Giuliani firm lobbied for wide-range of clients

updated 10:44 a.m. ET May 15, 2007

WASHINGTON - Energy companies, FBI agents, a media tycoon and even a candle maker: Rudy Giuliani's firm has lobbied for them all and dozens more in Washington, opening the door to a wide range of potential conflicts of interest should he become president.

If Giuliani were elected, his administration would be on the receiving end of regulatory requests, contract bids and policy proposals by the same clients of his Houston firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, that have contributed toward his personal net worth of millions of dollars.

Although the Republican has so far declined to identify all the companies with which Bracewell and his other firms have done business over the past five years, The Associated Press identified more than 175 as part of an expansive review of lobbying records, court filings and securities reports.

Giuliani's law and lobbying clients have included Saudi Arabia, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., and chewing tobacco maker UST Inc.

Presidential recusals
Traditional procedures for government officials to prevent ethical conflicts - expressly avoiding issues directly involving their former employer - would be unavailable for a commander in chief. It is unheard of for a president, when taking office, to promise to avoid a particular policy issue.

Bracewell & Giuliani alone has thousands of clients but will name only a few dozen. Since Giuliani became a partner in spring 2005, it has reported lobbying on various issues the White House, the vice president's office, Congress and every Cabinet agency except the Department of Veterans Affairs, the AP review found.

Federal conflicts-of-interest rules do not apply to the president or vice president, because they are not technically considered U.S. government employees. Giuliani isn't personally registered as a lobbyist for any of the interests on whose behalf his firms have acted, and he has so far declined to otherwise describe his work for them.

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Cheney and Halliburton
But appearances matter when it comes to the public's perception of conflicts of interest, and the large number of clients and issues linked to Giuliani's firms could prove a liability.

Giuliani's corporate ties may dog him as Vice President Dick Cheney's past as chief executive of Halliburton Co., has followed him, said Kent Cooper, co-founder of the campaign finance and lobbying tracking service Political MoneyLine. Democrats accuse the Bush administration of playing favorites by awarding more than $19 billion in contracts to Halliburton's KBR unit for work in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I think Giuliani will probably be continuously criticized for his business connections because that's who he listened to - that was his circle of close advisers and his kitchen Cabinet so to speak," Cooper said.

Cooper said voters will face this question: "Are there past associations and business dealings that might impact the way the person thinks in office or how they craft a policy that might benefit one company or industry over another?"

Giuliani declined to comment.

"It's clear voters are looking for an experienced leader like Mayor Giuliani with a track record of results to tackle the difficult issues currently facing our country," campaign spokeswoman Maria Comella said. She declined to describe Giuliani's work at Bracewell & Giuliani or how he was compensated.

Big names, wide-ranging topics
Congress, the Pentagon, Energy and Education departments and the Environmental Protection Agency were among the offices most frequently contacted by Bracewell & Giuliani, reports show.

The issues run the gamut. Records show the firm:

• Lobbied the Department of Health and Human Services on Medicare coverage of power scooters and wheelchairs from The Scooter Store. The Scooter Store agreed Friday to pay a $4 million fine and surrender $43 million in Medicare claims over allegations by the Justice Department that it had defrauded the government.
• Lobbied the Food and Drug Administration on behalf of UST Public Affairs' over regulation of tobacco products.
• Tackled issues of copyright protection and legislation governing how cable TV lineups are purchased for News Corp., and DirecTV.
• Lobbied for pay and working conditions on behalf of the FBI Agents Association.
• Lobbied on behalf of the Cornell Companies last year for contracts with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. In 2004, the prison operator was named in indictments of two associates of then-Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Tex. Cornell wasn't charged but was listed among companies making political donations that prosecutors said DeLay's associates illegally laundered for use in Texas campaigns.
• Lobbied Congress on behalf of Concentrax Inc. of Houston, which was trying to raise government interest in a vehicle-tracking system called "Track Down." The lobbying work in 2005 came a few years after Concentrax settled an SEC lawsuit accusing it of falsely claiming to have won contracts to buy the vehicle-tracking system.
• Represented a Utah candle maker, For Every Body, before the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which last year debated whether to require mandatory fire standards for candles.
• Lobbied Cheney's office, the Energy Department, EPA and others for Houston-based Dynegy, one of several energy companies on its client list.

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