Via Brian Ross: Giuliani Defends, Employs Priest Accused of Molesting Teens

Presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani hired a Catholic priest to work in his consulting firm months after the priest was accused of sexually molesting two former students and an altar boy and told by the church to stop performing his priestly duties.

The priest, Monsignor Alan Placa, a longtime friend of Giuliani and the priest who officiated at his second wedding to Donna Hanover, continues to work at Giuliani Partners in New York, to the outrage of some of his accusers and victims’ groups, which have begun to protest at Giuliani campaign events.

[...]

“I know the man; I know who he is, so I support him,” Giuliani said. “We give some of the worst people in our society the presumption of innocence and benefit of the doubt,” he said. “And, of course, I’m going to give that to one of my closest friends.”

Well, it would seem that the situation goes beyond mere accusations, since the man is no longer allowed to function as a priest.

Giuliani continues to have this string of problematic facts dribble out about his life and business dealings, yet it seems not to damage him. This kind of hiring and his public defense is a legitimate issue, as it goes to Giuliani’s qualifications to make appointments as president. Also the notion that because Giuliani “know[s] the man” that that should be good enough to explain the situation sounds far too much like Bush cronyism for my comfort. There is already the case of Kerik that fits this mold as well.

What I find interesting, politically speaking, is despite a number of negative stories that raise questions about his character and judgment that none of this stuff seems to matter to a large number of potential Republican voters (much like Rudy’s views on social issues).

Update: I note that Andrew Sullivan sees the Bush-Giuliani parallels also.