PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — There will be no vote by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner this week.
An anticipated report from the House select committee handling an investigation into his office falls well short of issuing any recommendations.
Select Committee Chairman Rep. John Lawrence, R-West Grove, calls it a “second interim report” updating the investigation.
“That investigation remains ongoing. This interim report contains some of the findings of the committee's investigation to date,” said Lawrence.
The report points to a rise in crime that corresponds with Krasner’s overhaul of the District Attorney’s office.
It says Krasner “purged the office of institutional knowledge” by firing more than 30 prosecutors when he first took office. It also says Krasner hasn’t properly trained newly hired prosecutors, as he withdrew from a statewide district attorneys’ association that offers training.
The report also criticizes Krasner for failing to cooperate with the committee.
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Judging by his actions, Krasner was among those who thought the report would recommend impeachment, as he took to the Capitol steps in Harrisburg on Friday to argue his case, again accusing the committee of playing politics while not letting him testify in public.
Late last week, there were House Republicans urging for a more in-depth investigation.
Others including Rep. Martina White, R-Philadelphia, urged immediate action.
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“The citizens of Pennsylvania cannot afford for us to fail or wait any longer,” said White.
The report said the committee conducted several interviews, reviewed dozens of documents, and issued six subpoenas, one of those to Krasner’s office.
To impeach Krasner would require a simple majority vote in the Republican-controlled House. If it were to pass, the state Senate would conduct a trial. A two-thirds majority vote in the Senate would be required to convict Krasner and remove him from office. If all members vote, two-thirds is 34 senators. There are 28 Republicans, one independent who caucuses and votes with Republicans, and 21 Democrats.
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The idea of impeaching Krasner bubbled up during the Republican primary, but the first official action came in June, when a group of Republicans from central and western Pennsylvania announced they were going to introduce articles of impeachment.
They introduced a resolution that created the select investigative committee. There has been a lot of back-and-forth between the committee and the District Attorney’s Office. In September, the House voted to find Krasner in contempt for failure to reply to a subpoena. Kranser argued the committee was requesting privileged grand jury information that he, by law, could not turn over, and he is fighting the subpoena.
There are only a handful of days remaining in the current legislative session. There were questions whether the select investigative committee could continue into the next session. With today’s report, it appears Republican leadership believes it can.