Most of Donald Trump’s friends couldn’t pass a criminal background check to get a job working in a department store. Steve Bannon defrauded Trump’s own supporters and was convicted; he got a pardon. Rod Blagojevich tried to sell a state senate seat in Illinois after Barack Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate; Trump pardoned him. Dinesh D’Souza committed campaign finance fraud; he received a full pardon. Trump’s four years in office were happy times for grifters and criminals.
The twice-impeached ex-president who lost the popular vote twice also pardoned Bernard Kerik, the former New York City Police commissioner and ally of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, who was convicted of tax fraud and corrupt business practices involving the Mafia. Kerik, who was nominated for Homeland Security secretary by George W. Bush but withdrew after lying to White House officials during the vetting process, worked with former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani during the plot to overthrow the legal election of Joe Biden. On Friday, Kerik turned over a large number of documents to the Jan. 6 committee.
According to POLITICO:
‘Among the withheld documents is one titled “DRAFT LETTER FROM POTUS TO SEIZE EVIDENCE IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY FOR THE 2020 ELECTIONS.” Kerik’s attorney Timothy Parlatore provided the privilege log to the panel, which said the file originated on Dec. 17, a day before Trump huddled in the Oval Office with advisers including former Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, where they discussed the option of seizing election equipment in states whose results Trump was attempting to overturn.’
That strategy was never employed, but it speaks to the intentions and mindset of Trump and his allies in the days leading up to the insurrection at the Capitol Building. The Jan. 6 committee is investigating Trump and his allies and their attempts to overthrow a democratic election.
‘Another document provided by Kerik to the panel included emails between Kerik and associates about paying for rooms at the Willard Hotel. Kerik had been subpoenaed by the panel on Nov. 8 as part of its investigation into the so-called war room at the Willard Hotel, where Trump allies met to strategize about preventing Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory.’
The committee had an agreement to interview Kerik voluntarily, but have since changed that plan and have insisted on a deposition. The “privileged” documents can also be subpoenaed and Kerik may have to answer questions about them, as may Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump, among others.
‘Another 22-page document, titled “STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN – GIULIANI PRESIDENTIAL LEGAL DEFENSE TEAM,” describes a 10-day blitz aimed at Republican House and Senate members to pressure them to vote against certifying the 2020 election results. The effort was focused, according to the document, on six swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.’
