Giuliani law firm lobbies for Venezuela firm

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani's law firm lobbies for Citgo Petroleum Corp., which is controlled by the Venezuelan state oil company and President Hugo Chavez, but the firm said on Wednesday that Giuliani has never worked on the account.

The leftist Chavez is an ardent foe of President George W. Bush's administration and a bane to conservatives whose support Giuliani will need as he seeks the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

Records filed at the Texas Ethics Commission showed the law firm, Houston-based Bracewell & Giuliani, may have received up to $170,000 from Citgo since 2005.

A spokeswoman for Giuliani's campaign, which has been buoyed by recent opinion polls showing him leading his Republican rivals, declined to answer questions, but provided an e-mail statement denouncing Chavez.

"Mayor Giuliani believes Hugo Chavez is not a friend of the United States and his influence continues to grow because of our increasing reliance on foreign sources of oil," the statement read.

It concluded with a call for developing alternative sources of fuel to replace foreign crude oil. Venezuela is the No. 4 oil supplier to the United States.

Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, joined the law firm in 2005. The firm said its relationship with Citgo predated the hiring of Giuliani and he has never worked on the account.

"Rudy Giuliani has never had any involvement in this representation (of Citgo)," the firm said in a statement. "Our efforts on behalf of Citgo do not involve the company's political profile in the United States or elsewhere."

Citgo spokesman David McCollum said, "I'm sure the former mayor of New York was not even aware his firm represented Citgo before the story came out."

McCollum said Bracewell & Giuliani represents Citgo in dealings with the Texas Legislature and state agencies.

Citgo's image among U.S. conservatives, who make up the core of Republican voters, has been dented by Chavez's verbal attacks on Bush, whom the Venezuelan has called "the devil."

In 2006, the conservative religious group American Family Association called for a boycott of Citgo gasoline. 7-Eleven Inc. dropped Citgo as a gasoline supplier, citing, in part, Chavez's anti-U.S. rhetoric.