The Kerik factor

Well, the anticipated indictment was handed up, and Rudy Giuliani's onetime friend and business partner -- not to mention police commissioner when he was mayor of New York -- Bernard Kerik showed up in a New York courtroom today to plead innocent to 14 criminal charges, including tax evasion and corruption.

Such was their relationship that Giuliani backed Kerik's appointment by President George W. Bush to run the federal Department of Homeland Security before Kerik withdrew after revelations cropped up about his hiring an illegal immigrant as a nanny -- which opened the floodgates to other issues.

Although indictments are just accusations, you can bet Giuliani will be doing a lot of defending in the next few weeks about his judgment regarding friends, business partners and potential top federal administrators.

But is this the kind of issue that will have legs? The Democrats certainly hope so, given that Giuliani is the Republican poll leader at this point. But unless there are some revelations showing that Giuliani knew about the incidents behind the allegations, it's hard to see this having much of a long-term effect (though this isn't the campaign's first scandal flare-up).

The reality is that most of the top contenders have had links at some point to people with political and legal baggage. So who among Giuliani's top Republican rivals is clean enough in his political friendships to throw the stones? Not John McCain. Not Mitt Romney. Not Fred Thompson.

And as much as the Democrats would like to flog this horse, some of them have had their own brushes with infamy. And by the time next November rolls around, it's hard to see voters caring. Or remembering. In the meantime, The Times' Joe Mathews has the day's story here on this website and in Saturday's print editions.

-- Scott Martelle

Comments

[Bill Bradley]

You don't really think all those things are equivalent. For the obvious reason that they are not.

[Mike]

It's too bad for Bernard Kerik that he's not a Democrat. Then he could be appointed to some important committee like the virtual felon William Jefferson was appointed by the Democrats to Homeland Security.

[Michael Snyder]

Let me get this straight; NY NY's top cop tied to a front running presidential candidate, a trash collection company with "alleged mob ties" and a Federal investigation.
I think the writers are picketing at the wrong gate.

[Eric Siegel]

The real story here is how Giuliani placed loyalty to himself far above competence, just like President Bush. He was told that Kerik was totally corrupt, but he didn't care... Kerik was loyal, and that's all that mattered. Giuliani fired his competent Police Commissioner, Bill Bratton, who was the guy who actually cleaned up NYC, because Bratton got too much press. Kerik was a loyal, corrupt, incompetent toady... just what Giuliani/Bush like.

And how can you compare this to William Jefferson? The Democrats stripped Jefferson of his committee assignments when his corruption problems appeared. Bush would have given him the Presidential Medal of Honor if he'd been a Republican.