Friday, October 23, 2009

Bernard Kerik pushed Bush for executive clemency in 2008

In the waning days of the Bush administration, Bernard Kerik made a bid for executive clemency after he was indicted on corruption charges, new court papers reveal.

That surprise attempt was part of Kerik's long, desperate campaign to rebut criminal charges by all means, including Facebook and Twitter.

This campaign emerged in 217 pages of material federal prosecutors released yesterday as Kerik spent his first full day in Westchester County Jail for ignoring Judge Stephen Robinson's warning not to tamper with the jury pool in his upcoming trial.

The documents show that starting after his federal indictment in November 2007, Kerik and, later, one of his lawyers, Anthony Modafferi, used the Internet to charge prosecutorial misconduct.

In an Oct. 14 letter demanding Kerik be jailed, Assistant U.S. Attorney Perry Carbone noted a never-before-disclosed "executive clemency petition allegedly filed with the White House in the fall of last year."

In a sworn affidavit unsealed yesterday, Kerik noted his discussion about "the clemency petition" with Modafferi, the head of his legal defense fund.

The records don't say if the petition was sent.

If it was, the Bush administration took no action. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/10/22/2009-10-22_bernard_kerik_pushed_president_bush_for_executive_clemency_in_2008.html#ixzz0UjItNYRd

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