![]() Since taking office, Krasner has stopped seeking cash bail for some low-level offenses, a move to reduce jail time that some defendants have to serve simply because they’re low-income. Krasner, who was first elected in 2017, was one of the first people to run as a self-described “progressive prosecutor” - part of a growing national movement of candidates who emphasize that the discretionary decisions made by a city’s chief attorney can have a profound effect on mass incarceration. Matt Rourke/AP A pioneering progressive prosecutor confronts rising crime in Philadelphia Members of the Pennsylvania House Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order listen to testimony during a hearing in Philadelphia on September 29. Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, who has been running ads about “ funding the police,” has not weighed in, and gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro’s campaign also declined to comment. Some other Pennsylvania Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the controversy. ![]() (Krasner argued in state court that the committee’s subpoena was illegitimate and illegal.) candidate Austin Davis, voted with Republicans in September to hold Krasner in contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena. Mastriano, who is now trying to defend himself against accusations of being anti-democratic, has become one of the few high-profile GOP officials to defend Krasner against impeachment, calling the inquiry “political grandstanding.” And dozens of Democrats, including Democratic Lt. The governor’s race also has implications for 2024 and beyond: The current Republican nominee, Doug Mastriano, led the effort to overturn Pennsylvania’s votes for Biden two years ago. In Pennsylvania, there’s a tightly contested US Senate race where the Republican candidate, Mehmet Oz, has made crime the focus of multiple attack ads. The backdrop to all of this is the midterm elections. To impeach Krasner, the committee might have to demonstrate evidence of misbehavior or corruption - not just ideological disagreement - and that could end up being the subject of yet another court fight. It’s already embroiled in one legal battle with Krasner, who has objected in court to their sweeping request for documents. The committee, dubbed the Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order, was voted into existence by nearly all House Republican lawmakers in June. They also view it as a dangerously anti-democratic effort to overturn the will of Philadelphia voters - akin to the effort to overturn the city’s votes for Biden in the 2020 election. Krasner’s allies see the state probe as a cynical stunt by a Republican-controlled legislature that both underfunds Philadelphia and blocks its leaders from passing tougher gun laws. They just don’t think Philly has a right to govern itself.” These Republicans divest from communities and then grandstand about crime for political gain.” He noted Republicans “don’t allege I’ve committed a crime. “Its devastating to democracy, and it shows how far toward fascism the Republican party is creeping. “We knew this was coming,” Krasner had written. Krasner responded Wednesday morning to the news of the impeachment articles with since-deleted Twitter thread. ![]() Republicans say they reserve the right to introduce “further or more detailed Articles of Impeachment” against Krasner in the future. The 22-page House resolution accuses Krasner of being “derelict in his obligations to the victims of crime, the people of the City of Philadelphia and of this Commonwealth,” and of obstructing the state committee’s investigation. Republicans filed two articles of impeachment. Pennsylvania’s investigation started just weeks after San Francisco voters recalled their progressive prosecutor Chesa Boudin. Republicans have claimed their investigation is about seeking solutions for rising crime, but for the past five years, they’ve been eager to connect their anti-Krasner rhetoric to the broader Democratic Party - a narrative that has fueled backlash against progressive prosecutors in other cities and painted Democrats as anti-police. The move follows a 63-page interim report released on Monday by a state committee formed to investigate Krasner and crime in Philadelphia, which did not recommend impeachment. Right before the midterms, another political drama is unfolding in Pennsylvania: Republican lawmakers have filed articles of impeachment against Philadelphia’s twice-elected district attorney Larry Krasner, who ran on a platform of reducing mass incarceration and the criminalization of poverty.
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