Fox News: Fair And Balanced

Judith Regan filed a lawsuit against New Corporation (owner of Fox News) over her termination. regan asserts that a News Corporation executive asked her to lie about her affair with Bernard Kerik.

The lawsuit asserts that the News Corporation executive wanted to protect the presidential aspirations of Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Kerik’s mentor, who had appointed him New York City police commissioner and had recommended him for the federal post.

Ms. Regan makes the charge at the start of a 70-page filing that seeks $100 million in damages for what she says was a campaign to smear and discredit her by her bosses at HarperCollins and its parent company, News Corporation, after her project to publish a book with O.J. Simpson was abandoned amid a storm of protest.

Regan maintains that New Corp didn't want the Kerik affair to become public because it might impact Rudy Giuliani's presidential hopes. Roger Ailes worked as a media consultant for America's Mayor. Giuliani attended a White House dinner at the invitation of News Corp.

So far this year, one political journal found, Mr. Giuliani has logged more time on Fox interview programs than any other candidate. Most of the time has been spent with Sean Hannity, an acknowledged admirer of the former mayor, according to the data compiled by the journal, known as The Hotline.

Fox executives say Mr. Giuliani’s appearances have been driven by his news value and by his status as a front-runner, not by his relationship with Mr. Ailes.

Is Fox News being "fair and balanced" if the network has Giuliani on more than other GOP candidates?

Update: The Smoking Gun has a copy of the lawsuit.

It is now widely accepted that one of Giuliani's major political vulnerabilities is his association with Bernard Kerik, the former New York Police Commissioner and member of Giuliani Partners who was recently indicted on federal charges of tax fraud and corruption. Defendants were well aware that Regan had a personal relationship with Kerik. In fact, a senior executive in the News Corp. organization told that he believed she had information about Kerik that, if disclosed, would harm Giuliani's presidential campaign. This executive advised Regan to lie to, and withhold information from, investigators concerning Kerik. Indeed, another News Corp. executive not to produce clearly relevant documents in connection with the government's investigation of Kerik. Thus, because of the damaging information that defendants knew they would be protecting Giuliani if they could preemptivly discredit her.

There were two News Corp. executives that attempted to silence Regan. Very interesting.

Bernard Kerik Indicted

It couldn't happen to a more corrupt former cop.

Sources tell New York CBS Station WCBS-TV that Bernard Kerik was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday, a development many expected after prosecutors had sought criminal charges for tax fraud, corruption, and conspiracy charges against the former NYPD commissioner.

Kerik is expected to turn himself in at the federal courthouse in White Plains on Friday.

I have an older post running down past Kerik scandals. The guy just can't seem to stay out of trouble. We will soon hear Rudy Giuliani say he doesn't know Kerik well. Hopefully, the media won't give Rudy a free pass on his relationship with the indicted one. I love to hear Rudy explain Giuliani-Kerik LLC.

The Bernard Kerik Saga Continues

Following the Bernard Kerik story is the cinematic equivalent of being strapped into a chair and being forced to watch Ishtar repeatedly. How can one man be such a political car wreak.

Kerik was a law enforcement officer who dated he very married Linda George. Both George and her husband Marcello Ferreira were indicted (and later New York City Gambling Commission) of being part $26 million-a-year gambling ring run by the mafia. The irony is Rudolph Giuliani appointed Kerik to run the New York City Gambling Commission.

Remember when Kerik investigated himself to find out that his nanny was an illegal immigrant.

"I uncovered information that now leads me to question the immigration status of a person who had been in my employ as a housekeeper and nanny. It has also been brought to my attention that for a period of time during such employment required tax payments and related filings had not been made," he said.

The fact Kerik was paying his nanny under-the-table should of been a hint she wasn't a U.S. citizen. The fact that Kerik didn't do a background check on his nanny isn't surprising. He didn't bother with pesky background checks when he was training the Iraqi police force.

Kerik hired Iraqi policemen without background checks who later turned out to be hardened criminals. He re-hired policeman formerly employed by Saddam Hussein and bragged of training 37,000 new officers.

Just last year Kerik pled guilty to two ethics violations and ordered to pay $221,000. Bernie is in trouble again.

During a recent meeting, federal prosecutors told Kerik's attorneys that they are preparing to charge Kerik with filing false information to the government when Bush nominated him to the Cabinet, according to the legal sources.

Prosecutors are also prepared to charge Kerik with violating federal tax laws, alleging that he did not declare on his tax returns gifts he received while serving as New York's corrections commissioner, including costly renovations to an apartment he had bought, the sources said. The FBI is investigating loans Kerik received while he was in private business with Giuliani, the sources said, as well as information Kerik had omitted from a mortgage application.

Kerik turned down last month an offer to plead guilty to federal charges that would have required him to serve prison time. His attorney, Kenneth Breen, said in an interview that his client had done nothing wrong.

We are bound the hear Giuliani say that he wasn't close to Kerik. That is laughable since they both were involved in Giuliani-Kerik LLC. Giuliani testified that he was briefed of Kerik's dealings with Interstate Industrial Corporation. The company is the reason Kerik pleaded guilty last year. IIC did free renovations on Kerik's apartment.

The only conclusion I can come to is that Kerik is so stupid that he never learns his lesson. Like a CD that keeps skipping; he is locked into to a frame of mind that causes him to repeat the same mistakes.