Kerik Withdraws His Name for Top DHS Job

[Sannum]

It's a beautiful day for a news dump....

Kerik Withdraws His Name for Top DHS Job
WASHINGTON - In a surprise move, former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik abruptly withdrew his nomination as President Bush (news - web sites)'s choice to be homeland security secretary Friday night, saying questions have arisen about the immigration status of a housekeeper and nanny he employed.

The decision caught the White House off guard and sent Bush in search of a new candidate to run the sprawling bureaucracy of more than 180,000 employees melded together from 22 disparate federal agencies in 2003 to guard the nation against terrorist attacks.


Kerik's nomination had been widely praised by Democrats and Republicans alike. A former military man, he became widely known for his role in helping direct the emergency response to the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes against the Twin Towers.


Kerik informed Bush of his decision to withdraw in a telephone call at 8:30 p.m. EST. "I am convinced that, for personal reasons, moving forward would not be in the best interests of your administration, the Department of Homeland Security or the American people," Kerik said in a letter to the president.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20041211/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/bush_homeland_security

[4morewars]

1. "Kerik's nomination had been widely praised by Democrats..."

Not this Democrat !!!!

I'd like to know which dems. This guy is a thug with a shady past. Which means he would have fit right in with the current mis-administration. Isn't it great how our "leaders" were ready to get on their knees for him though ?

[jaysunb]

2. I love Fridays...

National News Dump Day.

Details to be hidden on page 35 Tuesday.

[hlthe2b]

3. Announced LATE on Friday too--must be covering some bad shit...

that the press had dug up on Kerik!

[jaysunb]

5. And You KNOW This !

The truth will be simply an afterthought.

[originaldemocrat]

6. Outsourcing and insourcing: the Republican's Achille's heel

Instead of wasting time nitpicking Bush's cabinet choices, the Democrat Party should be crucifying this administration for continuing to allow massive illegal "immigration" to flourish unabated, threatening our national security and the wage base of every single American worker who must now not only compete with wage slavery in China through outsourcing, but with illegal aliens hired by greedy, cheapskate employers for the jobs still left here.

The American worker, union or not, is under the greatest assault in decades from these two factors and no one in the Democrat Party, except Hillary Clinton has had the guts to tackle illegal immigration and its effect on the American worker which, along with rampant outsourcing IS the Achille's heel of the current Republican policy. These are bread and butter, food on the table issues everyone can understand that have enormous resonance with Democrats and Republicans alike.

Unfortunately, it seems too many Democrats have gone along with both these issues and done nothing to take advantage of their immense potential to sway very dissatisfied and angry voters tired of seeing their standards of living plummet due to the greed and corruption of elected leaders who put their political careers before the American people.

[Cooley Hurd]

8. Um... sorry to "nitpick," but it's the "Democratic Party..."

...only Rush calls it the "Democrat" party. :eyes:

[Hekate]

4. "Widely praised"? Guess no one bothered to read recently-published

newspaper columns about his colorful career and powerful patrons.

Brought low by a nanny and a housekeeper? ...And they say irony is dead.

Hekate

edit to correct typo

[flordehinojos]

7. Wow! Kerik's resignation, so swiftly accepted by the WH and el Señor Bush

is powerful news! I wonder whether his resignation was "accepted" or whether he was told he had to resign--despite what the article and Kerik's lawyer say. I wonder also of those democrats who forced Clinton's initial nominee for AG because of her "nanny problem" are today ever sorry that they did so. Another one of Bush's nominee during his first POWER GRAB also had to resign because of a "nanny problem". She is a hispanic woman. A syndicated columnist.

[Nordic]

9. "nanny problem" my ASS! Why does the press fall for this shit?

this had nothing to do with a "nanny problem" but had everything to do with the fact that the guy is a loser, a quitter, is unstable, and has an extremely unsavory history.

He's a douchebag.

Nanny problem HA!

Hey press! Wake up! You've been punked! ASSHOLES

[Cooley Hurd]

10. The "nanny" thing is the least of this loser's troubles...

Bernie had an arrest warrant against him a mere 6 years ago:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6697161/site/newsweek

<snip>
But there may have been other issues at play. Kerik, who recently made millions in the private sector, once filed for personal bankruptcy as a New York cop. And just five years ago he was in financial trouble over a condominium he owned in New Jersey. More serious trouble than anyone realized: NEWSWEEK has discovered that a New Jersey judge in 1998 had issued an arrest warrant as part of a convoluted series of lawsuits relating to unpaid bills on his condo. The magazine faxed documents, including the arrest warrant, over to the White House around 6:00 p.m. Friday, asking for comment. Neither Kerik nor the White House had any immediate response. At 8:30 p.m., Kerik had submitted his letter to the president.

<snip>
The lawsuit relating to Kerik’s apartment stems from his failure to pay maintenance fees. A court found that Kerik owed about $5,000 on the unit. When Kerik failed to comply with a subpoena related to the unpaid bill, a judge on Aug. 24, 1998 issued a warrant for Kerik’s arrest. It is unclear whether the warrant was ever served or withdrawn. Court computer records indicate that the lawsuit remains open, but there was some confusion on Friday over the location of the full record.
</snip>