"Nov. 15 2007 | Of all the allegations contained in former ReganBooks Publisher Judith Regan's lawsuit against her one-time employers at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., the most explosive is the first. Regan charges that News Corp. executives wanted to destroy her reputation because she knew too much about her ex-boyfriend&emdash;former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik&emdash;and that what she knew could be harmful to the presidential hopes of Rudy Giuliani&emdash;whom she depicts as the preferred candidate of News Corp. and its subsidiary, Fox News. According to Regan s suit, 'This smear campaign was necessary to advance News Corp.'s political agenda which has long centered on protecting Rudy Giuliani's presidential ambitions.'
'Regan and the married Kerik had a well-publicized yearlong affair. Their assignations often took place in a lower Manhattan apartment that had been specifically reserved for the use of workers in the aftermath of 9 11. After Giuliani left the mayor's office on January 1 2002, Kerik went to work for him as a consultant at Giuliani Partners. Kerik and Regan broke up later in 2002. In December 2004, according to Regan s complaint, when President Bush tapped Kerik at Giuliani's recommendation to head the federal Department of Homeland Security Regan was pressured to keep quiet and asked to lie on Kerik s behalf. ' "[A] senior executive in the News Corp. organization told Regan 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 to withhold information from, investigators concerning Kerik. ... [D]efendants knew they would be protecting Giuliani if they could preemptively discredit her."
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