Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) subpoenaed Bernie Kerik, demanding he testify in her racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election. A lawyer for Kerik reportedly replied to Willis on Monday, declaring the former New York Police Department (NYPD) commissioner and alleged unindicted co-conspirator would not testify under oath without assurances he will not be prosecuted.
Kerik was previously identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in the case against Trump and his allies by CNN, and the outlet now claims to have reviewed a Monday letter from lawyer Tim Parlatore, who represents Kerik, that rebukes Willis’s demands.
Though CNN reported Parlatore requested legal immunity for his client in exchange for his testimony, the lawyer seemed to dispute this in a statement to Fox News Digital, clarifying his letter to Willis merely stated Kerik would not testify under oath without immunity, but did not request immunity from Willis’s office.
“To expect my client to testify under oath with no immunity,” Parlatore reportedly told the website, “I think Mr. Wade needs to go back to law school,” referring to defense attorney Nathan Wade, whose office has received more than $550,000 for his role as special prosecutor in the case against Trump.
In his letter, Parlatore reportedly told Willis that “no competent criminal attorney would allow Mr. Kerik to testify absent a grant of immunity,” and stressed that Kerik “has done nothing wrong and rejects” Willis’s “claim that he is a co-conspirator in any alleged criminal conduct.”
Parlatore continued, according to CNN, “[y]ou made the public accusation, so you must now live with the consequences of Mr. Kerik (and presumably all other alleged unindicted co-conspirators) invoking their 5th Amendment rights and refusing to testify.”
Trump was a previous client of Parlatore, who Politico explained represented the former president on matters related to special prosecutor Jack Smith’s 2020 election case against Trump, and the case over Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Despite reportedly leaving the legal team over a disagreement with another Trump ally, Parlatore said he expects Smith’s case against Trump to “totally die” at trial.
In her indictment, Willis seemed to allege Kerik participated in meetings with state lawmakers in Arizona and Pennsylvania in an effort to contest the 2020 election results, though he was not named. Kerik has not been charged by Willis, and is not a defendant in any of the cases against Trump and his allies related to the 2020 election contests.
Kerik was the NYPD commissioner between 2000 and 2001, including during the September 11 terrorist attacks.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Georgia Star News and a reporter for the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Bernie Kerik” by Bannon’s WarRoom.
