PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Several Pennsylvania House Republicans announced Monday they are starting the process of impeachment against Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, an effort the District Attorney's Office calls one of many "ongoing and increasingly desperate attempts to overturn elections they can’t win."
The effort came from western Pennsylvania Reps. Josh Kail of Beaver and Washington counties, Torren Ecker of Adams and Cumberland counties, and Tim O’Neal of Washington County.
The state representatives say their announcement stems from the recent South Street mass shooting last week. Although very early in the process, the lawmakers say they have been working on this for some time.
Krasner won a second term last year despite a legitimate primary challenge. He ran on a platform of reform, saying he would focus on more effective approaches to reduce crime, rather than what he called the “win-at-all-costs culture” in the District Attorney’s Office.
Kail, from the Pittsburgh area, alleges Krasner has “willfully ignored his constitutional duties” as district attorney and “willfully ignored the people of Philadelphia.”
"Bottom line is this: All the laws in the world don’t mean a thing if don’t have district attorneys who enforce them,” he said. “We are starting this process now because the unchecked violent crime in Philadelphia has reached a breaking point due to the willful refusal by District Attorney Krasner to enforce existing laws.”
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O’Neal, also from the Pittsburgh area, said Philadelphia is the economic driver of Pennsylvania and thus affects everyone in the state.
“If unchecked crime is keeping businesses and tourists from visiting and locating in Philadelphia, it impacts Pennsylvania as a whole,” he explained.
They launched a website, called stopkrasner.com, to collect more information from anyone who has been “impacted by the district attorney’s actions.”
Asked why they weren’t joined by lawmakers from southeastern Pennsylvania, they said this is an ongoing effort but it’s early in the process, and they didn’t announce it before the press conference.
The lawmakers would need to introduce articles of impeachment against Krasner, which would then need to be approved by committee before they could be considered by the full House.
The three members say they will reach out to other lawmakers to co-sponsor the effort.
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Likelihood of impeachment
According to the Pennsylvania Constitution, any civil officer “shall be liable to impeachment for any misbehavior in office.”
The constitution says the state House holds the power to vote whether or not to impeach. Then, the Senate conducts the trial. A two-thirds majority, or 34 votes, is required. That means if it got to the Senate, Republicans would need at least five Democrats to vote in favor of impeachment. There are 28 Republicans and 21 Democrats in the Senate and one independent, who caucuses with Republicans.
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While threats of impeachment have been hurled in recent years, the actual process is rare in Pennsylvania. The last person to be impeached was state Supreme Court Justice Rolf Larsen in 1994, who was convicted of improperly discussing cases with a lawyer outside of court.
In January, during his failed run for governor, state Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-Centre County) sent a letter to House leaders saying House Republicans should investigate possible impeachment.
Corman, who as a senator had no authority to begin impeachment proceedings, wrote in that January letter: “The recent spike in violent crime is a direct result of DA Krasner’s failed policies and his refusal to perform the duties of his office to hold criminals accountable for the crimes that they commit.”
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House leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) threatened to impeach Philadelphia election officials in May 2021, but it never got beyond threats. Benninghoff commended Monday’s announcement.
“The District Attorney’s open refusal to enforce current Pennsylvania law in the city is a clear dereliction of his duty to keep Philadelphians and Pennsylvanians safe,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing what these members come up with as they continue with this very important undertaking.”
A response from the District Attorney's Office
In a statement that cited the Jan. 6 insurrection, the DAO said that this attempt is part of a continued Republican coup of "less violent but no less serious anti-democratic efforts to reverse the outcome of free and fair elections."
“Democracy and freedom-loving Pennsylvanians will not be fooled by these anti-democratic efforts to de-value Philadelphia’s diverse votes. Philadelphia is not Pennsylvania’s colony. Our votes count in full, not as three-fifths of a vote," he said.
"Stay tuned for these and other efforts nationwide of legislators who would hold hands with hate groups to defeat democracy by both violent and non-violent means. The coup continues as some Republicans try nationally and locally to overturn more elections they lost badly.”
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