Why Bernard Kerik Withdrew

by Techniguy 12-11-04

Only a week after his Presidential nomination to Homeland Security Chief, former NYC Police Commissioner, Bernard Kerik has withdrawn his availability for the post. This is not only a loss for the Bush Administration, but a loss for the country as a whole. Kerik's whole life has been devoted to the security industry, working his way up from the bottom of the ranks to become Chief Commissioner of the New York Police Dept. Rudy Giuliani says he is "heartbroken, not only for himself and for Mr. Kerik, but also for the President, as no one could be better qualified for the job".

As tough as Kerik is, he couldn't stand up to the tactics of the rumor infested, slanderous scandal seeking press in Washington who already had their four page attack plan ready to distribute the very day Kerik was nominated. Kerik believes he could have survived the confirmation process in the Congress and did indeed have the support of many Democrats, not because of his tough thinking, but because they believe he would funnel more federal money into the larger cities for Homeland Security issues. To the Democrats, it's always about "getting more tax money" it seems. Kerik was supported by Republicans for his tough, no nonsense approach to security which would have been a real asset to the country.

So why did Kerik withdraw his nomination when he was almost assured of being confirmed for the post? It seems he has a few skeletons in his closet that could make the confirmation process "dirty and messy". For one thing, as founder and major stockholder of Taser International, a company that makes high voltage tasers for security personnel, a "conflict of interests" could exist, as a prime customer for the tasers is the Homeland Security Dept. To avoid any "conflict of interest", Kerik sold all his stock holdings in the company netting him over $6 million in profits in November. The company plans on many more major sales to the Department in the future and this would obviously be a point of contention for Kerik's liberal opponents.

There are other issues too involving at least two arrest warrants on Kerik. One was issued years ago for "failure to appear" in a domestic lawsuit case. The other concerns some unpaid bills on his current condo. Neither of these warrants are a serious matter but are just a part of the "dirty laundry" that would be dragged out in front of the public during his confirmation hearings.

Another issue is one that Kerik claims to have uncovered himself in a review of his tax records, although I suspect someone else in the media had mentioned it to him before he brought it up himself. It seems Kerik had employed an illegal alien as a domestic housekeeper and nanny during the time he spent in Iraq training Iraqi security forces. No doubt someone would have made the point that the last thing we want to hear about the Homeland Security Chief is that he employs illegal aliens, never mind the fact that you can look into almost any affluent home in the country and find an illegal alien housekeeper and nanny inside, and an illegal alien gardener outside, usually both are Hispanic and speak very little English. I know this from personal experience as I see it everyday on my regular job.  It is not surprising that no one in the media brought this out as most of them are probably guilty of the same offense.

These are only three issues that are now working against Bernard Kerik and have been brought to the attention of the public but I'm sure there are more that we haven't heard about and Kerik would prefer that we don't. Again, Kerik has stated that he believes he could survive the difficult political confirmation process but the bottom line is that he doesn't want anything hanging over him that could distract him from doing the job to the best of his ability. His concern seems to be more for the President however. He says the possibility exists that were he confirmed, he could later be forced to step down due to some media exposed scandal, real or fabricated, and doesn't want to take a chance on embarrassing President Bush. He doesn't want anything to distract the Homeland Security Dept. or the Administration from the difficult tasks they have on hand and feels this could be a danger if he were to accept the nomination. Truly an honorable man and a loss to the country in spite of his possible indiscretions and personal conflicts.  President Bush will be hard pressed to find a suitable replacement as well qualified as Bernard Kerik.