NEW YORK — One-time publishing powerhouse Judith Regan filed a $100 million lawsuit Tuesday saying her former employers asked her to lie to federal investigators about Bernard Kerik, the recently indicted former police commissioner who was once her lover, and tried to destroy her reputation.
Regan, who worked for HarperCollins Publishers LLC, said the smear campaign stems from her past relationship with Kerik, who was police commissioner under former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and from the political agenda of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., the parent company of HarperCollins.
Regan, 54, says in court papers that News Corp.’s agenda centers on Giuliani’s presidential ambitions. It was Giuliani who appointed Kerik police commissioner and recommended him as homeland security secretary.
Kerik had to withdraw his nomination after it was revealed he had not reported the wages he paid to a nanny.
Regan says “it is now widely accepted” that one of Giuliani’s vulnerabilities is Kerik. Because of Regan’s affair with Kerik, court papers say, a senior News Corp. executive told her he believed she had information about Kerik that could hurt Giuliani and she should lie to federal investigators.
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