Bernard Kerik

Born

1955-09-04

Died

2025-05-29

Birthplace

Newark, New Jersey, USA

Biography

Bernard Bailey Kerik (born September 4, 1955) is an American consultant and former police officer who was the 40th Commissioner of the New York Police Department from 2000 to 2001. As a convicted felon, he obtained a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump in 2020 for his numerous federal convictions for tax fraud, ethics violations, and criminal false statements. Kerik joined the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in 1986. He served from 1998–2000 as commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction and 2000–2001 as New York City Police Commissioner, during which he oversaw the police response to the September 11 attacks. Kerik conducted two extramarital affairs simultaneously, using a Battery Park City apartment that had been set aside for first responders at Ground Zero. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, President George W. Bush appointed Kerik as the interior minister of the Iraqi Coalition Provisional Authority. In 2004, Bush nominated Kerik to lead the Department of Homeland Security. However, Kerik soon withdrew his candidacy, explaining that he had employed an undocumented immigrant as a nanny. His admission sparked state and federal investigations. In 2006, Kerik pleaded guilty in the Bronx Supreme Court to two unrelated misdemeanor ethics violations and was ordered to pay $221,000 in fines. In 2009, Kerik pleaded guilty in the Southern District of New York to eight federal felony charges. In February 2010, he was sentenced to four years in federal prison. On February 18, 2020, President Donald Trump granted Kerik a full pardon for the federal convictions. After the 2020 United States presidential election, Kerik supported Trump's list of theories promoted by Donald Trump#2020 presidential election claims of voter fraud and attempted to help overturn the election results.