Rudy and Friends

The New York Post has an intriguing story today about the sensitivity that Rudy Giuiani feels about the ongoing probe of Giuliani's disgraced pal and former NYPD Police Chief Bernard Kerik. (Giuliani, you probably recall, helped engineer the Bush White House's nomination of Kerik to be Homeland Security Director, which had to be withdrawn when it was discovered, among other problems, that Kerik hadn't paid taxes for a domestic worker who may have been an illegal immigrant.)

The Post reports that Giuliani law partner Marc Mukasey, who also happens to be the son of the former federal judge nominated by President Bush to be Attorney General, has been tasked "to monitor the criminal probe of disgraced ex-NYPD boss Bernard Kerik, which threatens to muddy up the former mayor's bid to become president." The Post adds: "As part of his sensitive assignment, Marc Mukasey has thwarted Kerik's lawyer from interviewing witnesses who might help his defense, sources told The Post yesterday."

With all the embarrassment that Kerik has caused him, Giuliani has promised he is "going to check more carefully in the future" into the background of his associates. But last week, Greg Sargent at TPM ElectionCentral discovered another sign that the Giuliani camp hasn't quite gotten down this whole vetting business: Richard Stanek, the new chairman of a group called Minnesota Law Enforcement for Rudy, was forced to resign his post as the state's public safety commissioner and director of homeland security in 2004 after it came to light that he had a history of using the N-word. This is the kind of thing you would think the campaign would want to avoid after running into pretty much the same problem with its South Carolina co-chairman Arthur Ravenel Jr.

UPDATE: Following Joe's lead, I've taken my dustbuster to the comments section and removed some of the more incoherent ones. I am also hoping that when the High Sheriffs finally wake up from their weekend bender, they will make those technological improvements they have been promising.