Politics

WASHINGTON (AP) ― If anything can tarnish Rudy Giuliani's armor, criminal charges against his police commissioner might do it.

Giuliani, the former New York mayor, has established himself as the front-runner in the Republican presidential race, defying predictions that his views on abortion and gay rights and his three marriages would repel conservative primary voters.

Now, his former protege Bernard Kerik may face federal criminal charges including tax evasion and corruption. The case against Kerik — Giuliani's friend, business partner and former police commissioner — is an opportunity for critics to question Giuliani's judgment.

"Rudy Giuliani has a few Achilles' heels, and Bernard Kerik is definitely one of them," said Tobe Berkovitz, interim dean at Boston University's college of communications. "The question is, can one of his opponents capitalize on it?"

John McCain tried on Friday, even before Kerik's indictment was announced, saying the relationship was an important reason to doubt Giuliani. In addition to the New York allegations, McCain said Kerik had been tasked with an important job in Iraq after the U.S. victory in 2003 and "one of the reasons why we had so much trouble with the initial training of the police was because he came, didn't do anything and then went out to the airport and left."

Besides political foes, Berkovitz said, "the mainstream media absolutely will capitalize on it, they'll pounce, and then it's really going to demonstrate how good is Rudy Giuliani as a politician, and how good is his campaign, in how he responds to this."

Giuliani has said he made mistakes in dealing with Kerik, whom he recommended to head the federal Department of Homeland Security. But he also has asked that people look deeper, at his own overall record on crime, taxes and other issues in New York.

"It was a mistake not checking him out as thoroughly as I should have," Giuliani said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press.

"I made mistakes. I will continue to make mistakes," Giuliani said. "But what are the results? What kind of results do I get? What Bernie Kerik did wrong did not implicate what the results were for the public. What he did wrong, he's going to have to pay for."

Kerik surrendered Friday to face federal corruption charges; a law enforcement official told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because the indictment was still sealed. Authorities have alleged Kerik took tens of thousands of dollars in services from benefactors and never reported it as income. Kerik rejected a plea deal earlier this year, his attorney insisting he did nothing wrong.

Kerik and Giuliani have been friends for years. Kerik rose from Giuliani's driver during his 1993 mayoral campaign to head of the city's corrections department and commissioner of police. He later joined Giuliani's firm, Giuliani Partners, and headed an affiliated security consulting company, Giuliani-Kerik.

Controversy surfaced when President Bush nominated him as Homeland Security chief in 2004. Kerik abruptly withdrew his name because of tax issues involving his former nanny. News reports also had surfaced about stock-option windfalls, connections with people suspected of dealing with the mob and extramarital affairs.

Kerik pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor state charge of accepting $165,000 in renovations to his Bronx apartment from a construction company while he was a city official — an allegedly mob-connected company that sought his help in winning city contracts.

Democrats argue that Giuliani's tough-on-crime image is at odds with his longtime relationship with Kerik.

"Voters are going to question Rudy Giuliani's judgment given that he shepherded Kerik's career while he knew there was an ethical cloud over his head," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Dag Vega.

Critics also question Giuliani's sticking with other friends. He has kept his childhood friend, former Monsignor Alan Placa, on the payroll of his consulting company although Placa was barred from the ministry after being accused of sexual abuse and of helping cover up abuse by other priests.

Republican consultant Whit Ayres said the Kerik case might tarnish Giuliani's armor rather than inflict any lasting damage.

"It's an embarrassment," Ayres said. "Isolated problems with individual supporters are never a major problem unless they become a pattern."

He mentioned the resignation earlier this week of an adviser to Republican Fred Thompson, Philip Martin, after a report surfaced about Martin's decades-old criminal record for drug dealing.

That episode was basically a one-day story for Thompson, Ayres said, though he said the Kerik case could stick around a little longer, considering Giuliani recommended Kerik for the Bush Cabinet.

In Associated Press-Ipsos polling released Thursday, Giuliani was ahead of Thompson 29 percent to 19 percent among Republicans and GOP-leaning voters, compared with a 27 percent to 23 percent advantage last month.

"Anything that extends the story becomes more challenging," Ayres said. "They'll try to use this to embarrass him and scuff up his reputation as a fine manager, but it's hard to imagine this being a silver bullet. It's just not that big a deal in the great scheme of things."

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