Bernard Kerik Is Cooperating With Jack Smith’s Probe of Trump, but Former NYPD Chief Insists He Hasn’t ‘Flipped’

The cooperation of a former New York City police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, with Special Counsel Jack Smith adds a Gotham accent — by way of a Shakespearean tale of betrayal, loyalty, and self-interest — to the criminal probe into President Trump ahead of next year’s presidential election. Messrs. Smith, Kerik, and Trump, as well as Mayor Giuliani, all became figures of note in the five boroughs, respectively as a prosecutor, police commissioner, real estate mogul, and mayor. They are now legally linked by the fallout from the events of January 6, 2021. Mr. Trump is a criminal target of Mr. Smith’s office, and the other two are likely eager to avoid a similar fate. Mr. Kerik’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, disclosed that he shared thousands of pages of documents with the special counsel’s office. He pegged the haul as comprising “approximately 600MB, mostly PDFs,” and disclosed that he is scheduled to meet with Mr. Smith in “approximately two weeks.” Mr. Giuliani has already met with the special counsel’s office, a conference he described as “voluntary.” Mr. Kerik took to Twitter to clarify, sua sponte, “No one has flipped, no one is selling out Trump or Giuliani. This is about giving the Special Counsel the evidence that the legal team collected” relating to “voter/election fraud and improprieties in that election.” Mr. Giuliani appointed Mr. Kerik police commissioner in 2000. Previously Hizzoner’s chauffeur and bodyguard, he held the post for 16 months. The 9/11 attacks transpired during his tenure. The former police commissioner was nominated by President George W. Bush to be secretary of homeland security, only to withdraw and subsequently plead guilty to eight felonies, including tax fraud and making false statements. He was sentenced to four years in prison, and served three. He was later pardoned by Mr. Trump.Of interest to Mr. Smith will likely be Mr. Kerik’s activities in the wake of the 2020 election. He stood behind Mr. Giuliani at the memorable Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference, and joined him in efforts to overturn the election results. According to documents provided to the January 6 committee, his firm billed Mr. Trump’s campaign nearly $70,000 for its services. A “privilege log” submitted by Mr. Kerik to the January 6 committee lists several records that the former commissioner refused to turn over. These include a “Draft Letter from POTUS to Seize Evidence in the Interests of National Security for the 2020 Elections.” The date on that document is December 17, 2020, the day before a notorious Oval Office meeting where that plan was discussed with, among others, General Flynn and an attorney, Sidney Powell. Mr. Smith has expressed interest in that gathering, where the participants reportedly also discussed the possibility of imposing martial law and appointing Ms. Powell as a special counsel to investigate allegations of fraud in the 2020 election. Mr. Giuliani was present at that meeting, as well. Mr. Kerik tweets that the recent trove of documents was turned over only after he “recently received the appropriate waivers from President Trump to allow us to relinquish those documents to the Special Counsel.” Mr. Kerik shielded those records from the January 6 committee on the basis of attorney-client privilege. Already public is another document authored by Mr. Kerik, “Strategic Communications Plan: Giuliani Presidential Legal Defense Team.” It aspires to “educate the public on the fraud numbers, and inspire citizens to call upon legislators and Members of Congress to disregard the fraudulent vote count and certify the duly-elected President Trump.” It could soon constitute evidence against the former president, and, possibly, Mr. Kerik.Mr. Trump’s decision to waive claims of executive privilege over Mr. Kerik’s documents suggests that the former president, who could be indicted at any moment, has reckoned that the former commissioner’s evidence helps rather than hurts his case. Mr. Trump could argue that he sincerely believed that the election was stolen. That possibility was raised to the Sun by one of Mr. Trump’s former attorneys, David Schoen, who said that his one-time client believed with “100 percent certainty” that the 2020 election was marred by fraud. Mr. Kerik’s materials, which include the admonition, “You cannot let America itself be stolen by criminals — you must take a stand and you must take it today,” could underscore that defense. Mr. Kerik’s materials could implicate not only Mr. Trump, but also Mr. Giuliani, his former boss who hired him for the post-election push and who faces potential charges from both Mr. Smith and the district attorney of Fulton County, Fani Willis. Mr. Parlatore notes in a statement that his client’s tranche includes “all the substance of the fraud investigation” that was under Mr. Giuliani’s purview, and is now in front of Mr. Smith’s eyes.

Bernard Kerik Is Cooperating With Jack Smith’s Probe of Trump, but Former NYPD Chief Insists He Hasn’t ‘Flipped’

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