Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is pushing back on claims that he secretly asked then-Gov. George Pataki to cancel the 2001 mayoral election after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The New York Post obtained an excerpt from Pataki’s upcoming book Beyond the Great Divide: How a Nation Became a Neighborhood, which includes the allegation. In the book, Pataki, a three-term Republican, claimed that, on Sept. 24, 2001, Giuliani approached him about making the unprecedented move.
“Governor, you have the power to change the city charter to allow for me, as mayor in this time of crisis, to have an extended term,” Pataki recalled Giuliani telling him.
Giuliani, now one of President Trump’s personal lawyers, fired back on Wednesday over the allegation and called Pataki’s claim “bullshit.”
“I did not ask George to extend my term. Absolutely not! I never asked him to do it,” Giuliani said. “George is looking to sell a book about something that didn’t happen.”
Giuliani also said he was “really surprised” by what Pataki wrote and was under the impression that Pataki “was a friend.”
“No. 1: Even if it was true, he betrayed a private conversation,” Giuliani added. “No. 2: It didn’t happen.”
Pataki said that his “heart sank” and that he was “disappointed” when he heard Giuliani’s request. The former governor said that, thinking back, he maybe “shouldn’t have been so emotional about it.”
“While some may look at Rudy Giuliani as a power-hungry politician, the reality is that he wanted to keep leading and helping with the recovery efforts. He believed staying in office was best for the city. I was sure it wasn’t,” Pataki wrote.
Giuliani conceded Wednesday that his supporters and advisers at the time had “floated the idea for two days” but denied he made the request and said he “didn’t like the idea.”
Then-Republican Michael Bloomberg won the 2001 election and is now running against Trump as a Democrat. Bloomberg said during Tuesday’s presidential debate that he has been “training” to run the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Pataki was governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. His book is set to be released on April 14.
