PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The chair of the Pennsylvania House Select Committee investigating the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office had to clarify a statement, after he told the House Judiciary Committee it was the attorney general who recommended his committee take a closer look at how the DA’s office spent Gun Violence Task Force funds.
House Select Committee Chairman Rep. John Lawrence, R-West Grove, made the initial statement while fielding questions about his resolution that would urge the auditor general to look at how state funds earmarked for gun violence were actually spent.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee peppered Lawrence about whether the resolution is necessary since the Select Committee is handling the investigation.
“At this time, it’s duplicative,” said Rep. Tim Briggs, D-King of Prussia.
“What was the reason for all the wasted tax dollars?” asked Rep. Jason Dawkins, D-Philadelphia.
“I’m just curious as to whether this will waste taxpayer dollars,” said Rep. Liz Hanbridge, D-Blue Bell.
“I feel like this resolution is largely redundant,” said Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Pittsburgh.
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30 minutes after their initial questioning of Lawrence, Democrats again asked what is driving his resolution.
“What is the information that we need to know about that will allow us to make an informed decision about being yes or no on this resolution?” asked Rep. Jared Solomon, D-Philadelphia.
“It was suggested to the committee to review this, to be candid with you, by the attorney general of the commonwealth,” said Lawrence. He declined to clarify how or when Attorney General Josh Shapiro might have made the suggestion.
“Mr. Chairman, that was definitely a mic drop moment. But we're not in a mic drop business,” said Solomon.
“I'm not attempting to generate a mic drop moment or any other sort of moment,” Lawrence responded. “Just to be very candid with you, I've tried to be very forthcoming in this meeting.”
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The Attorney General’s Office says the statement is unequivocally false, adding, “The Office of the Attorney General has not made any request for an audit of the Gun Violence Task Force.”
Lawrence clarified later that Shapiro’s office gave information to the committee, but didn’t ask for an audit.
“In the course of its ongoing investigation, the Select Committee received information from a number of sources,” said Lawrence.
“As mentioned in the Second Interim report issued yesterday, the Office of Attorney General provided information to the committee for review. To be clear, the Attorney General did not request an audit, but their participation in the investigation led, in part, to the introduction of HR 239.”
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Lawrence added the resolution is needed since the Select Investigative Committee expires on Nov. 30, at the end of the session.
“Part of the reasoning for the resolution that's in front of you is that we suspect there is additional information that may need to be looked at,” said Lawrence in Tuesday's hearing.
The resolution passed the Judiciary Committee and heads to the full House.
In addition to the request to the auditor general, it would also authorize the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to look at how the Philadelphia DA’s office spent funds that were supposed to go to victims’ services.