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Runnin' Scared - Barrett: Sharpton Scolds Maloney, and Naturally There's an Ulterior Motive 

​Al Sharpton's rush to issue a statement this week denouncing Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney's use of the n-word in a magazine interview has once again made him a potential kingmaker. Thanks to Sharpton, Maloney may not stay in the 2010 senate race, making things easier for incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand.

Interestingly enough, there happens to be a connection between Sharpton and Gillibrand -- newly minted political consultant Charlie King. . . .

When the Voice called the Gillibrand campaign, staffers didn't seem to have any idea who King was. Though Gillibrand paid King's War Room, the company was not incorporated or licensed to do business in New York until late June. The campaign's filings reported the company's address as 110 Williams Street, but the Voice couldn't find King or any of his several companies -- which also include CGK Partners and 1st and Goal Productions -- listed there. Asked about it, King said his firm was "moving," but offered no new location. While running NAN, he did operate for some time out of the 45th Street offices of Storch, Amini and Mueves, the law firm that incorporated The Movement Group and includes King's longtime friend Bijan Amini (the firm's top two partners were on the opposite side of the tobacco litigation Gillibrand once worked on). In addition to political consulting, King says he is acting as a lobbyist, with clients like North Carolina-based SAS Corporation, and making a movie about education.

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