Giuliani Accused of Using September 11 to Aid Party

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Giuliani Accused of Using September 11 to Aid Party

Published on Saturday, February 23, 2002 in the Guardian of London

Giuliani Accused of Using September 11 to Aid Party

by Oliver Burkeman in New York

Relatives and colleagues of the World Trade Center victims have condemned New York's former mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, for agreeing to speak at a $2,000 (£1,400) a head fundraising gala for the Republican party, which they say exploits the memory of September 11.

The dinner, on March 5 at the Hilton Hotel in Washington DC, will be entitled A Tribute to America's Heroes - but its purpose is to raise at least $5.5 million for the national Republican congressional committee through the sale of more than 2,000 tickets.

Jack Ginty, the vice-president of New York's uniformed fire officers' association, called the event "a misuse". "Giuliani is a hero for what he did for this city, but I don't want people trading on that," he said yesterday.

"They're trading on an event in which we lost 343 men."

Mike Cartier, of the relatives' group Give Your Voice, told the New York Post it was "a shame that people are using September 11 for an underhanded reason, to propagate their own agenda."

The Republican party professed surprise, arguing that "America's Heroes" were many and various. "Are you telling me that Giuliani isn't one of America's heroes for what he's been doing for years as mayor?" the Republican party spokesman, Carl Forti, said.

"For someone to just assume that this is in any way related to the events of 9-11 is absolutely outrageous and ridiculous."

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