海角大神

Peter King didn鈥檛 have much use for Rudy Giuliani when they first met in the summer of 1967.聽聽

Both were 23-year-old interns at the Wall Street law firm of future President Richard Nixon. Another partner at the firm, future Attorney General John Mitchell, assigned them to work together on a municipal bonds project.

The two law students, though both graduates of Roman Catholic high schools in Brooklyn, didn鈥檛 see eye to eye on much. Mr. Giuliani was 鈥減retty liberal鈥� 鈥� a Bobby Kennedy supporter 鈥� says Mr. King, who was and is a Republican, currently in his 14th term in Congress. Mr. Giuliani rooted for the Yankees, Mr. King for the Mets.

They also had contrasting styles. 鈥淗e thought I was very caustic or opinionated when I was writing; he was being more judicious,鈥� Congressman King tells the Monitor. 鈥淩udy鈥檚 very smart. He was much more into the law than I was.鈥�

Decades later, the 9/11 attacks brought the two New York pols together, and they have been friends ever since. But over time, one has gone through a profound evolution. After those early days as a Democrat, Mr. Giuliani went from political independent to moderate Republican 鈥� so moderate he endorsed Democrat Mario Cuomo for governor in 1994 鈥� to Trump Republican, and from mob-busting federal prosecutor to celebrity mayor to controversial personal lawyer for President Donald Trump.聽Still, longtime friends see 鈥渢he same old Rudy,鈥� a bit grayer but with the same no-holds-barred approach to life.

鈥淐ertainly everything he鈥檚 done from the time he became U.S. attorney has been either Page One or Page Six,鈥� says Mr. King, referring to the New York Post鈥檚 gossip page.聽Mr. Giuliani鈥檚 third divorce, from wife Judith, has provided recent fodder.

Mr. King retains a strong bond with Mr. Giuliani 鈥� but the same cannot be said for some of the ex-mayor鈥檚 former aides, several of whom have been publicly critical of Mr. Giuliani鈥檚 work for Mr. Trump in what effectively became a shadow foreign policy. Mr. Giuliani鈥檚 efforts to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son in an alleged quid pro quo for military aid sit at the heart of the House impeachment inquiry into the president.聽

鈥溾�楢merica鈥檚 Mayor,鈥� as Rudy was called after Sept. 11, is today President Trump鈥檚 bumbling personal lawyer and henchman, his apologist and defender of the indefensible,鈥� wrote聽Ken Frydman, Mr. Giuliani鈥檚 1993 campaign press secretary, in a New York Times op-ed.聽

Mr. Giuliani 鈥渓ost his way鈥� after he became a lobbyist and insider, former political adviser Rick Wilson recently told Politico.

Top aides to Mr. Trump have also expressed reservations about the president鈥檚 lawyer. 鈥淕iuliani鈥檚 a hand grenade who鈥檚 going to blow everybody up,鈥� former national security adviser John Bolton was recently quoted as saying.

In the latest blow to Mr. Giuliani鈥檚 credibility, the same U.S. attorney鈥檚 office in Manhattan that he once ran is now investigating him over his ties to two Soviet-born men arrested on campaign finance charges. The Justice Department, where he was once the No. 3 official, put out an unusual statement聽distancing itself from Mr. Giuliani.聽The former mayor has rebuffed congressional demands for documents.

While speaking to reporters Friday from the White House south lawn, Mr. Trump defended his friend. 鈥淗e was the greatest mayor in the history of New York, and he鈥檚 been one of the greatest crime-fighters and corruption fighters,鈥� Mr. Trump said. 鈥淩udy Giuliani is a good man.鈥�

A transformation that mirrors U.S. politics

For some who remember the old Mr. Giuliani, the mayor who personified leadership on and immediately after Sept. 11, 2001 鈥� earning him an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II 鈥� it鈥檚 been a stark transformation.聽

After the 9/11 attacks, Mr. Giuliani seemed to be everywhere 鈥� comforting grieving families, standing in on at least one occasion for the slain father of the bride at a wedding.聽

鈥淗e showed a humanness that he hadn鈥檛 exhibited in the past,鈥� says Doug Muzzio, a political scientist at Baruch College in New York City.聽

In a way, the transformation of Mr. Giuliani from that post-9/11 period to today mirrors that of American politics writ large. The nation has gone from a high point of unity and resolve to increasingly bitter partisanship during the Bush and Obama presidencies to the tabloid ugliness of the Trump era.

Mr. Giuliani has 鈥渙bviously evolved, and in some ways not for the better,鈥� says Andrew Kirtzman, who covered the mayor as a local TV reporter and wrote a biography, 鈥淩udy Giuliani: Emperor of the City.鈥澛�

鈥淕iuliani was always a bombastic public figure, but as mayor, he used that bombast for tactical reasons,鈥� Mr. Kirtzman says. His example: Mr. Giuliani鈥檚 鈥渢errorizing鈥� of the public schools chancellor until he resigned, so the mayor could take control of the school system.聽

Mr. Giuliani鈥檚 Achilles鈥� heel was race relations, but he is widely credited with cleaning up Times Square, bringing down crime, and fighting corruption.聽

鈥淗e was hardly an unguided missile,鈥� Mr. Kirtzman says. 鈥淗e was a very, very, very smart strategist, with a very tempestuous way of getting things done. I don鈥檛 see that this time around. I see less discipline in how he鈥檚 proceeding.鈥�

Getting at the 鈥渨hy鈥� behind Mr. Giuliani鈥檚 transformation is tricky, but there are theories. Some observers point to Mr. Giuliani鈥檚 failed 2008 presidential campaign as a pivotal event. He wasn鈥檛 one to go off and write books. He wanted to stay in the game.

Advocating for Mr. Trump, it seems, was his ticket back to political relevance. And he plunged into it with gusto, if at times in embarrassing fashion. In one of his more memorable recent TV appearances, with CNN鈥檚 Chris Cuomo, Mr. Giuliani at first denied that he had asked Ukraine to investigate the Bidens, then 30 seconds later stated he had. The past two weeks, he has been notably absent from TV.

Tale of two New Yorkers

The similarities between Messrs. Trump and Giuliani are obvious: both native New Yorkers, limelight seekers, increasingly conservative over time, thrice married. But they weren鈥檛 always allies or even friendly. In 1986, when Mr. Giuliani was a prosecutor and Mr. Trump was coming up in real estate, the two were on opposing sides of a corruption trial involving a Trump-connected public official.聽

They didn鈥檛 become confidants until Mr. Trump began his march to the presidency, Giuliani observers say.聽

Still, the two had traveled in the same circles for years. They attended each other鈥檚 third weddings. Mr. Trump donated to Mr. Giuliani鈥檚 aborted Senate campaign in 1999. The mayor spoke at the funeral of Mr. Trump鈥檚 father.

Perhaps their most memorable interaction 鈥� especially now, in hindsight 鈥� came in a video produced for a charity dinner in 2000. Mr. Giuliani is in drag, and Mr. Trump is himself, behaving in an aggressively flirtatious way.聽聽

鈥淥h, you dirty boy, you!鈥� scolds Mr. Giuliani as 鈥淩udia,鈥� before slapping Mr. Trump.聽

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 say I didn鈥檛 try,鈥� the future president shrugs.

Years later, a month before the 2016 election, Mr. Giuliani would emerge as the GOP nominee鈥檚 most aggressive defender after an old 鈥淎ccess Hollywood鈥� video leaked of Mr. Trump bragging in vulgar terms about sexually assaulting women.

Mr. Giuliani has been defending him ever since, and in April 2018 was named to Mr. Trump鈥檚 personal legal team 鈥� unpaid, it turns out. Not that Mr. Giuliani isn鈥檛 interested in money. When his time as mayor ended, soon after 9/11, he went into business, marketing his services as a management and security consultant and commanding high speaking fees.聽

Public documents from his latest, ongoing divorce show the former mayor is worth many millions of dollars, with assets that include six homes.聽

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the funny thing about these New York folks,鈥� says Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College poll in Poughkeepsie, New York. 鈥淚f you take Hillary [Clinton], Giuliani, Trump 鈥� what鈥檚 prominent for all of them was the idea that there was money to be made.鈥�

Mr. Giuliani, who comes from working-class roots, didn鈥檛 always pursue the high life. As a prosecutor, 鈥渢here was something very spartan about him,鈥� says Mr. Kirtzman, the biographer. 鈥淗e was never seen out at parties or nightclubs. In many ways, he was a scold back then.鈥澛�

Mr. King, the congressman, also remembers Mr. Giuliani during their summer law internship as not all that gregarious. Now, when Mr. King鈥檚 family is in Washington, they head over to the Trump hotel for drinks, and there鈥檚 Mr. Giuliani.聽On one occasion, 鈥渉e comes over, and he鈥檚 telling my grandson how great I am,鈥� says the congressman.

Mr. King says he isn鈥檛 all that surprised by Mr. Giuliani鈥檚 behavior today. 鈥淗e鈥檚 playing a different role 鈥� the role of getting attention, and trying to get attention away from the Democrats.鈥�

The congressman describes Mr. Giuliani 鈥� until recently, at least 鈥� as more of a TV advocate.聽鈥淩udy鈥檚 thing is, always be on offense,鈥� Mr. King says. 鈥淗e and President Trump are almost identical in that. Never back off, just keep going. No matter what they throw at you, you throw twice as much back.鈥�

And what of the Giuliani-Nixon connection back in 1967? It is a point of historical coincidence that鈥檚 almost uncanny, given current events. (In 1974, President Nixon was heading toward impeachment when he resigned.)聽

鈥淲e did have lunch with Nixon one day,鈥� Mr. King says. 鈥淚n fact, I saved the seating chart. All of us sat around the table. Richard Nixon was at the head, John Mitchell was at the other end.鈥�

Mr. Nixon sat with the summer interns for about two hours, going around the table and asking questions, Mr. King recalls.聽聽

Heading home on the train that night 鈥� Mr. King and Mr. Giuliani also lived near each other 鈥� the two argued about the session with Mr. Nixon 鈥渋n a friendly way,鈥� Mr. King says.聽At the end of the summer, after Mr. King returned to law school, Mr. Giuliani (who stayed on a little longer) sent him a letter on the Nixon firm鈥檚 stationery.聽

鈥淗e said I had done a good job and he missed my brilliance,鈥� Mr. King says. 鈥淚 still have that letter somewhere.鈥澛�