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That thud you heard this afternoon? The jaws of Jeanine Pirro's campaign staffers. It turns out that Republican candidate for NY State Attorney General Pirro is under state and federal criminal investigation. WNBC's Jonathan Dienst had the scoop: State and federal agencies were looking into whether Pirro eavesdropped on her husband, who she suspected might be cheating on her. (Well, he did father a love child a couple years into their marriage.)
So she asked her good friend, former NYC Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik (yes, that Bernard Kerik who lost the Homeland Security nomination over nanny issues and who pleaded guilty to accepting a $200,000 "gift" of home renovations) about planting a bug on her husband's boat last summer.
Sources told NewsChannel 4 that in one conversation, Pirro complained that one of Kerik's employees was reluctant to board Albert Pirro's boat.Wow - you do not want to get Jeanine Pirro mad. Also - ooh, now Giuliani Partners is involved! And to think, the only reason why Pirro and Kerik's conversation was recorded was because of the federal investigation into Kerik's activities! Way to pick your friends. Also, Pirro implied if it weren't for her husband (who was found guilty of trying to hide $1.2 million in 2000), she'd be able to "move to the governor's mansion" and also called the attorney general race a "been there, done that kind of thing.” (Pirro was hoping to run against Hillary Clinton for the Senate, until Republican party bosses told her "no way" and pushed her into the AG race.)Jeanine Pirro suggests, "We can just simply say, if there is an issue, that I am redecorating it for our anniversary.” She complains that Kerik’s man is, “uncomfortable with that.”
Kerik responded by saying, “But Jeanine, I’m having the same f------g problem with everybody. Everybody is panic stricken because it’s you. I’ve gone out on a limb. I had two other people looking at this. It’s a problem.”
Pirro said, “What am I supposed to do, Bernie? Watch him f--k her every night? What am I supposed to do? I can go on the boat. I’ll put the f-----g thing on myself.”
Minutes later, Kerik called a contact at Giuliani Partners, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s consulting firm, asking him to find a recording device, according to documents.
This afternoon, after WNBC 4 broke the story, Pirro held an emotional press conference. You can watch WNBC's video - it's really incredible - but here's a description of one part from the NY Times:
“There is no way — when I have the opportunity to be the first woman attorney general in the history of this state — that I am going to be pushed out of this race because somebody wants to delve into the personal lives of my husband and myself,” she said. “I’m standing up for myself and I’m standing up for women.”Pirro believes that investigation is politically motivated - a "witch hunt and smear campaign" - saying that one of the federal attorneys was the same one that sucessfully prosecuted her husband in 2000 for tax evasion; here's a statement from the US Attorney's office. Pirro also said she wanted to keep her marriage going because of her children - and besides, if she had bugged her husband's boat, that's legal because it's private property (or something like that).Ms. Pirro said that she ultimately decided against surreptitiously taping her husband. “I was a very angry woman, and I said a lot of things, but what matters is what I did and didn’t do,” she said. “I didn’t do anything here other than vent.”
"Sometime last year, I came to believe that my husband was seeing another woman," Pirro said. "In the midst of matrimonial discord, I was angry and had him followed to see if what I suspected was true. Although I spoke about taping him, there was no taping by me of anyone. There was anger, and frustration, and disappointment."Ben Smith at the Daily Politics has some interesting insights: 1) One of Dienst's producers is a former FBI agent; and 2) it's probably not good news for her campaign. The NY Times' Empire Zone says that Rudy Giuliani is no longer holding a fundraiser for Pirro. Pirro says she's not dropping out of the Attorney General race - yet - but we want to know what you think:
You can check out her website see her new ad, which touts her experience. We saw it during the 11PM news.
Photograph of Jeanine Pirro during yesterday's press conference by Kathy Wilens/AP
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Her husband is toxic. And so is she. But that just leaves Cuomo. :( Sorry, not a big fan of his. I don't think neither would really fight for the people.
doesn't sound like she did anything wrong. If anything it shows that she is a tough monkey. The botox treatments are also looking better than ever. I think she finally figured out the right dosage. Will be interesting to see who was behind leaking the information.
don't blame me, I wanted Charlie King.
I also didn't understand her reply on why she still stays with her husband. She said it was for the children. well, her child is a teen. I think he could handle it. Especially with a mother like that.
I'm sorry. I've got to say it. For her age she is smoking hot!
I happen to be an expert on reading peoples body language and the look on Pirros face in the two pics up above strongly suggest a woman who has been holdong in a powerful fart for too long.
test
If I were her campaign manager or chief of staff I would tell her there's only one viable option: admit that she is gay. Gay gay super-lesbian gay. Now get off her back, she's trying to run a serious campaign. Let's focus on the issues here!
I agree with Elderta. The AG race this year is very disappointing. If Pirro is talking about bugging her own husband, what's to stop her from bugging the public? (Saying it's legal because it's private proerpty still doesn't make me feel comfortable.) And I feel Cuomo is running on the coat-tails of his father.
I think I agree with most of all of the above - she's a tough monkey, she should admit she's gay, the AG race is a snooze. (I still think she looks scary, though.)
The only "downside" to these tapes is how she belittles the position of AG, because it just brings up how she's not taken very seriously in her own party, mostly due to her husband. Which is sad, yet typical. I'd like to think that a male candidate with a tax-evading wife would get equally raked over the coals.
She looks hot????
Only if you are in botox & plastic surgery
And I actually agree with this quote from Edward Cox - the son-in-law of former President Nixon: "The fact that she would think about doing this to her husband raises questions about her judgment and about whether you want that individual as attorney general."
She kind of looks like an older Eva Longoria, sometimes...
In any case, she's a scumbag for playing dumb with the hubby's tax evasion/fraud case (she signed joint returns that were bogus, then claimed she didn't realize what she was signing). Pretty weak claim for any lawyer, but for a DA...
Her personal screwups are no match though for her screwups while in ofice. The biggest and worst of those is the case of Richard DiGuglielmo. See here and here for all the details.
Hey Jen: How come we get a gleeful, trashy feature on Pirro, but didn't get jack-shit when President Clinton made an ass out of himself last weekend? We could have had a poll on who is the bigger man: Mr. Clinton, or his wife, who's been fighting his battle with Condi all week. God.
clinton's didn't make as ass of himself. in a very dignified manner, he skewered chris wallace, who came off like a parody of a conservative, biased fox news on-air personality.
i think that pirro continuining to run is great. she keeps making her chances of winning worse and worse, and won't drop out. it's yet another sign that the repubs are doommed. keep it up, pirro!
I LMAO when I heard the news. She's a decent D.A., but her political campaigns are one joke after another...
She isn't hot. I miss Bill.
I read this blog all the time now, it seems to frequently pop up on Google News as one of the top 3 articles in a category.
So..her husband was found guilty of hiding money. $1.2 Million. (If i hid $10 from my wife she'd know.) I was under the impression that the role of Attorney General included being the main legal advisor to the state. Why didn't she advise her husband:
"Hey Playa....that 1.2 Mill you have been hiding? I recommend you unhide it to avoid criminal charges"
The way she seethes and squirms... she's hot.
You know, here you have a woman who's married to a guy who's mobbed to the eyeballs, and who wants to be *attorney general* for crying out loud, and everyone stands around and wonders why she's crashing and burning every single day. One has to wonder about the good voters in Westchester who kept re-electing her DA for all those terms. Either she did a better job of hiding the husband, or Al got some of his "friends" to help with the election (and you thought the Democrats had a hammerlock on such activity).
I can't hardly wait to see what happens to her today.
As for her coming out, yeah, it could give her a bump (no pun intended) but if she admits she's gay she can kiss that national GOP money goodbye. On the other hand, that ship may have already sailed.
Wipe off your lips and get up off your knees, Soda Boy. No matter how you view Clinton, he did make a fool of himself. Not very Presidential whatsoever -- go ahead now, insert your Bush joke.
The fact is that he wasn't given the usual imperial treatment by a member of the press and got all riled over it. Simple as that. Now his little lady has to spend the week letting us know how tough and strong he is, or was.
If she wants to stand up for women everywhere she should divorce that loser of a husband.
Then she should still not be elected as AG because she was going to illegally wiretap someone. Hello!
Whether or not Clinton acted presidential is irrelevant -he hasn't been president in six years. He and Fox had an agreement that Fox violated in yet another attempt to smear him so he was justifiably pissed off.
However, what does Bill Clinton's behavior have to do with Jeanine Pirro's continued incompetence in running for AG? Her candidacy is becoming a joke which leaves New York with self-aggrandizing political hack Andrew Cuomo as the likely next AG.
WORST FACELIFT EVER
Between her and Rosanna Scotto, i don't know who is more scary.
agreed, anomalous. it's only the rabid, wacko extreme right wingers who think that clinton came off badly during his interview with chris wallace.
back on topic... pirro is yet another example of morally-challenged republicans so hungry for power that they're willing to destroy themselves in the process. keep it up, repubs!
She looks like the actress playing Malcom's mother in Malcolm in the Middle.
I will not repeat the really tacky parts of Come on Now (whom I assume is the same person as Mon. B) but this was just too rich:
"The fact is that he wasn't given the usual imperial treatment by a member of the press and got all riled over it. Simple as that."
hahahaha
Gannon, paid hacks, signed loyalty oaths, segregated and controlled crowds- of the list goes on. Dont even try to talk about "imperial Treatment" and the difference in the way our media has treated Bill and George. Unlesss you feel that a blow job is a worse crime than making shit up that lead to the deaths of thousands- which hey, maybe you do.
Back on topic, I caught a bit of her press conference and was stunned by her self importance and twisted logic. Saying that it wasn't the business of the Feds to get into her family life- whaaaa? Investigators investigate- your problem that you are married to a crook. And then essentially blasting them for actions she "wanted" to use. And that I am sure has used in the daily workings of her office against other people- such self entitlement.
I am no fan of Cuomo- but plan on voting for him so as to avoid having a DA who just stinks of being the Italian version of the "Two Toilet Irish" with everything that implies.
And don't gget me started on Kerik
What IS it with these Repubs & their love for wiretapping?
I voted for Charlie King too
It seems so many of today's elections come down to a choice for the lesser of two evils. You have to love the expression in those two pictures above, though. It's like, "What am I supposed to do?" Hey, lady, if you don't know, don't expect my vote.
I'm seriously considering not even voting for AG this year. Is that wrong? Mark Green gets on my nerves, too, but at least he's always a scrappy little fighter.
Can anybody convince me to vote for Cuomo or Pirro? A blogging friend of mine thinks Pirro has been been somewhat effective in Westchester, but still, I don't want to have to hear about her husband's faux pas all the time. And Cuomo? Two words always come to mind with him: political hack.
Sigh.
elderta, if you don't like "political hacks" then i would think that you'd dislike mark green. the guy is not only a professional political, but he can't seem to win an election and, as far as i know, doesn't have a single interesting idea.
Memo to Pirro: You have an unhealthy obsession with gonads. Terribly sorry your husband can't keep it in his pants, but that's no excuse for stupidity. In the meantime, come up with a better reason I should vote for you than the fact that you have ovaries. Your ovaries did not get a law degree. Yours, etc.etc.
In other news, welcome to Gothamist, astroturfers! In the interest of full disclosure, how much do your bosses pay you to pop by and shill your propaganda?
dan... you are so right. I've seen Green speak a number of times over the past few years, and he's passionate, but he's got the hack, it's true. However, he did edit a solid book on progressive issues under his "New Democracy Project" impetus back in 2004. I went to a conference at NYU that was sponsored by the NDP, pretty good. Green loves to talk, though.
Hey, I went to your site... I know one of your actresses from Billionaires for Bush. Small world. She's got a lot of blood on her!
I do not support Jeanine Pirro politically, but somehow the wire-tapping angle doesn't seem too out there for me. There is no fury like an (Italian) woman scorned.
It is unfortunate that she always appears cock-eyed in photographs. It is also unfortunate that her husband always appears to have his cock-inside - somebody else. If he can't keep it in his pants, he should be more on the DL.
She's got the semi-cross-eyed Cheri Oteri look about her. Still hot though.
The irony of an AG who finds conspiracy 'above the law' is delicious. Of course she'll get elected.
F*ck this bitch for playing the "I’m standing up for women" card. I hope she loses the election and dies soon after.
You know, I was wondering what the fuck the Clinton flap was over the weekend, seeing all the Post front pages and all. (I assumed it was a fairly "fake" controversy, since the Times didn't cover it.) Thanks to these comments I can go find it on YouTube.
You'd have to be a moron to think that Clinton looks bad in that interview. Matthews starts by quoting Bin Laden's statements as though they are a valid criticism of the U.S. actions! ("Yeah, well, Bin Laden said that it was proof the U.S. was weak...")
It's really sad that after all of the obvious failures of the Bush administration that so many conservatives still have this religious fervor. Seriously, what will it take to leave fantasyland behind and tune in to reality?
Who cares what she looks like? Women are sometimes pretty, sometimes ugly, it occurs all the time. Have none of you ever seen a woman before? Get over it. The issues are supposed to be what's relevant.
And since she supports illegal wiretapping, she shouldn't be AG, because her own motives supersede any principles. The more people like that we put in power, the more dangerous things will become.
REALITY CHECK, I understand your annoyance over her looks being debated, but both her looks AND her agenda are being skewered. Why? Because we women get critiqued like this by myraid men, many times, every day. And sometimes by other women. It only magnifies if you are in the public eye, politically or otherwise. I don't see why you are surprised. This post simply reflects what women are unfairly subjected to every day.
Sadly, is this news to any of us?
And I only said she was cock-eyed so I could also get in a jab about her husband's cock as well. Plus I like saying the word "cock."
Unfortunately, your sentiment is lost upon the commenters on gothamist, and also upon most men in general.
Andrew Cuomo's always reminded me of Herman Munster with a perm.
Does anyone remember what Hillary did when she found about Bill's escapades with Monica Lewinsky?
Hillary didn't call Bernie Kerik.
She dealt with it, stayed married and is now going for her second term as an US Senator.
Because Hillary looked at the bigger picture. I won't speculate on her reasons for doing so but she did. And Jeanine didn't. And may be intellectually incapable of doing so. EVER.
This revelation isn't about women or invasion of privacy -- it's about a blind spot that she has when it comes to her career and her husband.
It seems to me she believes she can TRULY have it all -- shady & wealthy felonious husband, successful political career, an intact family life and she hasn't realized yet that one of those may have to be sacrificed.
Now, here's a question --
if Bernie Kerik's phone calls were being taped
when are the phone calls between Bernie and Rudy going to be released to the public?
Cause I have the popcorn ready for those!
#24- "Two toilet Irish"? What does that even mean?
She's got poor judgement, mob ties and a Lee Press-On face.
Full disclosure: I'm Irish and have two toilets.
Hillary didn't call Bernie Kerik.
She dealt with it, stayed married and is now going for her second term as an US Senator.
Because Hillary looked at the bigger picture.
I think it's important to note that Hillary is married to Bill freakin' Clinton! Pirro is married to some douche-bag. Hillary obviously realized that Bill Clinton is a big part of the big picture, whereas Pirro would be better off without her husband.
It seems like you've got to be a criminal in order to get endorsed by the GOP. Pirro was "outed" as being mobbed-up when she first ran for DA, and her tax fraud "Ooops! I didn't know!" excuse would have landed any of us in prison. (She DOES have a law degree, so playing ignorant of the law doesn't say much about her qualifications, does it?)
As for the claim that Kerik "lost the Homeland Security nomination over nanny issues": no one has ever shown that there WAS a nanny. Bernie found out he was going down & made up the nanny story as a red herring. Look at the much-reduced charges that he pleaded guilty to. Nothing there about paying a nanny off the books... but much dealing with mobsters, ripping off the taxpayers, violating the public trust, income tax cheating, misuse of office... the list goes on and on.
Yep... real republican "values" here. This fish stinks from the head on down.
Hmmmm, Her husband's a player and his dirty laundry's coming out the hamper at the worest time. This chick brought this on herself, She should have dropped him as soon as she foundout he was cheating on her . You have to think about your political future here . I hear all the time about how the women want to be respected and all that jazz. Well ladies when you all do things like this shit happens ! He realized at some point that he could get away with playing her and took full advantage of it . He's a player ladies, Don't confuse the title with athletics . She knew he was playing her and she let him do it . The good thing here is she was smart enough to hold him to the them payments per month . Everything else is just stupid .
oh, By the way she is highly bangable ! I don't care how old she is . Fella's this is an older womon that at some point in the comming weeks is going to need a good hard, slow, deep, sweaty, loud fucking !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And maybe a bottle and some weed afterwards .
I love to see a woman with moxie and this one has it. She is as passionate as anyone can be. Como is a real dope and his father ruined that Como name years ago. The last thing people want is another Como in office. Jeanine is full of fire and hot as hell, she has the nicest set of legs on any woman in office and lips that could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch. I'd fuck her all night long!! Dump the hubby baby I'm ready for ya! Good luck Jeanine!