Another dent in Rudy's 9/11 image?
Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 11:41 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Republicans, 2008
From NBC's Mark Murray
Busted? A front-page New York Times story notes that on at least three occasions, Giuliani -- responding to accusations that New York City failed to protect the health of Ground Zero workers -- has boasted that he faced similar risks himself.
VIDEO: NBC's Political Director Chuck Todd offers his first Read on Giuliani's Ground Zero claims.
But: "A complete record of Mr. Giuliani’s exposure to the site is not available for the chaotic six days after the attack, when he was a frequent visitor. But an exhaustively detailed account from his mayoral archive, revised after the events to account for last-minute changes on scheduled stops, does exist for the period of Sept. 17 to Dec. 16, 2001. It shows he was there for a total of 29 hours in those three months, often for short periods or to visit locations adjacent to the rubble. In that same period, many rescue and recovery workers put in daily 12-hour shifts."
"Asked to reconcile what the records show with Mr. Giuliani’s public comments about the extent of his exposure to the site, his campaign provided a written statement from Joseph J. Lhota, a former deputy mayor. 'Hundreds of thousands of people around the country and the world saw Rudy Giuliani’s steadfast and determined leadership firsthand at a time when we needed it most,' the statement said. 'In the days surrounding September 11th, the safety and health of all those involved in the search and recovery efforts was Mayor Giuliani’s No. 1 one priority. Make no mistake, it is the very same concern Mayor Giuliani continues to express today when it comes to all those who have made tremendous sacrifices at ground zero.'"