Kerik Justice Bubble

By The Franklin Lakes Journal

Published: February 18, 2010

Federal prosecutors had argued that Franklin Lakes resident Bernard Kerik be punished not only for his crimes but for “egotism and hubris”.

Defense attorneys agreed with proposed guidelines that would have sent Mr. Kerik to jail for between two and three years. But in operatic fashion, federal Judge Stephen C. Robinson went beyond that recommendation with a sentence of four years in prison.

“The fact that Mr. Kerik would use that event (9/11) for personal gain and aggrandizement is a dark place in the soul for me,” said Judge Robinson from his bubble inside the federal courthouse in White Plains. Defense attorneys had no comment as to whether the exploitation of 9/11 by Mayor Rudy Giuliani, President George Bush and scores of other politicians who have profited would play in any sentencing appeal.

Mr. Kerik pled guilty to an assortment of charges that, unfortunately, can be perceived as ironic to many Americans. Lying on a loan application carries the potential for thirty years in prison, even though only an insignificant number of people have been prosecuted for their complicity in the mortgage scandal that has crippled the country. Lying to the White House during a job interview for Director of Homeland Security could have brought on a ten year prison sentence for Mr. Kerik. But for many Americans it may be hard to see lying to the White House as a real crime ( See the Golden Rule).

Judge Robinson stated during sentencing, “I think the damage caused by Mr. Kerik is in some ways immeasurable.” As Mr. Kerik did not launch a shameless effort to exploit 9/11 in a disjointed campaign for the office of President, and he is not responsible for the quagmire of three ongoing wars on foreign soil, it is understandable why Judge Robinson was left speechless in describing the damage inflicted by Mr.Kerik; and, one can assume a lack of substantial damage makes it difficult to measure.

It can be argued, certainly by Judge Robinson, that Mr.Kerik is being sentenced for a multitude of crimes committed against the American people - rather than just his own crimes.