Giuliani Firm Has Venezuela Ties

[Ryan Ruck]

Giuliani Firm Has Venezuela Ties

Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign declined to answer questions about his law firm's relationship with Citgo Petroleum, which is controlled by the government of Venezuela.

The law firm headlined by presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani does business with a company tied to Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, who has called President Bush ``the devil.''

Bracewell & Giuliani lobbies on behalf of Texas-based Citgo Petroleum, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Venezuelan oil company controlled by Chávez. The Bush administration said last year that Venezuela was ''not cooperating fully'' with antiterrorism efforts, stopping one step short of grouping the country with state sponsors of terrorism like Iran, Syria and Cuba.

Giuliani, the former New York City mayor best known for his leadership after the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks, does not personally lobby for Citgo, though he is a senior partner at the firm and shares in its profits.

Chávez has condemned Bush as a ''devil'' and a ''madman'' and staged an anti-American rally in Buenos Aires last week during the president's tour of Latin America. In South Florida, home to tens of thousands of Venezuelans, Chávez is a step below Cuban dictator Fidel Castro on the most-hated list.

''Chávez has insulted our government and our president, so how can we support anything that has to do with him?'' said Ernesto Ackerman, the Miami president of Independent Venezuelan American Citizens. ``Money that goes to Citgo goes into his hands.''

GIULIANI'S ROLE

Citgo has been represented by the firm since 2003 -- two years before Giuliani joined it -- on tax policy, environmental issues and regulatory matters.

''Rudy Giuliani has never had any involvement in this representation,'' said a written statement from the firm. ``Our efforts on behalf of Citgo do not involve the company's political profile in the United States or elsewhere.''

The Giuliani campaign refused to answer questions about the Citgo contract, thought it did release a written statement:

'Mayor Giuliani believes Hugo Chávez is not a friend of the United States, and his influence continues to grow because of our increasing reliance on foreign sources of oil. As the mayor has consistently stated, the development of alternative fuels is a priority that demands a solution in order to ensure the United States' energy independence.''

ETHICAL CONCERNS

Experts on legal ethics say Giuliani's role as a senior partner makes it difficult for him to distance himself from a particular client.

''The mayor's ethical responsibilities extend to each and every client of the law firm,'' said Tony Alfieri, director of the University of Miami School of Law's Center for Ethics & Public Service. 'Traditionally, lawyers concede their ethical responsibility but deny moral accountability for their clients' actions. . . . The better position is to accept both ethical responsibility and moral accountability, particularly when one is aspiring for the higher role of lawyer/statesman.''

Citgo is owned by Venezuela's national oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA. In September, 7-Eleven Inc., which once owned Citgo, dropped the oil company as its gasoline supplier. Citgo responded to calls for a boycott by taking out full-page ads in several U.S. newspapers, including The Miami Herald.

State Rep. Adam Hasner, a Republican lawmaker from Delray Beach, has called for the state to boot Citgo gas stations from Florida's Turnpike.

''We do business with these companies at our own peril,'' Hasner said. ``It's important to send a message that we're not going to support countries that are hostile to us.''

[Aplomb]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,259502,00.html

Rudy Giuliani Says Law Firm Protects American Jobs by Representing Venezuela-Owned Citgo

Sunday, March 18, 2007

TAMPA, Florida — Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Sunday defended his law firm's role in representing Citgo Petroleum Corp., which is ultimately controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, saying it was helping protect American jobs.


Giuliani acknowledged though, that his opponents will try to exploit the news that a lawyer with Bracewell & Giuliani in Houston has been representing Citgo before the Texas legislature.


The firm has had a contract with Citgo since before Giuliani joined it.


"Oh, they'll exploit everything," Giuliani said in an interview. "There are things that make sense and things that don't make sense and that doesn't make any sense. It was one of those political attacks where you have nothing to do with it, you're not involved in it and so it doesn't really worry you very much. What they're doing is lawful and honorable and helping to protect jobs for more than 100,000 Americans."


Although Citgo Petroleum is a U.S.-based company, it was bought in 1990 by Petroleos de Venezuela, the national oil company of Venezuela. It employs 4,000 people in Texas and other states, and Giuliani said indirectly more than 100,000 people have jobs because of the company.

Chavez has been an outspoken critic of President Bush and is close to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Because of that, Citgo has become unpopular with some conservative groups and politicians who have called for a boycott. Citgo has tried to garner goodwill by setting up a program to provide discounted heating oil to needy Americans and working on behalf of charitable causes such as disaster relief and fighting muscular dystrophy.


Giuliani was in Florida raising money at a New York Yankees spring training game. After the fundraiser, the former New York mayor watched the game from a front row seat directly behind Yankees manager Joe Torre. He discussed Chavez during the game, saying he is one of the reasons why the United States needs to develop alternative fuels and become energy independent.


"As the president I would make that my number one priority, the way Eisenhower and Kennedy made getting to the moon the number one priority of the American government. It has to consume a tremendous amount of our attention," Giuliani said.


If the country had done so in the 1970s, the nation would be more secure now, he said.


He called Chavez dangerous and said the United States needs to use concerns about him to build relations with Latin American countries.


"We've got to learn how to play Chavez. There's a lot of concern in America about Chavez; there's even more concern in South America. We have to sort of use that to bring them to the United States," he said.

[Aplomb]

This guy is starting to look pretty good to me...

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com/a/jvo200704d.html

"Hamas or Abbas, It Makes No Difference," Rudy Giuliani Says, No Israeli Concessions until the Arabs Stop Terrorism

By Susan Rosenbluth, Editor
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Englewood, NJ 07631
April 2007


Rudy Giuliani doesn’t care whether the Palestinian government is run by Hamas, which is recognized by the US as a terrorist organization, or Mahmoud Abbas, the chairman of Fatah who is regarded by the Bush administration as a moderate.


"Hamas or Abbas, it makes no difference. The ball is in their court, and we just have to show patience and not push any peace process until they do what they have to do," said Mr. Giuliani.


What they have to do, he said, is, at the very minimum, to recognize Israel’s right to exist and to renounce terrorism. Then, he said, Israel and the US should sit back and see if they mean it.


"They don’t just have to say the words. Anyone can say the words. They have to show that they are ending terrorism; they have to show that they are doing what they have to do to end terrorism. I’m a strong proponent of the philosophy that we can trust, but we have to verify," he said. "If all that happens, then it will lead naturally to a peace process, but we have to wait patiently until they are ready to make it happen. And no one should make any concessions to the Palestinians until they take those steps."


Mr. Giuliani, the former New York mayor who is now an all-but-declared Republican candidate for President, made his remarks on March 27 at a fundraiser organized by his exploratory committee in New Jersey in cooperation with NORPAC at the Englewood home of Rabbi and Mrs. Shmuley Boteach.

Understanding Terrorism

Mr. Giuliani told his supporters he was running for President because he believes he understands terrorism better than any other candidate currently running to hold the office.


He pointed out that, as far as he is concerned, Islamist terrorism against the West began in 1972 at the Munich Olympics when Palestinian terrorists kidnapped and murdered 11 Israeli athletes.


He said he remembered being appalled when the German authorities, who had arrested some of the terrorists, quickly released them. "They let them go because they were afraid if they did not, there would be more terrorist attacks in Germany," he said, pointing out that many European countries followed Germany’s example.

Leon Klinghoffer

He found it especially galling, he said, when Italian authorities released the murderers of Leon Klinghoffer, the 69-year-old disabled New Yorker who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists who had hijacked the Achille Lauro cruise ship in 1985.


"The Italians captured the terrorists and then released them two hours later, because they were afraid," said Mr. Giuliani.


As a US Attorney in the Reagan administration, Mr. Giuliani investigated the Klinghoffer case, and, he said, he became convinced that Yasir Arafat personally was responsible for the murder.


Ten years later, as mayor of New York, Mr. Giuliani threw Mr. Arafat out of a concert he was hosting at Lincoln Center for world leaders who were in Manhattan to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the UN. "I didn’t forget what he had done to Leon Klinghoffer," said Mr. Giuliani.

Oslo Mistakes

He called the concessions Israel was forced to make as part of the Oslo process before the Palestinians fulfilled any of their requirements, "mistakes."


"The US pushed Israel to make concessions, and it didn’t matter that the Palestinians did nothing to live up to their end of the bargain. This was wrong and we should never do it again," he said.


He maintained that, since 9-11, the vast majority of Americans feel an increased kinship with Israel.


"We must never be on the defense against terrorism. Never again. We must always be on the offense, never acquiescing, always doing what we have to do to keep our country safe and strong," he said.

Noah’s Ark

Before arriving at the Boteach home, Mr. Giuliani met with supporters for an impromptu dinner at Noah’s Ark kosher restaurant on Cedar Lane in Teaneck.


Asked for his views on Iran and Iraq, he said his primary policy is that "you don’t make concessions to people who are trying to kill you."


"I like the approach taken by Ronald Reagan, that we will gain peace only through strength. If we show weakness in Iraq, it will affect our ability to handle Iran, and that would be dangerous," he said.


He said he hoped President Bush would veto the Democrats’ bill to set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. "We must support our troops who are in Iraq on a mission against terrorism," he said. "Their job is to make sure Iraq becomes a bulwark against terrorism rather than a haven for terrorists."

"Clear, Hold, Build"

He offered a formula for success in Iraq: "clear, hold, and build."
By clear, he said, he meant "pacify." "Hold," he said, means to keep it that way. And "build," he said, means to encourage the Iraqis to take charge and reconstruct their country as a free democracy.


He insisted that while a variety of tactics should be employed to prompt the mullahs in Iran to eschew their efforts to develop nuclear weapons, the military option should not be taken off the table.


"The US must make it clear that, under no circumstances, will Iran be allowed to have nuclear weapons. Going to war with Iran would be terrible.



The only thing that would be worse would be allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons," he said.


He dismissed the arguments of those who say the US should be able to contain a nuclear-armed Iran, just as the US contained the former Soviet Union and China during the Cold War. The Islamofascists, he said, "are a different kind of enemy."


"The communists in the Soviet Union and China were terrible, but didn’t make plans to come here to kill us. They didn’t send suicide bombers," he said.