Posted on 10/27/2007 12:25:14 PM PDT by calcowgirl
Shortly before Rudy Giuliani left the New York mayor's office in 2001, close associates worked out an unprecedented and controversial deal to transfer his mayoral papers from city hall to a private, tax-exempt foundation, the Rudolph W. Giuliani Center for Urban Affairs.
Billed as a leadership think tank, the center served as a conduit for Giuliani to copy and archive 2,100 boxes of documents from his time as mayor before returning the originals to the city.
That record, which includes the months after the Sept. 11 attacks when he was anointed as "America's mayor," serves as the foundation of Giuliani's presidential campaign today. Because he moved his papers through a private organization led by his political supporters, however, the integrity of that record has been called into question.
It followed a pattern of tight control over information that the often combative Giuliani practiced as mayor, a pattern that included more than 100 legal challenges from one New York newspaper alone.
While no evidence has surfaced that the record was compromised, the city of New York nonetheless changed its laws to prevent another mayor from doing what Giuliani did. ...
Last December, as Giuliani prepared to announce his GOP presidential bid, the last of the documents were returned to New York's Municipal Archives, where they are now available for public inspection.
Saul Cohen, president of the Giuliani Center, said the mayor's papers were handled according to strict archival standards and were not screened for potentially embarrassing information. ...
(snip)
Giuliani Center's Cohen said that if Giuliani wins the White House, "we'd take a look at the foundation as the basis for a presidential library." But, added Cohen, "that's way down the road."
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
or, how FR sunk Hillary's only opposition for her.
Oh, good grief. It wasn’t illegal to do this with the papers, and the article says no evidence of wrongdoing has been shown. Sounds to me like Hizzoner just wanted a copy of his administration’s papers. But I’m sure that some on this site will blow this into a minor hurricane before they’re done. You’ve heard of Bush Derangement Syndrome? Well, I think some people have Giuliani Derangement Syndrome....
and its ok that all the ‘important’ papers of the clintons are where???? Not so the public can see them, thats for sure...
try picking on something else....Rudy isn’t near the slim that the klintons are and have been and will remain to be!
You're able to form thoughts like this, and suggest that I'm on something?
I can't draw you a map, but perhaps I can simplify my comment: the antiRudy contingent is doing Hillary's work for her. It's that simple. And it's a fact, whether it's good or bad, right or wrong, it's plain to see.
Now whatever you want to read into that fact, or whatever psychoanalysis you wish to apply to the person making the observation, is your own, shall we say, "trip."
Enjoy it!
Rudy’s beliefs, character, and record will sink him, not FR.
then why do freepers spend so much time and bandwidth doing hillary's work for her?
Someone really ought to do a comparative analysis on words and threads against rudy. I'll be it's close to 30% as much as about hillary (in this campaign, perhaps more) and certainly a higher percentage than the hillary campaign has devoted to the same topic.
Well, duh! Most freepers don't plan on voting in the Dem primary.
Wait until the general election and I'm sure it will change.
Giuliani is a sure loser in a race against Hillary, and it has nothing to do with FR. The guy is unelectable, the Dems will kill him with the things he said and did in New York.
“or, how FR sunk Hillary’s only opposition for her.”
We can only hope - GOP doesn’t need a New York liberal defining the platform and party image.
The liberal wing of the Republican party is running a back-up candidate in case Hillary loses.
The Rooty Roots already want to make this a contest between Rooty and Hillary.
They like to conveniently skip over the fact that Rooty has a liberal past.
They actually are a little funny, their technique is always the same. Attack the old woman and accept Rooty.
They have yet to figure it out that we are quite capable of attacking any liberal.
AMEN!
I am sosick of people claiming to be conservative- when they really nothing more than big gov’t, media slave, tools....
when just the issues are discussed- Duncan wins hands down.
but yet- for all the talk about MSM spin- folks sure seem to lap it all up.....
beginning to see a lot of FREEPers as nothing more than hypocrits.
"Only opposition?" Kindly support that assertion, please.
Personally, I think she would love to see him run. Conservatives would be forced with the choice of supporting a social liberal or spinning off into a third party, and that could well fracture the GOP.
Besides, the last time they faced she sent him slinking away with his tail between his legs....
every one else is a nobody. privates don't become battalion commanders in one hop.
"Kindly support that assertion, please."
every one else is a nobody. privates don't become battalion commanders in one hop.
Nonsense.
Before 1992, Bill Clinton was a fat, unknown hillbilly from a state most Americans don't regard all that highly. That "one hop" seemed to work pretty well for him.
Conversely, Fred Thompson is a famous actor well known to most of the country (I don't think that automatically makes him the best candidate - his campaigning to date has been pretty poor - but you're the one who made this a popularity contest).
Your strategy of annointing candidates who enter the race with the highest name recognition has brought us George HW Bush in 1992, Bob Dole in 1996 and George W Bush in 2000.
Oh, yeah. That's worked really well for advancing the conservative cause.
“Rudolph W. Giuliani Center for Urban Affairs”
I heard about the document transfer; but this is the first time I heard the name, “Rudolph W. Giuliani Center for Urban Affairs”
Women who suffer from “Hillary Derangement Syndrome” are Giussolini’s main base of support in the polls. Most male Republicans are divided between Fred and Romney, with older pubbies forming the base of McCain’s support.
EXCERPT
Testimony: The Giuliani Papers
February 20, 2002
The Transfer of Records of the Giuliani Mayoralty
Out of the City’s Direct Custody and Control
On or about December 24, 2001, Commissioner George Rios, on behalf of the City of New York and/or the Department of Records and Information Services of the City of New York (DORIS), entered into a contract with the Rudolph W. Giuliani Center for Urban Affairs Inc., signed by Saul Cohen, President, concerning the records of the mayoralty of Mr. Giuliani.
The records are said to include appointment books, cabinet meeting audiotapes, e-mails, telephone logs, advance and briefing memos, correspondence, transition materials, and private schedules, as well as Mr. Giuliani’s departmental, travel, event, subject, and Gracie Mansion files.
Giuliani’s “World Trade Center files” and “Millennium Project files,” together with 6000 files of photographs, 1000 audiotapes, and 15,000 videotapes, are also reported to be a part of the records covered by the contract. In addition, the records include those of his chief of staff and every deputy mayor, together with their chiefs of staff. Finally, gifts such as plaques, awards, personalized clothing, and other items presented to the mayor and deputy mayors, as well as World Trade Center-related materials are alleged to be included as part of the records. All of these items were reported to have been delivered from the direct custody and control of the City to a private warehouse storage facility in Long Island City at the end of December 2001.
The December 24 Agreement
The December 24 agreement acknowledges that the “official papers” of the former mayor are a matter of “great historical significance” and “unique value.” The agreement further recognizes that “the documents are the property of the City” and that “under the City Charter,” the Department of Records “is ultimately responsible for the preservation and organization” of these materials.” Nevertheless, the agreement provides that “[w]henever Rudolph W. Giuliani has a personal interest or right in a Document separate and apart from the interests and rights of the City, his approval shall be required before any such document may be released or disclosed to the public.” The agreement also grants the Giuliani Center a role in determining the public nature and availability of documents. Under the agreement, if the Giuliani Center determines that material is not a “public document,” the Center and the City can agree to withhold it from public access.
The New York State Committee on Open Government Conclusion that the December 24 Agreement Violates the FOIL
On February 13 and February 14, 2002, the Executive Director of the Committee on Open Government issued two advisory opinions determining that the December 24 agreement violated the Freedom of Information Law in several key respects. The Executive Director of the Committee on Open Government first determined that all the records transferred to the Giuliani Center pursuant to the December 24 agreement constitutes records “that fall[…] within the coverage of [FOIL].” He then determined that Article 1, M afforded Mr. Giuliani improper veto power over the disclosure of documents he deems personal. He also concluded that Article 1, A, which allows the Giuliani Center to prescreen documents and determine when they are “public,” improperly intruded the Center into a determinative process not contemplated by FOIL.
The Executive Director of the Committee on Open Government also considered the mandate of Section 87(3)(c) of the Public Officer Law which obligates an agency to maintain a “reasonably detailed list by subject matter” of all agency records. Such a list is necessary to prevent the inappropriate destruction of documents and to inform the public as to the content of the documentary collection. The City apparently transferred records to the custody of the Giuliani Center without first compiling such a detailed list. In this regard, the Executive Director expressed the opinion that the list appended to the December 24 contract as Attachment A does not contain sufficiently detailed information to satisfy the requirements of Public Officer Law §87(3)(c).
The February 14, 2002 Archival Standards and Processing Plan
On February 14, 2002, the Giuliani Center and DORIS agreed upon an “Archival Standards and Processing Plan.” The February 14, 2002 plan appears to modify some of the provisions of the December 24 agreement. These modifications address some failings of the December 24 agreement. For example, Article 1, A of the agreement had authorized the Center to participate with the City to determine which documents delivered to the Center are to be regarded as “public documents” and which documents are not “public documents.” The February 14 modification provides as described by the Corporation Counsel in his February 14 letter to the Public Advocate, that “[t]he Office of the Corporation Counsel (not the Center and the former Mayor) [will] determine[] which records held by the Center are official government documents and which are the private records of former Mayor Giuliani or another individual.” While the reassertion of decisionmaking authority by the City represents an improvement, even this modification, as described by the Corporation Counsel, rests upon a fundamental misconception regarding the nature of “agency records” and the erroneous belief that some “agency records” are not government documents. This matter is addressed in more detail below.
Moreover, the February 14 modifications do not correct the irresponsible removal of official mayoral papers from the direct care and custody of City officials in an accessible municipal archive to a private and considerably less accessible warehouse. The February 14 modifications do not cure the unjustified exclusion of professional city archivists from the archival process and the substitution of a private archivist under the financial control of Mr. Giuliani’s functionaries. These matters are also addressed below.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.