The Backweb of Rudy Guiliani is His Record!

..... the ugly side of Rudy just continues to show its skin. despite his status as the GOP front-runner, more and more bad stuff comes out on him every month. the firefighters who are swift-boating him on his hyping of his 9/11 record, his apparency as a one-issue candidate (9/11, since 'law and order' is now lost to fred thompson after all), his phony-baloney "hi honey" phone call stunts at fundraisers and stump speeches, his fucked-up marital and family life, his on-the-video-record as pro-gay, pro-abortion, and anti-gun control, talk of the GOP right-wing base defecting to a 3rd-party candidate because of the dissatisfaction among many Christian Right-wingers with his record - the list of we-barf-when-u-say-Rudy items just keeps growing.

..... but now, one item comes out that could well be totally toxic - like Larry Craig toxic - to his campaign. the news? behold:

( MUG SHOTS FOR LOVERS )

Bernard Kerik shortly after his arrest in 2006

Federal prosecutors have told Bernard B. Kerik, whose nomination as homeland security secretary in 2004 ended in scandal, that he is going to be charged with several felonies, including tax evasion and conspiracy to commit wiretapping.

Kerik's indictment could set the stage for a courtroom battle that would draw attention to Kerik's extensive business and political dealings with former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who personally recommended him to President Bush for the Cabinet. Giuliani, the front-runner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination according to most polls, later called the recommendation a mistake.

Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, right, with former police commissioner Bernard B. Kerik in November 2003. (By Shirley Bahadur -- Associated Press)

Kerik rose from being a warden and police detective to become Giuliani's campaign security adviser, corrections chief, police commissioner and eventual partner in Giuliani-Kerik, a security arm of Giuliani Partners, which Giuliani established after leaving office in 2001. Kerik resigned his positions in Giuliani's firm after he was nominated to the homeland security job.

The former mayor is not in any legal jeopardy, according to legal sources directly familiar with the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the inquiry is ongoing. He and his consulting firm have cooperated in the FBI's long-running investigation of Kerik.

During a recent meeting, federal prosecutors told Kerik's attorneys that they are preparing to charge Kerik with filing false information to the government when Bush nominated him to the Cabinet, according to the legal sources.

Prosecutors are also prepared to charge Kerik with violating federal tax laws, alleging that he did not declare on his tax returns gifts he received while serving as New York's corrections commissioner, including costly renovations to an apartment he had bought, the sources said. The FBI is investigating loans Kerik received while he was in private business with Giuliani, the sources said, as well as information Kerik had omitted from a mortgage application.

The case against Kerik that federal prosecutors are preparing could generate uncomfortable political attention for Giuliani because it focuses on Kerik's activities while the two men were in government together and were jointly running Giuliani-Kerik, which was paid millions of dollars for advising upstart companies, doing federal work and consulting with clients overseas.

Kerik's legal troubles could damage the law-and-order image that is the bedrock of Giuliani's campaign, said Republican political consultant Nelson Warfield, who is not aligned with any 2008 candidate. "Kerik has potential to undermine his image as a competent leader and someone best fit to fight terrorism," Warfield said. "Either he had fundamentally bad information about Kerik, or he was reckless in not knowing enough about a man who was that close to him."

It all raises issues about the man who would be king of the free world and champion America into the next phase of the War on Terror, who will make major geopolitical decisions like waging war with Iran and much more during the rest of this decade and perhaps beyond. At worst, you might be electing a thug, a crook, or one who associates with criminals, who will bring your world down in ways Bin Laden could only dream of.

Do you even want to consider taking that chance?