PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s Democratic district attorney had harsh words for the Pennsylvania Legislature in his first public statement since the vote last week to impeach him.
Lawmakers and community activists joined Larry Krasner on Monday as he called the vote a product of the “MAGA wing” of the Republican Party and said the movement to reform the criminal justice system will not be silenced.
“Once again, they're trying to tell you all what you think,” he said. “Well, the people know what they think.”
The vote to impeach Krasner broke down mainly along party lines, with all but one Republican voting in favor and all Democrats voting against. Krasner has criticized the impeachment as a Republican attempt to circumvent the will of Democratic Philadelphia voters. He said those Republicans are setting a dangerous precedent by using impeachment for political gains.
“You better be careful before you make this two-edged sword, because what we're talking about is this: If this succeeds here in Philadelphia — they put me out of the picture — are you really electing your next mayor? Are you?”
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He issued this warning to House Republicans: “If a process of people winning elections and then being removed by people who don't even live there — they can't even vote there — if that starts, don't be surprised when the other team starts bringing it to you.”
Krasner did not offer a direct response to the substance of the seven articles of impeachment, but he said he plans to before the trial begins in the state Senate.
“We are past being ignored and laughed at. We're even past having a normal kind of fight. This is now a knife fight, except only one side got the knives at the moment,” Krasner said. “They're about to find out what happens when they tick off people. We are in that moment.”
Krasner is accused of:
— Dereliction of duty.
— Obstruction of the legislative committee formed to investigate his office.
— Providing misleading or incomplete information while seeking to overturn a death sentence.
— Violating professional standards in the case against Ryan Pownall.
— Failure to disclose a conflict of interest in the Mumia Abu-Jamal case when he was a defense attorney.
— Violations of crime victims’ rights.
— Misuse of prosecutorial discretion.
It’s not clear when the trial in the Senate will start, or if additional session days will be scheduled before Nov. 30, which is the end of the legislative session.