The White House is in search of a new homeland security director following Friday’s surprise announcement from former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik that he was withdrawing his name. Kerik officially claimed he was not seeking the post after he learned that he had employed an undocumented worker as a nanny and that he had not paid income taxes. But there has been wide speculation that the nanny issue was just the tip of the iceberg. Hours before his announcement, Newsweek had uncovered that an arrest warrant was issued for Kerik in 1988 over a dispute involving unpaid bills. The Daily News has since reported that Kerik had illegally accepted thousands of dollars in cash and gifts while a public official. The Wall Street Journal raised questions about his connection to the stun gun manufacturer Taser and how he made millions in a recent stock sale. Questions were also raised about his failure in Iraq to train a new Iraqi police force as well as his misuse of police power while the head of the New York police department. Despite Kerik’s past, his announcement Friday still came as a surprise in part because no top Democrat had opposed his nomination. New York Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer had both repeatedly praised his qualifications. Kerik reportedly will now return to working for Rudolph Giuliani’s firm Giuliani Partners. Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman has been named as one possible candidate to take the security post.