Obviously Rudy is seen as a threat to the left which sponsored the revealing of this information. Whenever anyone is a threat to the left they look for something to roast the person on. If they don’t find anything they make it up. A compliant media grabs it and blows it all out of proportion.
ANY Republican is a threat to the left. Being left is primarily WHO rules. Ideology is important but secondary to the integrity of the Party. Someone who is 100% in accord with Teddy Kennedy but has a Republican label is anathema to the left because when their policies are implemented by someone else it is organizationally a threat to the party, even more serious than an ideological opponent being elected. The Bolsheviks hated the Trotskyists more than any other enemies because they were so close in ideology. They competed for the same authority and rule, the same godhood.