Giuliani Takes Money From Leftist America Basher

A mega law firm partially owned by Republican Presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani lobbies U.S. legislators on behalf of a socialist Latin American president who repeatedly antagonizes America and refers to George W. Bush as the devil.

The Texas-based firm (Bracewell & Giuliani) with more than 400 attorneys in offices world wide, is known for legally representing heavy-hitting energy companies like Enron, Chevron-Texaco and Dynegy. It is also a notorious lobbying force in D.C. with equally wealthy and powerful clients.

Among them is Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, who has paid Bracewell & Giuliani hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to lobby Texas legislators on behalf of his Citco Petroleum Corp. Giuliani’s firm currently gets $5,000 a month from Chavez to track legislation.

The Venezuelan leader has become increasingly hostile towards the United States, staging mass anti-American rallies during Bush’s visits to Latin America and refusing to cooperate with counter terrorism efforts, according to the State Department. At a United Nations address late last year, Chavez called President Bush the devil during a hateful, anti-America speech.

One major U.S. company even dropped Citco as its gasoline supplier, citing Chavez’s increasing hostility towards the United States, which sparked nationwide boycotts of the Venezuelan gas.

Given these facts, it is ironic that Giuliani’s firm lobbies on behalf of Chavez. After all, as New York mayor he refused a $10 million donation for September 11 damages from a Saudi prince because he considered the money tainted. A campaign spokeswoman said Giuliani has been clear and consistent; “Hugo Chavez is no friend of the Unites States.” Evidently, it’s ok to take his money.