NEWS: Nomination Process Questioned After Kerik Withdraws, page 1

After being appointed the position of Homeland Security secretary, Bernard Kerik withdrew his name Friday, fearing repercussions from his employing a nanny and housekeeper who had "questionable immigration status." Now the question arises as to how the administration failed to find out this information in what is deemed to be an extremely stringent background information check.

www.cnn.com
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Lawmakers debated White House culpability Sunday in the doomed nomination of Bernard Kerik as Homeland Security secretary, asking why the administration failed to find critical information in its vetting process before officially selecting him.

Senior administration officials told CNN they were upset over the incident, insisting an independent investigation had been conducted, as is standard, but that the White House has to rely on nominees to come forward with issues that could derail their own nominations.

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Homeland Security secretary - I would assume that this is certainly a higher echelon of government positions, one that is in place solely to protect the American people. Background checks for the average American trying to land a regular job to provide for his family will reveal just about everything both good and bad. I ask the question outright - HOW?
How can information come out like this after a nomination by the President of the US? How bad a signal is this to everyone?

[edit on 13-12-2004 by Banshee]