Bernard Kerik

Bernard Bailey Kerik (September 4, 1955 – May 29, 2025) was an American consultant, police officer and convicted felon who was the 40th Commissioner of the New York Police Department from 2000 to 2001. Kerik joined the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in 1986. He served from 1998 to 2000 as commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction and from 2000 to 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 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 for tax fraud and making false statements. In February 2010, he was sentenced to four years in federal prison, of which he served three years. In 2020, he obtained a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump for his federal convictions for tax fraud, ethics violations, and criminal false statements. After the 2020 United States presidential election, Kerik supported Trump's false claims of voter fraud and attempted to help overturn the election results.