Posted on 12/10/2004 8:09:32 PM PST by Jeff Head
In a surprise move, former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik abruptly withdrew his nomination as President Bush (news - web sites)'s choice to be homeland security secretary Friday night, saying questions have arisen about the immigration status of a housekeeper and nanny he employed.
The decision caught the White House off guard and sent Bush in search of a new candidate to run the sprawling bureaucracy of more than 180,000 employees melded together from 22 disparate federal agencies in 2003.
Kerik informed Bush of his decision to withdraw in a telephone call at 8:30 p.m. EST. "I am convinced that, for personal reasons, moving forward would not be in the best interests of your administration, the Department of Homeland Security or the American people," Kerik said in a letter to the president.
The White House said Bush accepted Kerik's decision.
One administration official helping prepare Kerik for Senate confirmation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Kerik's unexpected decision shocked senior leaders at the Homeland Security Department. This official said Kerik still had not filled out all his ethics filings — which would detail his sources of income and financial liabilities — and said the FBI (news - web sites) background investigation of Kerik was still incomplete.
But the only moderately troubling information uncovered about Kerik so far was news that Kerik had earned $6.2 million by exercising stock options he received from Taser International, which did lucrative business with the Department of Homeland Security, this official said.
Kerik said the problematic issue arose as he was completing documents required for Senate confirmation. "I uncovered information that now leads me to question the immigration status of a person who had been in my employ as a housekeeper and nanny. It has also been brought to my attention that for a period of time during such employment required tax payments and related filings had not been made."
Kerik said he feared that the disclosure of the issue would generate intense scrutiny that would "only serve as a significant and unnecessary distraction to the vital efforts of the Department of Homeland Security."
I hear Pee Wee Herman is available. (wouldn't his suit match nicely with the colored alert system?)
w should have made a stand. no one can pass the scrutiny dems now demand. there are none rightious, no not one.
why should we capitulate? kerik is flawed. too efg-ing bad. we are at war and libs arent in charge.
I'm going to do some research with a source I know in law-enforcement who never liked Kerik to begin with; I suspect there is more to this than just an illegal alien working as a nanny.
You're probably right. I was just thinking maybe it was before law enforcement and all that.
I don't know that much about him.
what a stupid question.
I believe this nanny-gate stuff is just a cover for something more sinister.
For this guy to have to remove himself from the nomination in one week says to me that GWB has not very good people vetting these appointments.
To me it is a dumb screw-up.
It was a deliberately stupid response to your stupid post.
It was intentional.
Geez, do all these politicos have illegal alien housekeeper / nannys?
it responded in no way.
Sure, the head of any govt. agency needs a good staff....
But, as the the CEO of Costco said "Show me a 'big picture' guy and I will show you a guy who is out of the picture"
This job requires someone who is a stickler for details and on top of everything, IMHO. Kerik never struck me as that type of guy. Nor did Tom Ridge.
I don't want a street cop (Kerik), nor a politician (Ridge), nor a back-office policy wonk.
Personally I miss the days of James Baker, former Secretary of State for George Sr.....that's the type of guy I want.
Maybe nominate the terminator?
"there are none rightious, no not one."
True. It's not fair that we are held to a higher standard than the Dems, but still, that type of standard should be easy for us to surpass.
Hopefully, Bush will keep shooting bullets at them until they can't think of anymore excuses.
It's good that Kerik withdrew himself from consideration. At a time like this we need someone more sensitive to the feelings of our enemies.
Kerik would have made them even madder at us than they already are.
Read somewhere that his wife is a Syrian Muslim. Could that be the reason??
No way. Keep looking. Find someone else. And while he is at it, appoint Guilani to the be UN Ambassasdor.
What was in the dennis miller interview with kerik?
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