Kerik Lawyer Says Prosecutors Tainted Jury

[babylonsister]

Kerik Lawyer Says Prosecutors Tainted Jury
Thursday, Dec. 06, 2007 By AP/JIM FITZGERALD


(WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.) — Federal prosecutors have ruined former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik's chances for a fair trial by making public some of his conversations with his lawyers, his attorney says.

Kerik, the Rudy Giuliani protege who was briefly nominated for Homeland Security chief, was indicted last month on charges including selling his office in exchange for $255,000 in apartment renovations, lying to the White House, filing false income taxes and avoiding the nanny tax. He has pleaded not guilty.

In a letter to the judge filed late Wednesday in federal court, Kerik defense counsel Kenneth Breen said prosecutors were ''tainting the jury pool and irreparably harming Mr. Kerik's ability to obtain a fair trial.''

A week ago, prosecutors suggested to Judge Stephen Robinson that Breen might have to be disqualified from representing Kerik because he could be called as a witness.

They said he could testify about alleged false statements made by Kerik during an earlier investigation into the renovations by Bronx prosecutors.

The government did not claim that Breen himself has acted improperly.

more...

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1691972,00.html

[acmavm]

1. Oh, okay. Then let him slide

:sarcasm:

[RC]

2. The repugs are so incestuous.

"A week ago, prosecutors suggested to Judge Stephen Robinson that Breen might have to be disqualified from representing Kerik because he could be called as a witness."