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Presidential Clemency Record

Bernard Bailey Kerik

Pardon

  /   2017–2021

Record at a Glance

Clemency type
Pardon
Presidential term
2017–2021
Federal district
Southern District of New York
Offense
Obstructing the administration of the Internal Revenue Laws; aiding in the preparation of a false income tax return; making false statements on a loan application; making false statements (five counts)
Sentence
48 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $187,931 restitution (as amended) (May 18, 2010)
Current status
Deceased May 29, 2025.

Original Case

Bernard Kerik, a former New York City police and corrections commissioner, pleaded guilty in 2009 to eight federal felonies. He admitted obstructing the administration of federal tax laws, helping prepare a false tax return, making a false statement on a loan application, and making five false statements to the federal government. Two of the false-statement counts concerned answers he gave White House officials while being vetted to become secretary of homeland security. The admitted conduct included approximately $255,000 in renovations to Kerik's Riverdale apartment that were paid for by a contractor seeking approvals to do business with New York City. Kerik contacted city regulators concerning the contractor, failed to report the value of the renovations on his tax returns, and gave false information about the renovations and the relationship during the White House vetting process. In February 2010, the court sentenced him to 48 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $187,931 in restitution.

Clemency

Trump granted Kerik a full pardon on February 18, 2020, covering the federal convictions and sentence. The pardon did not erase the historical fact of the guilty pleas.

Trump Connection

Kerik's clemency request was supported by a group of Trump allies and conservative public figures that included Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Christopher Ruddy, Representative Peter King, Geraldo Rivera, and Judge Andrew Napolitano. The White House emphasized Kerik's leadership of the New York Police Department after the September 11 attacks, his long law-enforcement career, and his later advocacy for criminal-justice and prisoner-reentry reform. After the pardon, Kerik remained active in Trump's political orbit, including work connected to efforts to contest the 2020 election documented by the House January 6 committee. That later political activity was not part of the criminal case Trump pardoned and is not itself described here as a criminal adjudication.

Since Clemency

  • 2025-05-29 · death

    Kerik died at age 69.

    Legal Status: Death reported by AP citing FBI Director Kash Patel and statements from public officials.

Sources

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