Posted on 12/11/2004 7:33:21 AM PST by EggsAckley
WASHINGTON (AP ) - Former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, President Bush's choice to be homeland security secretary, has withdrawn his name from consideration, the White House announced late Friday.
Presidential press secretary Scott McClellan, in a conference call to news organizations, revealed that Kerik had withdrawn ``for personal reasons.''
``The president respects his decision and wishes the commissioner and his wife, Hala, well,'' McClellan said in a statement.
``Commissioner Kerik is withdrawing his name from director of homeland security,'' the spokesman said. ``He informed the White House this evening that he was withdrawing for personal reasons from consideration to be secretary of homeland security.''
McClellan said that Kerik telephoned the president at about 8:30 p.m. EST. Kerik also sent a letter to the White House in which he announced his wishes.
McClellan said the White House ``will move as quickly as we can to name someone else to fill this nomination.''
Bush's nomination of Kerik quickly proved controversial. News reports in recent days focused on revelations that Kerik had made millions of dollars a stun gun company that sold weapons to the Homeland Security Department and which wants more business. The White House had said that Kerik would avoid any conflicts of interest.
Records filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show Kerik made $6.2 million by exercising stock options he received from Taser International. He has been a consultant for the company and still serves on its board of directors, although the company and the White House said he planned to sever the relationship.
Kerik, 49, had been selected by Bush to succeed Tom Ridge in the Cabinet-level position, heading a huge federal agency that was founded in reaction to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks against New York and Washington.
Kerik was anticipating hearings on his confirmation, and earlier Friday had held a private breakfast meeting in New Jersey, where Sen. Jon Corzine told him that New Jersey should receive more money from the federal agency, according to a spokesman for Corzine.
Corzine told Kerik the state's entire congressional delegation and acting Gov. Richard J. Codey were united in getting the agency to change the way it doles out funds, said Corzine spokesman Brad Woodhouse.
Woodhouse said the senator told Kerik during the meeting at an undisclosed site in New Jersey that he believes the funding formula should be based on the risk of a terror attack.
Just hours before Kerik withdrew his name, the White House defended him on questions about potential ethical conflicts of interest.
``We have full confidence in his integrity and we are confident that he will take the appropriate steps necessary to make sure that there are no conflicts there,'' McClellan had said at his midday briefing.
``We've looked into all these issues, and obviously, he'll be talking about some of these matters during his confirmation hearing,'' McClellan had said earlier. ``But the president appointed Commissioner Kerik because he knows he is someone who is firmly committed to helping us win the war on terrorism and make sure that we are doing everything we can to protect the homeland.''
Taser was one of many companies that received consulting advice from Kerik after he left his job as New York City police commissioner in 2001, when he was earning $150,500 a year.
Partnering with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani or operating independently, Kerik has had business arrangements with manufacturers of prescription drugs, computer software and bulletproof materials, as well as companies selling nuclear power, telephone service, insurance and security advice for Americans working abroad.
The man who led the New York Police Department on Sept. 11, 2001, has been praised effusively by Senate Republicans and Democrats for his management during and after the attacks. In Iraq in 2003, Kerik served as interior minister under the Coalition Provisional Authority, the Pentagon-run occupation authority.
Federal ethics rules say executive branch employees should avoid participating in decisions where their impartiality could be questioned, unless they receive approval from an agency ethics official.
Kerik's office said he was not available for comment for the story about his financial dealings. But a White House spokesman, Brian Besanceney, had said earlier that the nominee would avoid any possible conflict of interest.
``Commissioner Kerik is committed to the highest ethical standards and will divest all his holdings in Taser upon Senate confirmation to avoid a conflict of interest,'' Besanceney said. ``In order to avoid even the appearance of a conflict, he will comply with all ethics laws and rules to avoid actions that affect former clients or organizations where he served as a director.''
There's more than just the nanny problem. Mark Hosenball with Newsweek was on MSNBC a bit ago via phone and actually laughed (with obvious glee) as he related that he had faxed the WH yesterday afternoon with news that there was an arrest warrant issued for Kerik back in '98 or so.
He said the record was murky from there and they couldn't even establish Kerik had been served----the warrant was for non-payment of dues or some such, btw----but 2 or 3 hours later Kerik withdrew his name.
There's zero evidence that GWB used coke.
Agreed. Also, Illegals don't tell secrets...who are they going to tell?
Bureacrats are used to letting the taxpayer subsidize everything for them, and don't think they don't feel entitiled.
These people care nothing for their own kids and we should be surprised they care nothing about the rest of us.
"His wife made the mistake, and he is taking responsiblility for it. "
He should have taken responsibility for his kids by knowing who he was hiring to take care of his kids. Blaming the wife won't work. If this guy doesn't know what goes on in his own home, I don't need him "looking out" for mine. He should be prosecuted as should anyone else breaking the law.
He broke the law. He used his position to cheat the American Taxpayer. He should be prosecuted. Did the right thing? He didn't even know who or the background of the people he hired to care for his kids. Too many people sound just like the democrats defending the indefensibility of Bill Clinton.
Yes, tell Vicente Fox that it is B.S. That's not what the good amigo has been told and what the legislation being pushed is showing.
There is no evidence that Bush used coke but let's face the fact that Bush never really wanted to address it and when he actually did attempt to answer it he made a disastrous attempt as he was saying 'I haven't in the last 25 yrs.' What did that mean?
That he prefers the taste of Pepsi over Coke and everyone knows Pepsi is the overwealming drink choice of Lberals everywhere! Sad state of affairs knowing Bush is a closet Pepsi drinker!
Last night's news was that Kerik was withdrawing his nomination because of an illegal immigrant nanny problem
(didn't pay taxes,didn't know she was illegal,etc.) , very much like the Linda Chavez problem when Bush nominated her
nearly four years ago. The stock options/conflict of interest thing was mentioned as an afterthought or a secondary consideration. Of course, the war profiteering
(let's call it what it is) is the PRIMARY reason for the withdrawal. And it's not "the appearance of impropriety, it IS impropriety. If this man EVER wanted higher office, he should have stayed away from this blatant kind of "investment". This is about as bad as it gets. If Kerik were to ascend to the chief of HS,with these conflicts of interest, and his pattern of personal gain, it would look like every decision he made was determined by his desire to enrich his stock portfolio, and how could he disprove it?
I don't like this guy, and have never liked him, from my ringside seat 20 miles away in New Jersey. He was sanctified immediately after 9/11, and I ALWAYS distrust that. For Kerik to have issued a statement that his withdrawal centered around a nanny problem is about as feckless and duplicitous as Governor McGreevey stepping down because he was "gay and had a homosexual affair with a man". Just how stupid do they all think we are??
Why is it that ethics, New York and Cop never seem to go together?
He is probably "dirtier" than we could ever imagine.
Yep. Tip of the iceberg? smokescreen? who knows, but it's not 'kosher' as they say in the Big Apple :)
"WASHINGTON (AP) - Bernard Kerik, President Bush's choice to run the Homeland Security Department, made $6.2 million by exercising stock options he received from a company that sold stun guns to the department - and seeks more business with it.
Taser International was one of many companies that received consulting advice from Kerik after he left his job as New York City police commissioner in 2001, when he was earning $150,500 a year. Kerik remains on Taser's board of directors, although the company and the White House said he planned to sever the relationship."
http://news.findlaw.com/ap_stories/a/w/1152/12-9-2004/20041209054501_26.html
We have had housekeepers that were probably illegals. We live in CA. So most people are illegals that do house work. What is the cut off in pay that you have to pay SS taxes. Just curious.
I'm not trying to start any rumors. I support President Bush and voted for him in both elections. Check my profile and look for me in the forums and you will see that I am dedicated and upstanding Freeper.
I do not have a link, but was under the impression that Bush had owned up to youthful indescretions such as his drinking problem, and, I thought, coke use. If I mistaken, it is an innocent mistake and I am just perpetuating something I thought to be true. My apologies if I am mistaken.
he helped train Iraqi police ,too. does this mean Iraqu police will soon be hiring illegal Syrian immigrants to do house work?
Rest assured that it'll just get warped into another "reason" why we "need to relax immigration laws."
The Washington Bureaucrats won't do jack about illegals until a few of them are victimized by gangs of illegals in their town. Until then, it's one of the "little people's" problems...
Bush admitted to his DUI and all that, but the claims of coke use were just wild rumors kicked around by the (ahum) "loyal opposition."
LAME!!!!
I hope it actually was personal reasons. The man has a bright future if that's so.
Because you only hear about the bad ones. Stop drinking the kool-aid the MSM is feeding you and go find one of the thousands of good cops on the streets and thank one of them.
In the first of three WH vetting procedures, the Bush admin questioned Kerik about potential embarrassments and/or obstacles to his confirmation.
Kerik obviously lied to Bush......an outrage in and of itself.
Even more egregiously, Kerik accepted the appointment knowing he had bushels of dirt in his bgrnd, including the 1998 arrest warrant as part of a series of lawsuits relating to unpaid bills on his condo.
The second vetting procedure discovered Kerik's troubling bgrnd.
Over and above not paying taxes for the nanny, Kerik also once filed for bankruptcy. The fact that his mother was a prostitute seems to pale in light of recent revelations.
Financial questions were raised after it was revealed Kerik declared bankruptcy in 1988, sold $6.2 million worth of stock in Taser International, which manufactures stun devices for police and military use — and is pitching its wares to the Department of Homeland Security for use by border agents.
Other embarrassing or questionable incidents involving Kerik were re-examined:
The assignment of several NYPD homicide detectives to retrieve a cellphone lost by his book publisher, Judith Regan.
The assignment of a city detective to Ohio to find out information about his mother, whom he himself branded a prostitute.
Questions about $1 million in tobacco rebates for cigarettes sold to prisoners while Kerik was corrections commissioner.
His hasty and early exit from Iraq after a huge explosion in Baghdad.
Also revealed was the NY Police Foundation ---a non-profit----paid $3000 to have 30 busts made of Kerik to give as gifts to visiting dignitaries. Look for them on Ebay.
Not an appointee who would inspire public confidence.
Good riddance.
When are the Republicans going to learn to stick to their guns? When are they going to realize that they are the majority party?
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