Former New York city police chief Bernard Kerik appeared at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today, where he pleaded not guilty to charges that he lied to White House officials while being considered for Homeland Security Secretary.
Kerik, 53, was indicted in Washington last week based on charges originally filed in New York. He is accused of failing to report that he had received $255,000 worth of free renovations from a contractor who sought to do business with the city. A federal judge the Southern District of New York dismissed the charges as part of a larger case because the vetting took place in Washington.
Kerik appeared at the courthouse today with his New York-based attorney, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel partner Barry Berke, and Michael Horowitz, partner in the D.C. office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Bosworth, who has led the prosecution in New York, appeared in court today as well, explaining he would also be handling the case in Washington.
From the start of the proceeding, Judge Rosemary Collyer acknowledged the indictment in Washington was “a tiny little bit of something that’s much larger,” she told the lawyers, before asking for a summary of where the parties stood on discovery issues (both sides said they were nearly through). Kerik is set to go to trial Oct. 13 in New York, where he faces counts of tax fraud, conspiracy and making false statements while being vetted for another federal post.
Collyer agreed to a joint request from both the defense and prosecution to hold the Washington case until the New York trial had been completed.
“We largely are going to be trying essentially the same charges,” Bosworth acknowledged.
In a press conference outside the courthouse, Berke said he had tried to convince the U.S. Attorneys Office not to file extra charges in D.C., and accused them of trying to create the impression that they were bringing new allegations against his client.
“The charges filed in D.C. are identical to the charges filed in New York,” he said. “They’re based on the same old events that happened ten years ago.”
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