Fulton County subpoenas ex-NYPD commish Bernie Kerik to testify in first Georgia trial of Trump election probe

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The Fulton County District Attorney's Office has issued a subpoena for former NYPD commissioner Bernie Kerik to testify in the first trial scheduled in Georgia later this month over allegations of election interference by former President Trump and more than a dozen of his allies 2020, Fox News Digital has confirmed. 

Ahead of the upcoming trial for two of the 19 defendants – lawyer Kenneth Chesebro and former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell – scheduled to begin on Oct. 23 in Atlanta, Kerik received a subpoena to testify but plans to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights, CNN first reported Monday. Trump and the 16 others will be tried separately. 

Kerik’s attorney Tim Parlatore told Fox News Digital he asked prosecutors that if Kerik was expected to testify as a part of a conspiracy case, would they be offering immunity. Parlatore stressed to Fox News Digital, however, that he did not ask for immunity for his client. 

"And when they said no, I said I don’t care either way, but to expect my client to testify under oath with no immunity … I think Mr. Wade needs to go back to law school," Parlatore saidl, referring to special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who has been leading the election interference probe for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for nearly two years. 

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Former NYPD commissioner Bernard Kerik attends a remembrance ceremony on the 22nd anniversary of the terror attack on the World Trade Center, in New York City on Sept. 11, 2023. Kerik was subpoenaed to testify in a Georgia election case. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)

"No competent criminal attorney would allow Mr. Kerik to testify absent a grant of immunity," Parlatore wrote in a letter to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office Monday. 

"To be clear, Mr. Kerik has done nothing wrong and rejects your claim that he is a co-conspirator in any alleged criminal conduct," Parlatore wrote. "You made the public accusation, so now you must live with the consequences of Mr. Kerik (and presumably all other alleged unindicted co-conspirators) invoking their 5th Amendment rights and refusing to testify."

Kerik has not been named as a co-conspirator in court documents, which include allegations involving several unnamed individuals.

The letter says Kerik will refuse to answer questions under oath without receiving written assurances from the district attorney's office that he will not be prosecuted.

An email excerpt from Bernard Kerik to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows show during the seventh Jan. 6 committee hearing on July 12, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Parlatore claimed prosecutors have already told him, "If we wanted to indict Mr. Kerik, we would have already done so," but have so far refused to put any promises in writing. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Fulton County DA office for comment but did not immediately hear back. 

Parlatore previously confirmed to Fox News Digital in July that Kerik secured a deal with Special Counsel Jack Smith to hand over thousands of documents related to the Justice Department's investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. 

At the time, Kerik’s attorney noted that the documents could include exculpatory evidence for Trump, suggesting the former president’s investigators acted in good faith. 

Then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik at the scene of the American Airlines flight 587 crash in Rockaway, Queens in 2001. (Todd Maisel/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Kerik’s legal team had initially refused to turn over documents to the House select committee probing the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. They had cited attorney-client privilege, given that Kerik worked with Trump’s attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani on the probe. Parlatore said Kerik received a "standard proffer letter" before later agreeing to an interview with Smith’s office to answer questions related to the 2020 election aftermath and the Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol, CNN reported.

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Kerik, who served as the NYPD commissioner from 2000 to 2001, pleaded guilty in 2009 to felony charges of tax fraud and making false statements to the government. He spent about three years in prison before transitioning to home confinement and eventually supervised release. Trump pardoned Kerik for his past convictions in early 2020. 

Fox News' Andrew Murray contributed to this report.