CPAC welcomes convicted, accused
At the time of last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, Bernard Kerik was in federal prison for tax evasion and lying to federal investigators. At this year’s conference, the former New York Police Commissioner received a warm welcomtra scandal, as he attacked President Barack Obama for “drawing false red lines with pink crayons.”
Dinesh D’Souza, the filmmaker facing criminal charges for allegedly donating to a Senate campaign, took the stage an hour later to preview his latest film. CPAC is different from various conservatives: a chance for 2016 presidential candidates to stand up to GOP activists, for example, and a trip to the national stage for ambitious state-level representatives seeking higher office.
It has also become a haven for Republicans in trouble with the law .Kerik, who was released from prison in May after pleading guilty to eight felonies in 2009, appeared on a panel on criminal justice reform with Perry, the Texas governor, and anti-tax icon Grover Norquist.
“A true American hero who was hit by the left when he was nominated by President Bush to be Secretary of Homeland Security,” said Pat Nolan, a representative of the American Conservative Union, who introduced the disgraced Kerik, who became famous as New York’s police chief on September 11. 2001. .
“Unfortunately, this great man, this hero, was sent to prison, spent three years in custody, and now behind bars he has a different perspective than when he ran a very efficient prison,” added Nolan, who oversees it. the ACU Foundation’s Center for Criminal Justice Reform.
Kerik was unrepentant when he argued for reform of mandatory minimum sentences. “We’re putting people in jail because of regulatory and administrative issues,” he said. “They don’t need jail.”
“When I went to federal prison, I was housed with men who I think did very bad things,” he added, wearing a tailored suit. “Today in America, a country with the greatest constitution in the world, I have fought for it, defended it, almost died for it more times than I can count… the system is broken, the punishment does not fit the crime, and it needs to be fixed. ”
