Like so many people, Geraldo was changed by the events of 9/11. He gave up a comfortable and lucrative job to get involved in reporting the war - first in Afghanistan then Iraq.
Got to give the guy some credit for that.
With all due respect, I think that was more about Geraldo and less about the wars. In Afghanistan he was accused of manufacturing a "they're shooting at us" story that, as I recall, has never been fully resolved. In Iraq he was booted from the 101st Airborne as an embed for reporting their position on the air.
My memory is long. I remember Rivera running interference for Clinton during not only the impeachment situation but the entire time that administration was in power. While Geraldo may have toned down his liberalism it seems to me that has more to do with working for FOX than anything else. He's now pushed as a news "reporter" whereas when he worked for CNBC he had a talk show and that was it. They never let him get within arm's length of a real news story as an actual news reporter.
Perhaps it's me but ever since "Al Capone's Vault" I've never had much use for Geraldo Rivera. And frankly I don't think I ever will.