tower in Moscow and gets beholden to Putin? He is just following the example set by higher up.
This has got to be the most corrupt regime in recent history. Sad!
6
“There are only three things that Rudy needs to make a sentence; a noun, a verb, and 9/11.” Biden will forever own Rudy with that legendary takedown.
3
He’s doing Trump family business most likely.
7
The President of 911 would never have approved of this flagrant disregard for the law.
1
Rudy hasn’t been okay since he was New York Mayor.if he weren’t so annoying and troublesome I’d be more compassionate. He’s bad news, inaccurate and reckless with his Trump representation. Maybe he finds something oversees but I have a feeling it will be tied to White House access and wonder what characters want that and what he’d try to get away with. He went from a persona of integrity to public distrust.
4
People like Giuliani have nothing else in their lives but money and power. By his own admission at age 74 he would die if he stopped doing this. Very sad.
3
Rudy was goo in New York. At 911 too. But he’s obviously having cognitive changes. His thinking and temperament are off and jus prior firm let him go. Whacky behavior fits with Trump who he knew in New York in another world. He seems unhinged.
Another one. They all have tried to leverage and monetize the presidency. They will all go down in history as traitors and miscreants. There is only one way to stop this. Impeach this president and wipe the slate clean, including the Senate.
7
It's interesting how you always find these guys peddling their services to two bit dictators and shady governments with questionable human rights record. You never find them in Sweden or Belgium. Those governments probably ask too many questions!
11
Wow; why am I not surprised that this over-the-hill, 'truth-isn't-truth' blowhard is hustling to monetize his association with trump. He'd better hurry; the wheels are starting to come off this gravy train.
7
They just don't get that the laws apply to them, too.
He's probably trying negotiations to take Trump if he flees the country ahead of an indictment.
3
Dollars to doughnuts the consulting he is doing is selling access to Trump. Lock him up too.
5
How greedy are these guys? They're milking this time for everything it's worth.
6
If Mr. Guiliani thinks things are winding down and there is not much more to be done for trump's legal defense, he's as deluded as his client.
4
This is how despotism is propped abroad and our democracy undermined at home by the revolving door of special interests lobbyists. These bloody despots in Bahrain, KSA, UAE in turn breed retaliation in the form of terrorism against the US.
5
Giuliani doesn't want to trade on his access to Trump, but he will profiteer of the accident of his mayorship during the 9/11 attack. That does not count as expertise in security and safety. That counts as trading on your position. Giuliani brings nothing of value to the table except his access to Trump. Sleeze piled on top of more swamp monster sleeze. Yuck.
5
Forget about the conflict of interest, if you can. Mayor Giuliani is 74 years old, and he's facing the challenge of this life--well, maybe other than being the mayor of NYC. He's trying to save the skin of probably the worst president of the U.S. in history, and each day more scandals come to light that make that task more and more challenging. So when this chapter is added to our U.S. history books there will be at least a passing mention of a Rudolph Giuliani and his role. You'd think his motivation would be sky-high to knock himself out and do all he can to save his boss, right?
Uh, no, in the middle of all this he's flying about the world to cut new business deals so he can add to his already large pile of riches. Again, he's 74. What a sad story.
3
How can Giuliani work in the WH as an attorney for Trump without a security clearance? If he has one, he has some direct association with the government. As such, it seems reasonable that he is restricted by most security related rules and laws. Going to foreign countries to win deals for profit because he is associated with Trump, does not sound kosher. This does not pass the smell test.
8
"“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” he said. “I follow all the rules. I have no desire to trade on anything,” ..."
Isn't that what Cohen claimed 9 months ago?
4
The shenanigans of Rudy Giuliani would be comical, if the subject were not so serious and potentially harmful to the nation.
A lobbyist who charges a fee for access to and possible influence on a public official is usually guilty only of assisting the legalized bribery which plagues our American system. (It’s worse, of course, overseas where just about anything goes.)
In the Giuliani case, however, unless I am missing something, his representation of foreign governments is subject to his making a filing under “FARA” (the Foreign Agent Registration Act). Has the former self-styled America’s Mayor who cannot speak for three minutes without saying 9/11, done that?
4
The most ethical person? Let's ask his ex-wives, and his kids.
12
Is there anyone in this administration who is not a grifter?
7
Based on the inept, buffoonish work Giuliani has done for Trump the question I have is; Why would any autocrat of sound mind hire this guy? The world has gone nuts.
3
Why is this guy considered a security expert?
6
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,”
Might be true if you’re talking about people in the Trump orbit. Outside that, I doubt you are even in the bottom 10% of ethical people, Mr Giuliani. After all, you famously said “Truth isn’t truth”. Ethical people recognize that truth IS, in fact, truth.
5
@Maxie
I assume that you meant "Might be true if you’re talking *to* people in the Trump orbit".
Dems need to add him to the long list of investigations to begin in Jan. Max jail time for all. Ray Sipe
4
This is a "dog bites man" story. It would be news if Giuliani did not seek to use his position for personal gain.
The cesspool of Americans politicians has a first among equals in the form of Rudy Giuliani, a man so disgusting that his own children wouldn't speak to him for years, during that black period when he lead this city while divorcing his then-wife Donna Hanover, having his lawyer saying things like "she's squealing like a pig" while his children were still living with their mother. I don't put Trump on the list of "politicians" because he's a total charlatan, and belongs in a separate category. However, this creature Giuliani, roaming the world looking for consulting deals as the PERSONAL LAWYER of Trump is pushing the concept of what it means to be a corrupt politician devoid of decency to new heights. WHAT is he doing in Bahrain? HOW does that fall under his job title? I hate to resort to hyperbole when discussing political matters but this creature Giuliani really takes the cake - a more vile and grotesque man, purporting to uphold the rule of law while flaunting it in our faces, never drew breath.
8
"I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met." And a cybersecurity expert to boot??? Rudy Giuliani - what a guy!
1
If Mr. Giuliani is so great at security why doesn't he help his pal Trump with all the security problems that Trump finds on our southern border? He is advising Bahrain but Trump is insisting on a huge expensive wall-surely Giuliani has a better idea. Also he is working for Trump for free- so did Paul Mannafort- That did not work out so well.When someone works for free you get what you don't pay for.
24
No American company would sully their reputation and risk the wrath of consumers by dealing with this second rate has been.
31
The most ethical lawyer represents the most ethical president. They fit each other beautifully.
30
He may not be much of a lawyer, but he's been a genius at figuring out how to cash in on 9/11.
43
Of course, Giuliani would never trade on the fact that he's the president's attorney by suddenly racing around the world soliciting business from countries who describe his presence as aiding diplomatic relations.
That'd never happen.
Oh, wait...
20
Giuliani should go down with Trump. They deserve whatever prison time they get. Anyone who stays with Trump is putting himself in legal jeopardy: McConnell, Ryan and etc are a danger to our democracy and deserve time in the pen and later with Lucifer.
18
Giuliani and Trump are a cut of the same cloth. That’s why they are friends.
25
Giuliani, to his credit, did not stopover in Moscow, to discuss police and security measures in the future highrise residential tower going up there in a couple years. Or did he?
13
"Walter M. Shaub Jr., former director of the federal Office of Government Ethics, said the way Mr. Giuliani’s visit to Bahrain was portrayed highlights 'the possibility of blurring the line between his personal business activities and official government matters'.”
I have total respect for Mr. Shaub. He left the U.S. Government because he was in a constant state of nausea over Traitor Trump and his retinue of grifters.
I went to Yale Law 50 years ago, and what I learned in my ethics course is the Giuliani belongs in jail.
35
Rudy has to pay for his latest divorce and newest flame, but he seems to be following Flynn's footsteps. Will he claim that he had no knowledge of the the law, too?
14
It's clear Rudy's selling influence, but who would buy his services at this point except the lowest of the low? Interpol should put a tag on him because anyone who willingly comes into his orbit has committed some horrendous crime.
28
Not a single individual involved with this administration at any level possesses a scintilla of ethics, a morsel of honesty, or even a pinch of integrity.
73
Rudi uses the same special model moral compass used by Individual-1 and the repubs in Congress. You know the one, it is the compass without a needle.
39
I thought it was the compass that always points south.
8
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” he said.
"Truth isn't truth," he said.
Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence.
~ Napoléon Bonaparte
20
@George Knowles
This is being too kind. Never ascribe to incompetence that which clearly looks malicious
3
None of this is surprising. In a year or two Rudy may be living in one of those countries, never to set foot in America again.
29
So the guy who decided to put the NYC Emergency Command Center in the World Trade Center, the most visible terrorist target in New York, is doling out security advice? That’s rich.
41
It makes sense if you realize that his clients are hiring him to lean what NOT to do.
2
Day 1, after the Trump regime is vanquished, the security clearance and passports of all these criminals need to be revoked.
7
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” he said. “I follow all the rules. I have no desire to trade on anything."
I laughed out loud when I read that quote. He happened to be the mayor of NY on 9/11, which led to lots of tough talk and photo-ops. Then he fashioned himself some sort of terrorism and security expert, which he's been 'trading on' ever since.
18
Mob capitalists may come and go -- it is, after all, still intrinsically a risky calling. But it is abundantly clear that the mob capitalist ethos is here to stay. It has ceased to be a disturbing aberration and now increasingly offers itself as a dominant paradigm. Mob capitalists no longer feel compelled to lurk unseen in the shadows. They are now preening before the cameras, front and center, high-fiving and proudly hawking their wares.
Some invisible critical mass has been achieved. Collectively, Russian and Eastern European oligarchs, Middle Eastern oil princes, the owners of who knows how many secret offshore trusts, and recently a substantial fringe of American real estate and financial interests have amassed enough clout and momentum to visibly influence the international investment market.
Will legitimate corporations and democratic governments unite to push back against this corrupting influence? Right now the answer is, at best, unclear. One great initial advantage that mob capitalists have cleverly exploited is a sophisticated appreciation of how to employ cyberattacks and web misinformation to their advantage.
Can the forces of institutional integrity meet these challenges without embracing similar tactics and placing traditional individual freedoms at risk? Can liberal democracies rise to this challenge while holding at bay angry and corrosive populist insurgencies? Trump and his cronies are merely egregious representatives of a growing global problem.
18
If he’s offering his expertise on cyber security, good luck to them. And of course he’s taking advantage of his political situation. He’s a grifter. No one expects anything different.
14
People with national interest worry about the appearance and not those with self interest. Needless to say, Giuliani belongs to the later.
3
In ethics, appearances may not be everything, but they are huge nonetheless. It may not be a duck even though it looks, waddles and quacks like one, but it's gonna take a lot more explanation and convincing when that is the case.
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” he said. “I follow all the rules. I have no desire to trade on anything,” added Mr. Giuliani..." This is hardly the most reassuring argument ol' Rudy could lead with.
5
Alternative by-line: American grifter offers international grifters access to Grifter-1.
12
Can we round up all these grifters and just throw them all in jail?
This isn’t an ethical blurred line area. This is a flat out conflict of interest. It should be illegal if it’s not already. It should lead to disbarment as well.
7
He plays by all the rules? Ask his ex wives.
8
Of course Rudy, while acting as Trump's TV lawyer, is totally apolitical in seeking business in Bahrain, the Congo--and cows can fly. Since scruples are totally absent in the Trump entourage, Rudy is out making hay while the sun shines. However, when clouds appear, folks like Michael Cohen go to jail. Never happen with Rudy's shady dealings? Wouldn't bet on that.
6
With the addition of Giuliani to the ranks of the swamp creatures, the Trump administration has become the Great Dismal Swamp.
6
Interesting that everyone who ran around ranting "Lock her up" "Lock her up" is locked up or soon will be.
6
Ben Franklin, " If we don't hang together we will hang separately." Trump proves the opposite, "If you hang with me you will hang with me."
5
THe corrupt, myopic Giuliani has the integrity of a Trump crony. Wait... He IS a Trump crony. “Only the best people, folks.” Not surprised to learn that the ‘law-and-order’ former mayor is out hawking his limited wares in Bahrain and elsewhere. He’s another horror show, brought to us by Trump and Company and his criminal enterprise. Looking forward to his indictment and subsequent cooperation.
7
I have not come across a single voice supporting this former Time magazine Man of the Year.
5
He should have stayed where he was once in the public eye - as a hero made by 9/11. Now despite or because of health troubles and multiple divorces he is running after the world $ at his late stage in the game even if it entails mixing with unsavory foreign regimes
When we see a clown, they see themselves as a giant. It is amusing and annoying at the same time to see how a person degrades without a little bit humility in themselves.
3
Giuliani, as a general practitioner attorney, is allowed to have more than one client. He's not Tom Hagen.
6
@MIKEinNYC
No. He has become Tom Hagen.
8
@MIKEinNYC Agreed; but, he's using his proximity to 45 to get business.
And if any clients are foreign governments its a conflict of interest at best and a violation of the FARA Act (if he hasn't registered).
12
@MIKEinNYC Sadly, though, he has a client far worse, more corrupt, and a more insidious criminal than Vito or Michael Corleone. At least Tom Hagen understood and admitted the stench into which he immersed his life, and never had any pretense of being respectable.
13
I am really trying very hard to figure out what really unique security solutions mr Giuliani could provide to these countries that they could not figure out on their own.
This deal making puts me in mind of what Spiro Agnew did to put food on the table in his Palm Springs residence following his no lo contender plea and resignation as Nixon's Vice President. Agnew, using what he picked up as v.p., then began a new career acting as a consultant to Saudia Arabia and other middle eastern potentates. However, I thought then, and believe now, neither of these guys would be straining their brains too much to do this work.
6
"Reached in Bahrain on Tuesday night, Mr. Giuliani said that the efforts are completely unrelated to — and do not capitalize on — his representation of the president.
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” he said"
Well, I'll take laughs where I can get them, so thanks, Mr. Guiliani.
13
@b fagan
I’m not disagreeing with you about whatever claim Rudy may have recently made concerning his superlatively ethical character, but I distinctly remember Mr. Trump making the same claim, BEFORE Rudy did.
And claims made by an unbalanced chief executive beat those made by their vampirish attorney.
Mr. Trump is also the least racist, most popular, most intelligent... He’s got dibs on LOTS of #1 qualities.
I’d buy into it if trump claimed he has strangest haircut of any president. Ever. That one he wins.
5
With trump it is often the opposite of what he says that is true.
Drain the swamp was a popular trump refrain. I wish this was funny.
5
He’s merely following the example set by his client’s family. Why not dip in the water when others say it’s so inviting.
5
Why should we expect any else from Rudy? Self enrichment is consistent with Trumpism. I hope he stays on the road promoting his business--less time to prep Trump for the soon to be arriving subpoena from Meuller and Congress.
5
And if it should happen at some time in the future, that businesses owned by Donald Trump profit from business ventures which involve the very same governmental officials and oligarchs with whom Rudy Giuliani is currently developing relationships, well, what of that?
When and if that should happen, then that will simply be a happy coincidence.
Mr. Trump has already made it clear that he is the most ethical man any of us are ever likely to meet. So any ideas of him using his current employees and position to drum up future business, in case he suddenly finds himself out of a job, are obviously erroneous. Not our ethical Mr. Trump!
Mr. Trump continued pursuing his proposed business venture in Moscow long past the point allowed by our electoral regulations. He knowingly broke this law, in case he lost the election.
What laws would Trump be willing to break, in case he loses the presidency?
Mr. Trump has chosen, during his first two years in office, to surround himself with corrupt individuals. Since he is yet to pay any real price for this error in judgment, our president has no reluctance to carry on his administration in an atmosphere still heavily tinged with the air of impropriety and corruption.
7
The heading says Giuliani "risks" blurring ethics lines because of his security and legal work. What risks are these? The GOP run government has made it clear to the president, his family and everyone in his orbit that there will be no consequences for unethical and corrupt behavior. Trump and his sycophants are laying the groundwork for dismissing or minimizing the findings of the Mueller investigation. It's quite amazing that in just two years a thoroughly incompetent and corrupt president, with largely unpopular policies (trade, environment, tax cuts for the rich, courting autocrats, to name a few), can pull the wool over the eyes of so many.
6
Over the past two years have the members of the Trump administration and/or the president’s attorneys ever taken the time to clearly enumerate which provisions of the U.S. Constitution currently apply and which they’ve elected to ignore?
It is clear that the emoluments clause has been scrapped, at least while Trump rules America.
So has the president’s constitutionally-defined role in negotiating or withdrawing from international treaties.
(This list could, of course, continue.)
My question is have the new rules ever been completely nailed down?
I ask, as it occurs to me that when the Democrats take a majority position in the House, them not being clear on the rules in effect, could put them at a distinct disadvantage.
Mr. Trump appears to be complying with or violating the constitution randomly. He’s simply making up his own rules as he copes with the crises he frequently invents. And so, with Mitch McConnell’s gloomy assistance, Trump either observes or denies both the Constitution and the Rule of Law, as he gleefully flies our nation by the seat of his pants. Whee!
Ignorance may be bliss, but in some situations it’s also terrifying.
3
We have entered an age in which merely "blurring" the lines doesn't count.
1
Reminds me of when Robert Rubin was in Bill Clinton's cabinet and he was making a three way deal among the U.S., Mexico and CitiGroup while he also worked for Citi. He was asked about the ethics and self-dealing and he said something to the effect of "actually it's better that I'm there because no one knows where the lines are better than me."
So I can imagine Giuliani saying "I know exactly where the lines are, so don't worry. Shame on me if you ever read in the paper that I've crossed one."
Supreme example of multiple conflicts of interest. Could cost him his license to practice law. Just one more shining moment in his career.
1
As per similar articles, what I find fascinating is the large amount of dollars flowing around ($500,000 in this case) for "I can help you get a meeting .. with somebody .. maybe).
I guess in the U.S. its called "lobbying", though other countries might have a different word.
Oh well .. back to my hourly-wage job...
6
I suppose the odds of Giuliani's getting a foreign security contract would be much, much lower after the president is charged.
Still, can't he hold it?
It is a wonder to me why more people that I know -more seemingly-intelligent, educated, basically kind people- aren’t alarmed by the deep levels of international wheeling and dealing going on within the White House like I am. These officials see public service as their introduction into the world of personal wealth, the yellow brick road leading literally to the Emerald City. I am quite alarmed.
It’s a wonder to me because I really thought that these very same people loved their country the way I do, loving its freedoms, its core values, its promise that every citizen has a voice and a value. But their America is different than mine. It’s a purely financial opportunity, the “what can I get out of it” mentality, and so they are as part of the problem as the people in the White House.
173
@Pietro Allar
Well said. Kudos.
I dare to presume that I can help you with your question concerning the lack of general alarm concerning the deep levels of international wheeling and dealing going on within the White House.
There are a great number of pertinent aspects to be considered in any serious examination of either a president’s performance or the overall effectiveness of the administration he oversees.
In the case of both President Trump AND the Trump Administration there is clearly cause for concern and alarm concerning virtually every aspect from which they might be evaluated. This uniform incompetence leads to a dillusion of the alarm devoted by thoughtful citizens to each individual area of failure, corruption, incompetence, ignorance, psychiatric disorders, etc.
People seem inclined to pick one or two or maybe ten of the ways in which Trump is proving to be an awful president, and feel alarmed about just them, rather than allowing this stuff to overwhelm them.
13
Another topic for the House Oversight Committee early next year -- conflicts between Giuliani's role as Presidential legal advisor and his providing a Presidential link to foreign governments for a fee.
187
@Pat Choate
He SAYS he doesn't do that - the other company, Sonoran Policy Group, does that. But I agree, it smacks.
5
This behavior is unethical. Full stop. It's not blurring any lines. He is now part of the inner workings of an administration, albeit not in an elected position. And he is using that position for personal gain. Doing so makes him beholden to foreign influence. He is compromised and in danger of putting his own interests above those of the country or even the administration.
All of that said, the Trump administration has worked hard to redefine ethics. Within that crowd Giuliani comes across as a choir boy.
338
@Mr. SeaMonkey
He is not a member of the administration. He is a private attorney governed by a complex and well evolved set of ethics rules. Anyone can report him to the NY bar. But as a practicing attorney, I don’t see a conflict. Every lawyer in private practice uses the prestige of his body of work to heighten his stature in the eyes of future clients. Even Obama’s and Clinton’s counsel did the same. So did Al Gore’s.
This type of hyperbolic criticism undercuts Giuliani’s and the administration’s real faults. Poor journalism to not even discuss the ethics rules.
1
@Gerald
Yes, good points. For the most part I can agree. However, there is room between what is legal and what is ethical. Sure, he is not an elected member of the administration. So he is in the clear legally. But can the administration operate at 100% capacity without his efforts? I would argue that it cannot, given the current circumstances. So he is part of the administration. If he seeks work, funding, etc. from other nations or interests that means he is capable of being compromised. Thus, I would say that Giuliani is not in the clear ethically. Although I can certainly see where others may view this situation differently.
We have plenty of examples of people in this administration seeking outside influence and, consequently, acting in the interests of those outsiders, at the expense of the US. One might argue that such examples are circumstantial. But there are many of them and, at least at first glance, they do not paint any of the subjects in a positive light. Here, too, one might argue that these examples are legal. Being legal, however, does not mean that the actions are appropriate. At least to many of us on the outside.
26
@Gerald
Boy. You are a lawyer. "as a practicing attorney, I don’t see a conflict."
Everyone does it. "Every lawyer in private practice uses the prestige of his body of work to heighten his stature".
The fact is he is currently employed by the President of the United States with special access. He is not simply using his resume he has current connections that anyone would reasonably assume gives him the ear of the President.
64
some time ago, I had a lot of respect for Giuliani and I was surprised when he went to work for Trump. Now I see that it's the New York business thing and he is a slime ball. So, he fits in well with Donald.
28
@Ralph
Just for the record. Noting should have surprised you about Rudy Giuliani, and there are plenty of businesses here in New York that have nothing to do with being a "slime ball", which in turn automatically precludes them working for Donald Trump.
1
I guess he is next on the Mueller investigation list. One has to wonder how corrupt Giuliani was while mayor of New York City, and after. Especially in his personal dealings with Trump. He may soon be joining Cohen in a nice federal prison cell.
35
Anyone who has followed Mr. Giuliani's statements and representations in defense of the President would clearly not be hiring him for competence, but rather for access.
92
This is the best, most pertinent, point.
The guy who made his chauffeur Police Commissioner is doing this?
The guy who detailed cops to drive his mistress to Pennsylvania on weekends is doing this???
Be still my heart!
103
@Paul '52
The chauffeured police drove him to my wedding reception, he never said," Hello," to the (me) bride or groom. He did not give a card, he made a grandstanding show for a family member that was a politician, ambassador, and he was driven to the Hamptons as well for long weekends. Red light on to avoid hours of long traffic.
This group? Started in the 1980's and are still the same players. EB-5's wonder where those people will buy?
Construction, and real estate, add politics and powerful people, you wind up with a bag of dirty cons.
This dirty seed started a long time ago and they are the people that run the city. Get head's up about investigations and cover their tracks. I have seen it, lived it and it is scary.
These are crazy times, but it was set up a long time ago. Where is his son working? It stays in the "family."
Trump-land is a place where ethics and often laws are disregarded completely. Look around at his “best people” and family members: self-centered, dishonest crooks, each and every one. People with stellar careers spanning decades become foul once they begin to work with/for Trump. And it’s not just our ‘President’ so much as the category of people he is the embodiment of. Growing up (I’m past 60), this category was usually the domain of thugs in organized crime, psychopaths without a conscience and an excuse for everything they’ve maimed. It’s a tragedy and an infuriation to see this in our highest ELECTED office!
51
For all we know, this may be how Trump is paying Giuliani for his legal services.
Trump acts more like an organized crime boss than a president.
131
Just another Trump grifter. Clearly, we need stronger ethics rules in government, with criminal sanctions as part of the rules.
78
Didn't trump or the republicans shut down the ethics panel in the first days of trump's presidency?
3
Guliani, or any trump official using the word “Ethics” in the 1st person is suspect.....
38
Giuliani said that ‘truth isn’t truth’. He obviously also thinks that ethics isn’t ethics either.
3
@Jack ,nomad: thanks for the chuckle. I needed it after reading the artdicle.
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met.”
The grifters mantra.
77
Wasn’t the entire premise of putting Trump and his rich old white guy pals in the White House that they had already made their fortunes and would now put their greed to work for America? I guess a leopard truly cannot change its spots.
30
He’s offering security to despots everywhere.
23
@Randy
Great cybersecurity he provided for Trump!
1
Who are these people? They just do not care.
12
Creeps, cranks, charlatans, cretins and criminals, Lilla Victoria.
"Only the best people !"
25
They care. Just not about other people.
1
RE: "Mr. Giuliani said that the efforts are completely unrelated to — and do not capitalize on — his representation of the president."
Oh, right. That is why you went yourself and they thought they were doing business with a leader of a “high-level U.S. delegation.” than yes, you are capitalizing on it and think that the rest of us are stupid.
RE: "kept Mr. Trump apprised of his increased security consulting work and travels “just to make sure there is no sensitivity.”
When you are checking on ethics with Trump, the art of the deal Trump, you can be sure that he would not see any conflicts unless they conflicted with his own greed.
RE: “I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,”
Hmm why does thst sound familiar? Oh yeah his boss said "I am the least racist person that you have ever met,"
When you have to tell people you are ethical or not a racist it pretty much means you are absolutely unethical or a racist.
30
"The Art of the Deal II: Maximizing the Wealth Potential of American Politics," by Rudy Giuliani, with a forward by Nick Ayers.
21
"It's sad what has happened to Rudy." - Adam Schiff
21
Sure Rudy is representing Trump for free...just like Manafort. Profiting or planning to profit by access by association, just a wink and a nod. Nothing to see here.
48
Giuliani sells his security expertise abroad? This is the man that recommended Bernard Kerik for Homeland Security. King Hamad is being had.
36
Lawyers and clients of the same ilk tend to find each other.
13
Grifters gonna grift.
Giuliani, like his criminal boss, is a fan of two-timing. In his work, in his marriage.
I hope CNN or CNBC continues giving this deranged lawyer more airtime. By his own petard and all that.
22
Is there one ethical person in this administration?
10
None that have surfaced yet.
2
@Dan Au - Maybe the cook. Or the groundskeeper. And somebody in Admin.
2
Haven’t seen one yet.
1
I’ve been questioning Rudy’s sanity ever since he was asked what his first thoughts were after the planes hit the twin towers. He remarked something to the effect that he was glad George W Bush was President. His very first thought. Remarkable.
19
A Trump lawyer crossing ethical and legal boundaries? Preposterous!
13
Maybe Giuliani is auditioning for a cabinet job. Seems to be a requirement for Trump appointees and hires - make as much money for yourself as you can by using government/White House connection.
19
So sad, but entirely predictable. "America's Mayor" morphing into an ethically-challenged, money-hustling, Trump clone, Is this guy registered as a foreign agent for any countries?
9
Giuliani was never Americas mayor. He made pretty speeches on 9/11 and then went back into his protected bunker. Was content with sending our police, fire, and emts to do all the work for which he claimed credit. He was a grifter and publicity hog from the start and belongs with his greedy boss .
6
Like Trump and everyone that works for him works all the angles they can to make a buck.
Always remember to count your fingers after one of them shakes hands with you.
18
The corruption of the Trump camp goes beyond words. SDNY, take action. You may know this guy.
13
Unbelievable. Do these grifters have any sense of service to the country, or is it all about lining their pockets with public monies?
I’m disgusted.
8
Grifters like Giuliani love a character like Trump, who has so lowered the bar for corruption and influence peddling that they can take their bribes, put the money in their pocket, and straight up lie to the public at the same time. It's all OK because Giuliani claims he tells the tin pot potentates they wouldn't get any influence for their bribes, so why is it the big bribes started at the same time Giuliani started kissing up to Trump?
16
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” he said.
Is this a template for the Trump administration or am I in the twilight zone?
13
Well, they're not very bight guys, so they just repeat each other's lines and lies. They seem unconcerned that their target audience will notice.
1
No one who contracts security work with Joseph Kabila can be considered ethical. Giuliani is lying again.
10
Judging from that silly Twitter fiasco a few days ago, the government of Bahrain would be well advised to pass on Giuliani’s services.
10
Cohen & Trumpites have already fallen, Trump & family are tumbling downeard, but none have slid so far as Giuliani. Some people never learn.
8
Ethically speaking, a bigger disaster than failure to prevent 9/11?
3
So Rudy knows the rules. He may need a new prescription in his eyeglasses as his reading of the rules appears to be different from their actual meaning. That’s what happens when the lines are blurred.
Besides - who needs rules when trump is president? Rules. Laws. None of that matters when one is above them.
Oh yeah. Maybe you should ask Michael Cohen about that. He has 36 months to write an answer.
32
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” he said. “I follow all the rules. I have no desire to trade on anything,” added Mr. Giuliani"
why does this remind of "I am not a crook"? 50 years removed.
me thinks he doth protest too much.
44
Only the most naive would put any credibility in Giuliani denials that he is not using his un-paid (?) position with Donald J. Trump to solicit business contracts. His benefits ("salary") from Giuliani's intimate association with the President of the United States are the lucrative contracts he receives as he openly peddles his wares to many willing to "wink wink" as Giuliani cashes in. No wonder he's feeling his 25 year old gilded oats. The patsy public is being taken for a sleigh ride in a world where Emperor Corruption holds the reins.
Doug Giebel, Big Sandy, Montana
9
So these guys want to hire Rudy based on the fine legal work they've seen him perform for the president and not because of his access to the president. Yeah, right.
27
Here's what characterises Giuliani's "ethical compass" most acutely for me:
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani was exploring the possibility yesterday of getting the three [New York City] mayoral candidates to agree to an extension of his term for two or three months to ease the transition to a new administration, as New York attempts to recover from a terrorist attack.
He declined to outline his proposal, but several others familiar with his plan said that he had broached the possibility of postponing the mayoral inauguration until April…
As late as Tuesday, in an interview with ''60 Minutes II''…, Mr. Giuliani was blunt about his political desires. When asked if he was open to staying on as mayor, Mr. Giuliani said: ''I am open to the idea of doing it. I don't know yet the right way or the right thing to do and I have to really consult and talk to the governor and other people that really have to have a voice and a role in figuring out how to do it.''
Source: NYTimes / Sept.27, 2001
The man has absolutely no moral core, no comprehension of what it is to govern (or to help others to govern) justly.
He can paint himself however he wants to advance his interests —he and Trump are cut from the same dirty NYC cloth, after all— but the truth will out.
38
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met.” Where have we heard that before?
And then there is: "Truth isn't truth", also by the ethical Mr. Giuliani.
If course, Mr. Giuliani's getting all this business from foreign countries interested in cultivating their ties to Trump is independent of the fact that he is one of Mr. Trump's attorneys and regularly (and rather absurdly) defends Trump on TV. This sounds just like the ethics of the Russian criminal mob bosses who trade favors based on their relationship to Putin.
Giuliani is after all “...the most ethical person you ever met.” Right.
20
Could very well be in his circle of friends.
3
The article misses an important emphasis: that it describes yet another instance of the PRESIDENT’s un-ethicality. Mr. Trump appears to be selling US government influences to foreign dictators through his personal lawyer.
It is obvious that the relationship between Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani is less than at the arm’s length at least because Mr. Giuliani is Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer. This makes the president at conflict here and not Mr. Giuliani.
If Mr. Giuliani had never met Mr. Trump, doing exactly the same business with foreign entities as he does today would create no conflict. Mr. Giuliani could even legally lobby the US gov. officials as long as he registers as a foreign agent.
The problem is that Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani are no strangers to frequent lying. This makes it perfectly reasonable to think that Mr. Giuliani does not need to bother registering as a foreign agent because he already has the ear of the president under the cover of the privacy of their attorney-client relationship.
This is how Mr. Trump has found (and is exploiting as we speak) yet another way of monetizing his presidency.
15
Since Giuliani started representing Trump he’s really been blurring numerous ethical lines. I had always assumed that he would find a way to get himself indicted by being so brazen. Hopefully my prediction will come true.
10
the first move of the republican congress was to repeal all ethics rules and desolve the ethics departments and agencies. trump immediately announced that laws, ethics and our constitution do not apply to him and his family business.
7
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” he said.
_____________________________________
Hardly.
Let's take a moment to remember Giuliani's close friend and business partner, Bernie Kerik.
Giuliani, godfather to two of Kerik's children, promoted Kerik -- at one time, his driver -- to be NYC's Police Commissioner.
After Giuliani left office he and Kerik went into business together, monetizing the tragedy of 9/11 with various 'security' businesses.
Ultimately, Giuliani convinced George W. Bush to nominate Kerik to be Secretary of Homeland Security.
That was when the Feds stepped in with a thorough investigation of Kerik. It ended with Kerik pleading guilty to eight felonies.
He was sentenced to four years in jail.
By Giuliani's friends you shall know him. And if Kerik isn't enough there's always Donald Trump.
41
Truth isnt the truth. I hope he is the next Trump personnel lawyer to go to jail. Trump 71 and has trained himself to lead a dishonest life. So let’s continue the watch and get him also.
6
"...there is nothing I’m going to do to help them other than what they pay me for.”
So, can we expect Giuliani to make those contracts public for all of us to know what is him being paid for?
I ask because it looks like a reverse case of violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act which does not include being paid by foreign governments in order to influence the WH.
Or is Giuliani implicating that his payment for representing the President is not in dollars but in kind, by allowing him to perform creative foreign affairs for profit?
4
"The story said the king discussed 'Bahraini-U. S. relations with Mr. Giuliani, who was described as leading a “high-level U.S. delegation.”
If Guiliani presented himself as representing the U.S., isn't that illegal?
8
As a native New Yorker (born, bred, wed and dead in Brooklyn), this comes as absolutely no surprise. Giuliani couldn't have been elected dog catcher by the end of his second term, and used the attack on the World Trade Center to create a thriving business that sold his image and little else. We have always referred to him since then as the "9/11 pimp" because of how he used it both politically (remember his run for the Presidency..."9/11, 9/11, 9/11"), and financially (he literally became a multimillionaire as a result).
That his "security" business failed to deliver in Mexico and other places he sold it to, and the dubious partners he attracted (Bernie Kerik anyone?) didn't matter.
Now he is using his connection with the President to get richer.
It may not be illegal, but unethical...come on Rudy.
16
In this respect, Rudy Giuliani is doing nothing more than his master's bidding when it comes to blurring the lines between personal business and government, and like his master he is second to none when it comes to holding himself above the law.
6
How many times have we read about blurred lines now without any consequences. #hopeless
5
The question really is: What are the actual security services Guiliani's firm performs for these countries? Each of these countries have their own police and armed forces so how does Giuliani's company bring added value? If no added value then it's tantamount to a bribe to enhance relationships with the President.
Moreover, I'd think that Giuliani be best advised to register as an agent for each of these foreign governments.
The whole thing stinks to high heaven!
9
After The NYT published articles about Saudis, Emiratis, Israelis and a US security company meeting in UAE to plan assassination of Iranian leaders, it does not make sense for Mr. Giuliani to travel to Bahrain to promote his security company. As it has been typical of Mr. Trump and his administration, his travels must be a cover for something else.
The mystery travels may have a simple explanation, such as Mr. Giuliana acting as a "mule". The savage murder of Jamal Khashoggi has turned Saudi Arabia into an international pariah. As such, direct contact between Saudis and Mr. Trump's administration has become politically unacceptable. So the two sides may have chosen Bahrain as a convenient location to meet and exchange messages.
5
“He suggested that he intends to continue aggressively pursuing security consulting work in the coming years, regardless of the outcome of the Mueller investigation. ‘I’m 74 years old, but I have the energy of a 25-year-old, and if I were to stop doing this, I’d die,’ he said.”
So no push-ups, sit-ups or jogging necessary to keep the 74-year- old Giuliani young- just continuing to “push those legal and ethical boundaries” is all he needs to feel 25 again!
135
@Susan
I'd say all he really needs to do is stop.
9
@Susan Given the choice, it would be OK with me if Giuliani were to stop and face the outcome.
3
@Susan
Anyone who is 74 and thinks they can compete with 25 year-olds is delusional.
Trump made some absurd statement while campaigning that he was better looking now than he was at 35.
Time to get real, dudes.
9
Mr. Guiliani would do well to look at where Mr. Cohen is heading, where Mr. Manafort, Mr. Gates is and where Mr. Flynn may soon be. These men too thought they were untouchable but their fall has been nothing short of spectacular. Particularly given Mr. Guiliani's early years as a prosecutor of crime syndicates, I'm sure his arrival at prison would recieve the same interest and enthusiasm as someone like Whitey Bulger. Hubris can sometimes be so blind!
397
@Mike
Remember Rudy's "Stop and Frisk" policies which dragged young black boys and men into the criminal justice system? I do. I also remember the command center for NYC placed in a Tower. When the Tower came down, Rudy was in a site in Brooklyn, a site previously recommended as safer. He survived, and later made a "hero's" entry into NYC. 300 firefighters died in a Tower due to a lack of radios with bandwidth matching the NYPD, funding denied by Rudy. The firefighters could not receive the warnings from NYPD helos hovering outside the Tower. The NYFD later traveled to Florida to stop Rudy's attempt to gain the GOP nomination for President. He was never "America's Mayor"; his administration was corrupt. No doubt he is taking his "skills" abroad for sale. I am not surprised he has linked up with another grifter.
12
Some of us in NYC have always hated Giuliani , the list if grievances is long . He has cloaked himself in his 9/11 cape since and why did the public fall for it ? They always need a “hero”.
He had the command center for the entire city built in the shadow of the towers , going against some advice not to , and it was destroyed .
He was no America’s mayor . Just because he walked around with a dust mask on for an hour?
Years before he showed up in my neighborhood to make sure that a building with minimal damage after a storm was torn down , always at the front lines of gentrification he was .
His enforcement of the ‘cabaret law ‘ saw many great night spots get ticketed and harassed for allowing people to dance .
He was incensed over one artist’s work because he didn’t understand it .
All of the suburban people loved him because he helped to make Manhattan look like the suburbs and more white .
Not to mention his marriage to a cousin and the nasty way he treated wife number 3 (?).
A detestable man , never a hero in my eyes .
239
You nailed it! You might recall that on his watch police brutality was rampant. He also made the rescue and search teams at the WTC site work without proper protective gear. A nasty vindictive man who has only gotten worse with age
34
@GW
And lest we forget Giuliani's bigoted "Stop and Frisk" and racial profiling policies that disproportionately infringed upon the civil liberties of people of color.
Detestable man indeed.
26
@GW
As a former New Yorker, it always seemed to me that the vast majority saw right through Rudy and Trump.
10
It's just business now. There's no debate about ethics. These guys have evolved beyond democracy. They weren't sure that they could frighten and enrage enough to outnumber the apathetic left, but they did. They recently toasted their victory over a carbon tax in liberal Washington State. Money works. The masses can be bamboozled, swindled, conned. A fake business success can be made to look like a potential leader via a reality TV show. So what's the solution? Get everyone registered to vote. That's our job now. You get it? That's your main job now. Then when each election comes along we get out the vote and stand up for truth. You want transparency, Trump. We'll give you transparency.
49
Seems as if there is something blocking the drain at the bottom of the swamp. The latter ain't draining.
On the contrary. The level of corruption is rising.
42
While Mr. Giuliani actions during 9/11 were admirable, he has been a slippery character since. He seems to speak out of both sides of his mouth and plays loose with facts.
10
@Gary Cohen - What actions of his were admirable?
6
Sorry having lived in Lower Manhattan during that time what did he do, others than negate the obvious about toxic air quality and insist people go shopping!?
1
@Gary Cohen
Here's some news for you. Giuliani was a "slippery character" both in office and out well before he was tapped by Donald Trump to be his mouthpiece.
Another thing.
You seem to forget that the city was fed up with Giuliani and he was way down in the polls by the time 9/11 occurred, and even ten the only thing he did was to keep his name on the front page.
The never ending saga of Trump’s personal lawyers’ misdeeds is proof, if one is needed, of his participation in their corruption and crimes.
19
This looks and smells like selling access and for that reason Giuliani shouldn’t do it.
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@Deirdre
He shouldn't do it, but maybe the right to sell access is one of the ways he is being compensated by notorious deadbeat Trump.
1
“I’m probably the most ethical person you ever met,” he said. “I follow all the rules. I have no desire to trade on anything,” added Mr. Giuliani....
This EXACT parroting of the president in hyperbolic dishonesty is the ever lasting stain on this country that Trump and the GOP has wrought
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If anyone knows how to blur the lines its Rudy. Truth isn't truth and for him and his client "the law isn't the law".
40
He is completely corrupt. If I did this at my job, I would be fired. Plain and simple.
36
Anyone who has to state "I'm probably the most ethical person you've ever met" is most likely not. Though admittedly he is in private practice as Trump's attorney, his desperate attempts to attract business & clients while connected to the Administration shows a total lapse of ethics. Those of us who have lived through Rudy's divorces, his screaming of racist slurs along with the NYPD against NYC Mayor David Dinkins and sundry other episodes have always known he has no morals
28
It's amazing that Trump and those who surround him all appear to be hucksters and two-bit grifters!
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not so amazing just reflecting the state of affairs
2
@Mike
There's nothing "amazing" about it -- it's just par for the course.
2
Nope, the current "state of affairs" and what has become "par for the course" are amazing.
5
Pretty brazen! Selling himself as a security consultant when he doesn't understand how his own hyperlinks work.
Clearly, there are no limits on the immoral, money-mad, power-hungry creeps in Trump's world. There's only diligent reporting, public opinion and (one hopes) laws. Maybe we need a few more of those.
45
Rudi is hanging around Trump for the publicity he so adores as well as using his position to enrich himself. He could care less about Trump.
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@Jacquie
This is like the musical 'The Producers'. Getting money out of people to put on a flop. Today's two characters, Drumpty and Guili.
3
Giuliani Security and Safety, isn't this the definition of an oxymoron?
35
The people around Trump and, of course, the President himself, seem not to be bothered to even a pretense of ethical behavior. Their blatantly corrupt, often illegal, behavior is right out in the open. They thumb their noses at all of us and at democracy. This is the kind of situation that exists in dictatorships.
They get a great deal of press coverage, anger, accusations, but with the high-profile exceptions, they are getting away with it.
12
@oldteacher
Next thing we'll hear is that "we're just two New York boys doing business". I'm sure that will go down a treat with New Yorkers - not!
Is there no end to the corruption of this Trump cartel?
Their greed is monstrous.
45
During Giuliani administration in NYC, he had his chief of police appearing in political campaign in São Paulo selling this zero tolerance approach to lower crimes in NYC. Giuliani was, still as a mayor, sending his chief of police to run this private business. This guy was paid to appear on TV and support a candidate in particular. It always strikes me as a crime under American Law, but since nothing happened about that, I assume it was legal, in USA, to use the city hall to boots privacy mayor business.
12
King? Palace? He looks like the super sitting in the lobby of a suburban condo complex. And can't we just say that this whole charade of an administration has been nothing but a money-grab since day one.
23
Like Trump, Giuliani is also part of Trump's criminal business enterprise that chase after money by all means, including breaking the laws.
10
Trump and Guliani are birds of a feather--- vultures.
44
Rudy is playing the ever popular role of friend to the Football Captain/Class President who imagines that everyone wants his number because they like him. Per usual, he is disposable and will find this soon enough when Pinky is screaming that his lawyers gave him terrible advice.
Remember, always and for ever, power doesn't corrupt. Power reveals!
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@P.C.Chapman
Two things -
1. They want his number so when he comes calling they can ignore it.
2. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
9
I'm reading lately that Trump can't be impeached while being the president. But how about Giuliani and Kushner ?
6
@Majortrout
The only people saying that trump can't be impeached while president..... are Republicans.
The Constitution doesn't give him a pass.
Think on it.
4
Grifters, shysters, panhandlers, swindlers, con men, mountebanks, hustlers and fraudsters as far as the human eye can see in and around the Trump criminal syndicate.
Ethics are for suckers, apparently.
"The point is that you can't be too greedy"
--- page 48, The Art of the Con 1987
Welcome to the Trump Doctrine.
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Rudy Guliani has destroyed his reputation forever. Who would have thought that during 911 times.. It was a long fall down, but he did it spectacularly, and he's now seeing the lows that not many have seen (other than people in our "presidents" administration).
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@Chris
911 was the past, money is the present. For some people like Trump and his associates, money is an additive drug.
8
Giuliani is just on the same gravy train that others have been on before. Maybe not technically illegal--but this gravy thing is starting to smell bad.
56
Giuliani behaves as if he is an expert in everything, so his hubris meant many more died on 9/11.
The command center location in Towers was a huge error, and was documented in 1998 by police officials with expertise in infrastructure, building security, explosives, traffic and ventilation systems, who also consulted the Secret Service.
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/26/us/politics/26emergency.html
79
@Samantha You are right on. This advice was ignored after the first WTC bombing in the early 90s. Once the towers on 9/11 fire, police and rescue people could not communicate once the command center was demolished.
11
Cash in on the trump train. Why not. His whole family does it. The entire GOP is a multi-level marketing scheme. It's all about the money.
179
Trump simply does not want Ivanka to live like an average Jane.
Ethics? We don't need no stinkin' ethics...
88
Long ago, I had deep respect for Giuliani and his work in New York. I find his business dealings in the Middle East somewhat questionable. Once he stated ‘’truth isn’t truth’’, I lost that respect.
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@Lisa
What took you so long ?
He held a public press conference in 2000 announcing that he and his third wife of 15 years, Judith Hanover, were separating — without informing her first.
Giuliani's been deranged for a long time.
89
Donna Hanover was wife numero two-o. Judith Nathan became wife numero three-o in 2003.
Is the divorce still pending?
9
@Lisa I lost whatever respect for Giulianni I might have had when, after the WTC attack, he wanted to suspend the NYC mayoral election "in the interest of continuity" during the aftermath. Fortunately he was dissuaded by City Council, which downplayed his "Captain America" persona. But his actions have spiraled downwards ever since.
19
Beware Rudy. You're being ridiculously brazen in he current spotlight on the Trump Administration.
It's as if he's unaware of the legal consequences experienced by 14 other members of the Trump Administration, campaign and Organization.
Perhaps Mueller has another aspect of the special investigation to open up on Mr. Giuliani's actions?
67
Mr. Giuliani seems to typify the kind of "leader" that marched Europe into WWI in 1914, so impressed with himself and so insulated that he has no understanding of how his outrageous conduct negatively affects the real world.
20
Wonderful. Looks like Rudy will follow his father’s foot steps. Right into jail. An appropriate landing spot.
47
Giuliani is in good company with Trump.
The corruption and sleaziness of this administration and it's circle of minions knows no bounds.
I am completely disgusted.
48
This is more of Trump blurring acceptable lines of activity as President. He is using his office as a money making tool for his personal aggrandizement.
28
@DENOTE MORDANT
And the majority of the GOP are just fine with this.
8
Anyone who's still calling them a "GOP," completely without irony, is just fine with it, too.
3
This is already the most corrupt administration in history. Everyone is lining their pockets. This is just one more example. The twin pillars of Trump's foreign policy= (1) how much money have I made from this country, and (2) how much money can I make from them in the future. The scandal breaking today about people like Trump and the Kushner's getting huge tax breaks from developments in the needy development zones project is disgusting.
96
ah, yeah, what country wouldn't want to hire giuliani's "security consulting" services? such a tech-savvy guy himself. he can teach them foolproof tweet security --worth every penny!
23
Perhaps, the title of the article should read " While Working For Foreign Countries, Giuliani Courts Business In The U.S."
Furthermore, perhaps Mr. Giuliani should have registered as a foreign agent IN the U.S. I hope this helps.
21
Rudy Giuliani proves once again that he does not respect US law.
As a former US Associate AG and former US Attorney, he cannot claim to be ignorant of the law.
I hope they throw the book at him.
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