An investigator with the House of Representatives’ select committee investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach has admitted privately that the panel erroneously asserted a former New York City police commissioner was in Washington on Jan. 5, but the assertion remains on the committee’s website.
Bernard Kerik, the former commissioner, was subpoenaed earlier this monthby the panel, formally known as the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
In announcing the subpoena, the panel, which is primarily comprised of Democrats after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rejected several Republican picks, claimed that Kerik “reportedly participated” in a Jan. 5 meeting at the Willard Hotel in Washington.
In the subpoena itself (pdf), the panel cited three sources for its claim: the book “Peril,” penned by two Washington Post reporters, and two articles published by the paper.
The problem? None of the sources actually say Kerik was at the reported meeting.
In a letter to Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who chairs the committee, a lawyer representing Kerik said that the allegation was false.
“He wasn’t even in Washington DC, as he was in New York dealing with a family medical emergency,” Timothy Parlatore wrote in the missive, which was obtained by The Epoch Times.
Tollbooth records from Kerik’s vehicle published by Just the News back the assertion he was in New York on that day. Parlatore and Kerik confirmed to The Epoch Times the records are from Kerik’s vehicle.
“I was shocked,” Kerik said, recounting when he first learned of the panel’s claim.
Parlatore accused the committee of fabricating the claim, since none of the sources it cited said Kerik was at the alleged meeting.
“Someone either intentionally fabricated this claim, or someone failed at the simple task of carefully reading the sources before writing a letter claiming that the sources ‘have revealed credible evidence.’ There was no ‘credible evidence,’ because it never happened,” Parlatore told Thompson.
He also said that Kerik will comply with the subpoena.
An investigator with the panel on Nov. 23 responded to Parlatore, acknowledging the apparent falsehood.
“In advance of our deposition of Mr. Kerik, we wanted to correct an error in the letter accompanying the subpoena that you accepted on his behalf,” the investigator wrote in an email viewed by The Epoch Times.
The staffer acknowledged that one of the articles “does not say that he was at the Willard Hotel on January 5th, specifically, as the Select Committee letter indicates.” He did not address the book or the other article also not backing the claim.
“Nonetheless, the Select Committee still believes that Mr. Kerik has information about efforts to evaluate claims of election fraud and other matters relevant to its inquiry,” the staffer wrote.
The staffer, a spokesman for the committee, and a spokesman for Thompson did not respond to requests for comment on the letter. The panel’s spokesman declined comment earlier when questioned on the claim.
The erroneous information is still on the panel’s website.
Kerik plans to present the panel with information he gathered while researching possible fraud in the 2020 election. Former President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he would waive privilege claims for Kerik.
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