HARRISBURG, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Republican House managers of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s impeachment trial are appealing a Commonwealth Court ruling that effectively put it on ice.
The trial was to have started on Jan. 18 in the state Senate, but it was postponed indefinitely after Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler ruled that three of the seven articles of impeachment against Krasner fail to meet the Pennsylvania Constitution’s standard for “misbehavior in office.”
“It's our contention that that's the Senate's job to determine — No. 1,” said Delaware County Republican Craig Williams, chair of the House impeachment managers. He argues that the Commonwealth Court does not have legal standing to intervene in a legislative process.
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He points to Article Three, which accuses Krasner of violating the constitutional right to due process of a Philadelphia police officer who was initially cleared in a 2017 shooting but later charged after Krasner took office. Krasner is accused of withholding a report from his own office that found the shooting was justified, and misleading a grand jury to get an indictment.
“If you're trying to prosecute a police officer by lying to the grand jury through omission, lying to the courts about it, taking an unauthorized appeal, withholding evidence — we can prove corrupt motive,” Williams said.
No. 2, he says, the court failed to weigh the evidence laid out in the articles.
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“There was no analysis conducted whatsoever about the facts of those three articles, no analysis about whether or not those facts constitute misbehavior in office. No analysis whatsoever about whether or not the facts alleged in the articles of impeachment in those three articles allege improper or corrupt motive,” Williams said.
Williams and state Rep. Tim Bonner, the two Republican impeachment managers, announced their appeal to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg on Thursday. Williams says it’s his understanding the Senate is waiting to proceed until a resolution from the courts.
Krasner has called the process “pure politics” and political gamesmanship. Democrats in the legislature warn it’s a dangerous misuse of impeachment power.