Can we spell conflict of interest? I'd spell it K*e*r*i*k, at least today....
The New York Times > Washington > Security Post Would Put Kerik Atop Field That Enriched Him:
Just five years ago, Bernard B. Kerik was facing lawsuits from a condominium association and bank over delinquent payments owed on a modest New Jersey condo he owned. Today, he is a multimillionaire as a result of a lucrative partnership with former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and an even more profitable relationship with a stun-gun manufacturer.
If he is confirmed to the post of homeland security secretary, to which President Bush nominated him last week, he will oversee an enormous department that does business with some of the companies that helped make him wealthy.
... But it is the relationship Mr. Kerik has had since the spring of 2002 with Taser International, a Scottsdale, Ariz., manufacturer of stun guns, that has by far been the biggest source of his newfound wealth. That relationship has earned him more than $6.2 million in pretax profits through stock options he was granted and then sold, mostly in the last month. A White House spokesman said Mr. Kerik would resign from Taser's board and sell his remaining stock if confirmed.
As and Steve Gilliard notes, [since deleted], Giuliani probably didn't win any friends in the White House suggesting Kerik be appointed.....
Bernie? Quit a job early?You mean like Iraq?
... Kerik was unsuitable for the job for any number of reasons. Competence being the primary one. I should have opposed him instead of looking for the payoff.
Well, Rudy, instead of delivering a chit, your knucklehead paisan just embarassed the President. Don't expect any calls from the West Wing any time soon.
Man, what an idiot.
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Update
:Oh, I see, it isn't all of the conflicts of interest that derailed his confirmation, it was an unpaid nanny tax a few years ago. My bad, I thought there might be a real issue being discussed here. Could this be just a variant of "flu like symptoms"? An excuse to avoid discussion on underlying issues? Nahhh, not in this White House.
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one more update, according to J Marshall, Newsweek faxed copies of arrest warrants, issued in 1998, to the White House for comment around 6 pm. Two hours later, Kerik withdrew.
But there may have been other issues at play. Kerik, who recently made millions in the private sector, once filed for personal bankruptcy as a New York cop. And just five years ago he was in financial trouble over a condominium he owned in New Jersey. More serious trouble than anyone realized: NEWSWEEK has discovered that a New Jersey judge in 1998 had issued an arrest warrant as part of a convoluted series of lawsuits relating to unpaid bills on his condo. The magazine faxed documents, including the arrest warrant, over to the White House around 6:00 p.m. Friday, asking for comment. Neither Kerik nor the White House had any immediate response. At 8:30 p.m., Kerik had submitted his letter to the president....Kerik's biggest booster for the job was former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani. Last night, an aide to Guiliani told Newsweek that Kerik had made "the proper judgment" to withdra
