Mort Zuckerman Is "Pissed Off" Over Rudy Docs

"It is completely false that I have anything to do with the Giuliani campaign," said Daily News chairman and publisher Mortimer Zuckerman.

On Jan 24, Politico's Ben Smith published a PDF of Rudy Giuliani's 127-page campaign dossier, a secret battle plan. Smith had also reported on the brief while working at the Daily News earlier this month.

In the document, Zuckerman is listed in the "Prospective Leadership" category, alongside NewsCorp chief Rupert Murdoch and several captains of industry. And Zuckerman is also penciled in on Giuliani's October calendar. (Incidentally, Zuckerman's name does not appear in the Daily News' Jan. 2 cover story.)

"How my name got on the list, I don't know," Zuckerman said.

But did the Daily News not publish the full document on their own Web site because Zuckerman's name appears on the list of targeted donors?

"Nobody made the decision not to publish it, other than a normal editorial decision," said Zuckerman.

Daily News Editor-in-Chief Martin Dunn is away this week, and Senior Executive Editor Robert Sapio did not return calls for comment.

When Politico first published the Giuliani dossier, private phone numbers were listed, too. They have since been redacted.

"I've been called a number of times," said Zuckerman. "I think the technical term is pissed off."

-Michael Calderone