PA Legislators Step Up Campaign to Impeach Philly DA Larry Krasner

A Republican-led state committee to investigate crime in Philadelphia, dubbed the Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order, is seeking to impeach the city’s twice-elected district attorney Larry Krasner, reports Rachel M. Cohen for Vox. Critics of the district attorney allege that his policies have contributed to a rise in crime by sending a message that laws in the city won’t be enforced. The impeachment inquiry began in June after three House lawmakers who live in districts far from Philadelphia circulated a memo seeking their colleagues’ support for impeaching Krasner for “dereliction of duty.”

Krasner’s lawyers asked the committee to withdraw their requests and end the investigation, and later petitioned a state court for relief. They argue that Krasner has committed no impeachable offense and that impeaching Krasner would violate the constitutional rights of the Philadelphia voters who elected him.