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Pennsylvania House Republicans Initiate Process To Impeach DA Larry Krasner: 'Widespread Lawlessness In The City Of Philadelphia'
Three house Republican members from Western Pennsylvania say they are circulating a co-sponsorship memo for supporters of Articles of Impeachment and believe it will receive bipartisan support.
philadelphia.cbslocal.com
Pennsylvania House Republicans Initiate Process To Impeach DA Larry Krasner: ‘Widespread Lawlessness In The City Of Philadelphia’
By Matt PetrilloJune 13, 2022 at 4:40 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) – Pennsylvania House Republicans have initiated the process to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner due to what they call “unchecked crime.” Three House Republican members from Western Pennsylvania — Reps. Josh Kail, Torren Ecker, and Tim O’Neal — say they have been drafting articles of impeachment involving Philadelphia’s DA since the South Street mass shooting.
Last week, three people were killed and 11 were injured in a shooting on Philadelphia’s popular South Street. This was the “final straw” in their decision to seek impeachment.
Many people agree Philly has a crime problem.
The group of Republican lawmakers calling for the impeachment of Philly’s DA are not from Philadelphia, not even its suburbs, but they insist they know what’s right for Philadelphia.
“We are here to announce articles of impeachment against Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner,” Kail said.
Mispronouncing DA Larry Krasner’s name and speaking from Harrisburg, a group of lawmakers from Western Pennsylvania announced they are circulating a co-sponsorship memo for supporters of articles of impeachment and believe it will receive bipartisan support.
“We fully anticipate this to be a bipartisan effort. We fully anticipate to gather quite a bit of support amongst this effort because quite honestly the dereliction of duty and the failure of Larry Krasner is well known across the commonwealth,” Kail said.
While explaining what motivated them to start this process, one of the lawmakers incorrectly referred to the South Street shooting as the “south side shooting.”
“This came to head two weekends ago during the south side shooting,” State Rep. Torren Ecker said.
While the group did not show a specific incident resulting from Krasner’s policies, they insist Philly’s DA is not enforcing laws, which they claim leads to a spike in crime.
“Across the country, people are standing up to unchecked and uncontrolled violence and lawlessness allowed because of radical politicians in district attorneys’ offices, like Larry Krasner,” he said. “Just last week, city businesses said they are thinking of relocating because of spikes in crime. Philadelphia is Pennsylvania’s major economic engine, a tourist attraction, and the birthplace of our freedoms. If unchecked crime is keeping businesses and tourists from visiting and locating in Philadelphia, it impacts Pennsylvania as a whole.”
Ecker says “it’s widespread lawlessness in the City of Philadelphia.”
“Lives have been lost, property has been destroyed, and families have been crushed,” Kail said. “Enough is enough.”
They say the decision to begin the proceedings to impeach Krasner did not come overnight.
“We did not arrive at this decision lightly or easily. In fact, we are taking this action after we have taken significant steps to pass legislation that addresses violent crime in Philadelphia by ensuring our current laws are enforced,” Kail 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.”
CBS3 spoke to Krasner on Monday.
“How do you respond to the criticism? Well, here’s a couple facts. We are all obviously very concerned about public safety and we should be, but the question is do you want to fix it or do you want to go back in time to everything that got us here?” Krasner said.
Krasner is not the first progressive district attorney to face the possibility of being forced out of office. San Franciso voters ousted their liberal DA, Chesa Boudin, last week in a recall election.
“Guess what? Larry Krasner is the original Chesa Boudin,” O’Neal said.
Store owners CBS3 spoke with along South Street point out voters elected Krasner into office twice, both times with large majorities.
“It shouldn’t fall on him,” PLR Lashes owner Aisha Johnson said. “I like him. I think he’s excellent.”
Others add the group of lawmakers are playing the blame game over the South Street shooting.
“You can’t put that on one man, that it’s your fault the shooting happened. Let’s be honest. It’s certain individuals,” Wardrobe store owner Chris Sconey said.
Now, the three lawmakers are gathering evidence.
The next legislative step in this process will involve getting additional support from members of the House and to that extent, public support will also play a role.
Once the Articles of Impeachment are introduced, they will be referred to a committee to be approved. Once approved, the Articles of Impeachment can be considered by the full House of Representatives where it will need a simple majority vote before moving to trial in the Senate to determine whether the impeached official should be removed from office. This requires a 2/3’s majority vote.