Rudy & All His Pals & Cronies

Rudy's good buddy, former driver, NYPD & Corrections commissioner (that's always a good indication of sheer corruption, when a flunky receives high level appointments) & business partner Bernie Kerik was formally indicted by a Federal grand jury today "on conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and substantive counts of wire and mail fraud, under a statute often used in corruption cases, according to people briefed on the vote. The panel also voted to charge him with lying on a mortgage application and his homeland security application and with several counts of tax fraud." —New York Times

All well & good, but the real fun is from Fox News, & Rupert Murdoch's personal fish-wrapper, The New York Post, from almost three weeks ago. Who's got Rudy's back on this one? Why, it's little Marc Mukasey, who's Rudy's law partner &, oddly enough (or not, for we all know there are no coincidences) the son of the just sworn in Attorney General of the United States, Michael Mukasey. And little Marc seems to be readying himself for some big-time gubmint lawyering:

A source said Mukasey has "made it impossible" for Breen "to interview witnesses" who work at Giuliani Partners, the consulting firm founded in 2002 by the former mayor after he left office. Kerik had been a key player in Giuliani Partners before his fall from grace. Mukasey is "basically shutting them down," the source said.

Also from the NYT, Rudy's excuse:

So Mr. Giuliani once again said that he had made “a mistake in not checking him out more carefully.” He pointed out the successes he had in New York. And almost lost in the mix was Mr. Giuliani’s effort to highlight a less well-known aspect of his own biography, and to talk up his new endorsement from Pat Robertson to Iowa voters.

That's really believable, Rudy. He was your driver, your Police & Corrections commissioner, your partner in your post-September 11th security consulting scam, you recommeneded him for director of DHS, & the only thing you can say is you should have "checked him out more carefully." From Wikipedia:

After campaigning on behalf of George W. Bush in the 2004 election, he was reportedly the top choice for Secretary of Homeland Security after the resignation of Tom Ridge. When suggestions were made that Giuliani's confirmation hearings would be marred by details of his past affairs and scandals, he turned down the offer and instead recommended his friend and former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. Kerik, in his pre-announcement interviews with the White House, failed to disclose facts in his past that were certain to disqualify him.
After the formal announcement of Kerik's nomination, information known for years to local reporters, but unreported, became widely known (most notably, that Kerik had ties to organized crime, but also that he had been sued for sexual harassment and had employed an undocumented alien as a domestic servant). The political fallout was damaging to the perception of competence in the White House vetting process and doubts as to Giuliani's ethics and political judgment in recommending Kerik in the first place.

And on an even deeper level of idiocy:

He was a speaker at the 2004 Republican National Convention, where he endorsed George W. Bush for re-election by recalling that immediately after the World Trade Center towers fell, "Without really thinking, based on just emotion, spontaneous, I grabbed the arm of then-Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, and I said to him, 'Bernie, thank God George Bush is our president.'"[117]

That statement alone, if true (and it's just the kind of homo-erotic 300 horseshit that these kinds of clowns would make up) should disqualify Giuliani from running for any office above ferret-catcher.

Rudy & Bernie getting all 300. Hey, try getting names that don't end in an "e" sound, now that you're both over 50.

Pat Robertson's endorsement? Robertson, the protein powder scam artist & dealer in conflict diamonds, who has to apologize for virtually every statement that comes out of his mouth, even though he supposedly has a direct line to the Space Elf he claims to worship? That Robertson? Hoo boy.
And Daniel Pipes? (Item just below there.) Why, he's one of Giuliani's advisers, along w/ Norman "The Case for Bombing Iran" Podhoretz.

An all-star line-up:

Mr. Kerik isn't the only Giuliani intimate facing questions about unethical or illegal actions. The common thread in these relationships is Mr. Giuliani's unswerving loyalty to people who have earned his trust. "Clearly there's a bond that he has with some people, as most of us do," said Fran Reiter, a former deputy mayor to Mr. Giuliani who now supports Hillary Clinton for president.

Many of the people in Mr. Giuliani's White House campaign and his business are longtime friends who worked with him in his mayoral administration. Some could be expected to be the initial brain trust a President Giuliani would draw upon if elected to the White House. Others might serve as an informal "kitchen cabinet" of friends to offer advice and discuss ideas.

Sound like a certain President currently occupying the White House? All about loyalty, & buddies, & cronies? Is this the sort of thing we need another four yrs. of? Are these the kind of people we need in charge of anyone's life or money?

Msgr. Alan Placa, a childhood friend of Mr. Giuliani who is now a consultant to Giuliani Partners LLC, the candidate's consulting firm, went on administrative leave from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., in 2003 after allegations surfaced that he had conspired to protect priests accused of improper sexual contact with boys.
Msgr. Placa has acknowledged he is the person described as "Priest F" in a 2003 Suffolk Country, N.Y., grand jury report. The grand jury alleged that "Priest F" tried to grope teenage boys three decades ago and, in the 1990s, used hardball legal tactics to keep allegations of sexual misconduct against other priests out of public view.

No charges have been filed against Msgr. Placa, and Mr. Giuliani has said he stands by his friend. "I know him really well, and I have confidence in him. And the fact is, he hasn't even been formally accused of anything," Mr. Giuliani said in an interview with a Massachusetts television station last month.

Sure, most of the campaigns have corrupt politicos, bribing & stealing businessmen & convicted or accused drug smugglers, but we're pretty sure the Giuliani campaign is the only one w/ its own Molesting Monsignor!

Another close friend of Mr. Giuliani, Ken Caruso, a partner in the candidate's law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, is accused in a lawsuit pending in a New York state court of professional misconduct toward a client.
J. Virgil Waggoner, a wealthy Texan who lost $10 million in the 1990s investing with a now-defunct offshore bank that a Senate investigative report identified as fraudulent, described Mr. Caruso in the suit as being in league with the people who defrauded him. Mr. Waggoner accused Mr. Caruso of helping the people who defrauded him escape liability, even as he charged Mr. Waggoner for legal advice that went against his interests. Also named in the suit is the Bracewell & Giuliani law firm, where Mr. Caruso is a partner in the New York office headed by Mr. Giuliani.

As New York mayor in the 1990s, Mr. Giuliani weathered other scandals involving people in his political orbit.
Charles Hughes, a major union supporter of Mr. Giuliani, went to prison after pleading guilty in 2000 to stealing $2 million from union members.
Russell Harding, the son of a lobbyist and close political adviser to Mr. Giuliani, went to prison in 2005 for embezzling $400,000 from the New York City Housing Development Corp., where he was president. Mr. Giuliani had appointed him to the post.

And profiting on the dead of 11 September! A total winner. We're joining the campaign tomorrow morning. joinrudy2008.com