Rudy Giuliani has officially stepped down as head of his consulting firm, Giuliani Partners, which has come under scrutiny in recent months for representing a number of controversial clients–including some with links to terror. He was the only 2008 presidential candidate to continue running a private business while running for office.

While campaign aides say the former New York City mayor has not been closely involved with the firm since the spring, Giuliani has been asked about the firm for months—repeatedly refusing to reveal it’s client list. In April, he told reporters that he was “largely out of it, and I’m pretty much going to be out of it at some point pretty soon.”

He has been replaced as chairman by longtime friend, Peter Powers.

“Mayor Giuliani has had no day to day involvement in (Giuliani Partners) since June. He continues to focus on his campaign for the presidency. He remains an equity partner in the firm and does not receive a salary,” said Sunny Mindel, a firm spokeswoman.

Despite insisting on not revealing the firm’s customers, the press has reported on a number of the clients in recent months. Among the clients represented by the firm include an Ethiopian group pushing legislation that the Bush administration considered a threat to counterterrorism efforts, and the Middle Eastern country of Qatar, which was accused of sheltering 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Asked whether he would release the firm’s clients most recently at a November 20 appearance in Chicago, Giuliani joked that the media had already figured out all the clients with “one or two exceptions”

“Certainly every major one is known, there is no big secret about that,” he said. “But the reason you can’t do that is because you have confidentiality agreements with clients. But somehow I think you, being the press in general, have been successful in discovering. I’d have to check if its every client, but just about every single client of Giuliani Partners. You’d have to check with them.”