This week's Village Voice — yeah, we're a day late, but, be honest, it's not like you've read it already — carries a cover story by Voice vet and professional Giuliani antagonist Wayne Barrett titled "Rudy Giuliani's Five Big Lies About 9/11." In it, Barrett examines a speech the former mayor delivered in Maryland two months ago, arguing that he had the most and best terrorism-fighting experience of any candidate for president. But Barrett isn't buying Giuliani's claims; in fact, he says they're a bunch of lies. How so?

A few examples:

• "As United States Attorney, I investigated the Leon Klinghoffer murder by Yasir Arafat," Giuliani said. But Barrett cites lawyers who worked on that case in 1985 and say he had nothing to do with it.
• "I got elected right after the 1993 Islamic terrorist attack," Giuliani boasted. "I set up emergency plans for all the different possible attacks we could have. We had drills and exercises preparing us for sarin gas and anthrax, dirty bombs." But Barrett says that first World Trade Center bombing was never mentioned during Giuliani's search for a police commissioner, he claims attorneys prosecuting the bombers were never asked to brief Giuliani, and he reports that the drills only succeeded in revealing failures in the response system that were left resolved.
• In 1997, while he was mayor, the NYPD stopped two terrorists who "were going to blow up a subway station," Giuliani said. "The police department executed a warrant and shot one of the men as he was about to hit a toggle switch." But Barrett points out that it was actually LIRR police who foiled the plan, and nobody was anywhere near a "toggle switch."

Boy, pieces like this must be really undercut the whole argument for Giuliani's candidacy. Or, at least, they would if anyone who was even considering voting for the guy read the Voice.

Rudy Giuliani's Five Big Lies About 9/11 [VV]