From the NYT:

Judith Regan, the former book publisher, says in a lawsuit filed today protesting her dismissal by the News Corporation, the media conglomerate, that a senior executive there encouraged her to lie to federal investigators about her past affair with Bernard B. Kerik after he had been nominated to become homeland security secretary in late 2004.

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.

In the civil complaint filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Ms. Regan says the company has long sought to promote Mr. Giuliani’s ambitions. But the lawsuit does not elaborate on that charge, identify the executive who she says pressured her to mislead investigators, or offer details to support her claim.

In fact, the allegation about the executive makes up a small part of a much broader array of claims concerning what she says was her improper removal from a job atop one of the more commercially successful book publishing operations.

There are also allegedly “damning” audio tapes that are supposed to prove all these allegations. Until I hear some audio tapes I’m not buying whatever it is she’s selling. Even if the allegations about covering for Rudy are true, what the hell does that have to do with her being fired?

Rupert Murdoch fired her, because of all the heat she brought down on NewsCorp over the O.J. Simpson “If I Did It…” debacle. So all this other stuff reeks of a personal vendetta just like Dan “Memogate” Rather’s ridiculous lawsuit.

However, if the allegations do turn out to be true it won’t really mean a whole lot. It will simple mean that NewsCorp is in the tank for the Republicans while every other media company in the United States will continue to be in the tank for the Democrats.

-Chris Jones

The Smoking Gun has an actual copy of the 16-count indictment against former NYC Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. Unlike many pundits, I really don’t think Kerik’s legal troubles are gonna have a negative effect on the Giuliani campaign.

Even if Kerik is guilty of the crimes that are alleged, he still did an excellent job at every position to which he was appointed. The only thing Giuliani deserves criticism for is for is not conducting a more thorough investigation of Kerik before recommending him to head up Homeland Security.

-Samantha Giles

Federal prosecutors will ask a grand jury today to indict Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York police commissioner, on charges that include tax fraud, corruption and conspiracy counts.

The grand jury, convening in Westchester County, has heard evidence about Mr. Kerik for about a year as part of a broad federal inquiry into a variety of issues, including his acceptance of $165,000 in renovations from a contractor who was seeking a city license.

Prosecutors are also seeking to charge Mr. Kerik, 52, with failing to report as income more than $200,000 in rent that they say was paid on his behalf to use a luxury Upper East Side apartment where he lived with his family around the time he left his city post.