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By Scott Gillette | Bio
Every
reader of this column has heard about the resignation of New Jersey Governor Jim
McGreevey by now. I don’t know where to begin. The explosive and sudden events
of today in my home state boggle the mind. Not to mention the fact that there is
still so much that we don’t know. McGreevey’s
announcement that he would resign on November 15th means that there
will be no special election for governor this year. If McGreevey resigned by
September 3rd, there would be an election for governor, and some
political observers that would change the dynamics of the Presidential race. I
don’t think so. New Jersey is a heavily Democratic state, and no matter what
happens to McGreevey, it will not jeopardize Kerry’s efforts to win the state,
who is up by 13 to 15 points. Most people have made up their minds, and even if
5% of NJ’s electorate change their minds, an unprecedented number, Kerry still
wins.
But
that’s the last thing on my mind right now.
First,
we know at the very least that McGreevey had an affair with another man. Two,
that man was selected by McGreevey to serve in a state government post. Finally,
that man is now suing McGreevey for sexual harassment in court, which is what
precipitated his resignation as governor. Clearly,
McGreevey violated his marriage vows. But I see that as a personal matter
between McGreevey and his wife. (Clinton’s, uh, affair, was a public matter
because he lied about said affair under oath. And who made it the law to require
sexual harassment defendants to answer questions about their sex lives under
oath? Why, Bill Clinton did. But I digress.) McGreevey
also gave a government job to the man with whom he had an affair. Again, not
good. But how many politicians, primarily men in power, have given jobs to
people, primarily women, with whom they had sex? I can’t count that high. So
my indignation here is limited. (For those who already know the specific
details, please read on.) Was
the fact that McGreevey had a gay affair make his indiscretion worse? I don’t
think so. I don’t consider homosexuality to be a sin. It would be folly to
make sweeping generalizations about homosexuality, as its causes and variations
are infinite. But I do not consider gay people to have inherently scarred
characters. Some
people reading that statement would disagree. It’s true that the three major
monotheistic religions reject homosexuality. Those positions, when addressed
thoughtfully and respectfully, are worth examining. But, I see that as a
religious issue. It does not really belong in the public sphere in politics. And
if anyone wants to condemn homosexuality, that’s fine, but one does not have
to be an astute historian to figure out it has been around as long as people
have. (The proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage by Bush and
Rove is cynical and inappropriate. I keep digressing.) But
that is also the last thing on my mind right now, too. There
is one thing that we do know that is simply blood curdling. It is that
McGreevey’s affair was with a man who was not given just any job. He
was responsible for homeland security in the state of New Jersey. This man
was hired to coordinate all the state agencies in order to effectively combat
terrorist threats. He was New Jersey’s Tom Ridge.
That
man’s name is Golan Cipel. He is not an American citizen, but an Israeli one.
That meant Cipel did not have access to classified federal documents critical to
conducting his job. He is about 33 years old, which is very young for someone to
have such an important position. His experience in the Israeli military gave him
some experience, but clearly there were more qualified individuals for the
position. Israeli
journalist Yossi Melman summed up the situation perfectly in 2002. "It
is rather surprising that the governor went out of his way by using the pretext
that his Israeli friend is a terrorist expert in order to accommodate him. I
find it especially troubling to use the horrible events of 9/11 as a
justification for the nomination of Golan Cipel to a highly important security
position which he was not qualified for." There is more proof that Cipel’s
qualifications were deliberately exaggerated by the McGreevey administration at
the time of the appointment. Sandy McClure of the Gannett state Bureau lays it
out here: http://www.app.com/app2001/story/0,21133,656898,00.html Fortunately, Cipel was
dismissed from that job one month later after enormous public pressure. He was
then reassigned as a “special advisor” to McGreevey, ostensibly to reach out
to the Jewish community. Then Cipel left the state government, and worked for
two firms, the MWW Group in East Rutherford and State Street Partners in
Trenton. Both firms had strong ties to McGreevey.
Adv:
What
does the government know about you? Before McGreevey came to
office, Cipel also worked as a part-time public relations officer for Charles
Kushner, who was McGreevey’s top campaign contributor and one of the biggest
real estate developers in the country. (Incidentally, federal prosecutors have
been investigating Kushner for tax fraud and illegal campaign contributions. In
an effort to prevent two former employees, who were also relatives, from
testifying against him, Kushner recruited two individuals to hire a prostitute
to entrap these potential witnesses. He was charged on July 13th, 2004.
A billionaire, he was released on $5 million bail.) The fact that McGreevey
exaggerated Cipel’s qualifications from the very beginning is beyond question.
The reason why McGreevey stuck his neck out for Cipel is pretty clear too. But
why McGreevey would pick Cipel to be his top terrorism adviser is disturbing. One-fourth
of the people killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11 were from New Jersey. The
last known address of a few of the hijackers was in Jersey City. One of the
plotters in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center attended Rutgers
University in New Jersey. There are few states in the country where there are
more young men from countries that have Al Queda recruits than New Jersey. The
most recent public announcements about the terror threat, with information that
may be several years old, listed the Prudential Building in Newark, New Jersey
as a specific target. Protecting
the homeland is without a doubt the most important issue of our time and our
lifetime. New Jersey plays as vital a role as any state in that effort. Now we
learn that McGreevey appointed a man he was having an affair with to lead the
war against terrorism on the state level. Forget
for a moment that Cipel wasn’t qualified. Cipel was in a position to blackmail
McGreevey at any time. The governor never would or could have questioned
Cipel’s conduct and performance. Moreover, McGreevey would not have been able
to fire Cipel for any reason, for fear of being outed publicly. As I write this
column, I read the following line on the Drudge Report: “McGreevey's
office had called the FBI on Thursday and complained that lover had requested $5
million to quash the suit, which assistants to the governor saw as
extortion...” If Cipel was willing to blackmail McGreevey now, it’s very
likely he would have blackmailed McGreevey in 2002. This blackmail would not
have been coming from a private citizen, or a campaign contributor, or an
official in the Department of Labor. It would have been coming from the man
responsible for coordinating the war on terror for the entire state! If it
weren’t for vocal pressure, the potential blackmail would have continued.
Get
the Updated Popup Blocker! free
download! Now, this is just what we
know right now. Apparently, Cipel’s lawsuit will accuse McGreevey of sexual
harassment, and even rape. It is unclear whether McGreevey is a tragic figure
who had been unfairly manipulated, or a sexual predator and monster as Cipel
alleges. Only God knows where this suit will end up. The philosopher Pascal once
said, “the heart has its reasons that reason cannot know.” McGreevey’s
actions do not make sense unless taken in context of his personal relationship
with Cipel. Deep attachments between people make people irrational. Nobody is
immune to this human condition. But a line has been crossed here that is public,
and sacred. McGreevey’s betrayal is too deep to ignore. There
is sufficient evidence that our generation’s long twilight struggle against
terrorism was compromised, if only for a month, by McGreevey’s personal
failings. His sexual indiscretions lead to an inexcusable lapse in judgment,
because it compromised our state and national security, when we have no margin
for error. He must resign. Immediately.
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