What happens when a Trump-hating, Soros-funded, radical left-wing district attorney insinuates that President Donald Trump is a 35-time felon? Well, if you are Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, you get referred to the Department of Justice by a federal judge for a criminal investigation.
U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond issued a scathing rebuke of Krasner on Tuesday, claiming that the district attorney might have violated the law while allegedly engaging in shady legal tactics in working to overturn the murder conviction from 2009. Among the alleged violations by Krasner and a legal assistant in his office are obstruction of justice and perjury, among others. The referral comes less than a week after Krasner made his own allegations of ethical violations about Trump, suggesting that his proposal of a $5,000 dividend check should be considered a felonious charge of bribery.
However, unlike Krasner’s politically motivated, unhinged rants about Trump, the Philadelphia district attorney’s alleged crimes appear to be rather serious and, most importantly, factual in assessment. Unlike Krasner’s accusations, Diamond’s assertions seem grounded in truth.
“Mr. Krasner’s actions are more troubling,” Diamond wrote in a memorandum for Dennis Johnson v. Scott Nickelson, et al. “He did not simply learn of the Stiegler proposal; he urged the Law Division supervisors — who serve at Mr. Krasner’s pleasure — to implement it and to present a false narrative to the Court.”
“Finally, I have also found that Mr. Krasner and Stiegler worked together to try to convince the Four to urge the Court to accept a false narrative,” wrote Diamond. “This might amount to criminal conspiracy.”
“In these circumstances, with the issuance of this Memorandum, I refer the DAO, Mr. Krasner, and Stiegler to this District’s United States Attorney’s Office for investigation and other appropriate action,” Diamond wrote.
So much for Krasner’s ethics. It’s as if one of Krasner’s core political tactics is the “accusation in a mirror” technique, broken down in layman’s terms simply as “accusing your enemy of what you are doing, as you are doing it.” The maxim epitomizes what Krasner did in the last week, and arguably, what he’s been doing since he was first elected in 2017.
Legendary Philadelphia-area attorney and columnist Christine Flowers recognized the gravity of Diamond’s memo. She called Diamond’s assessment of Krasner’s conduct “real” and not politically motivated, and said Diamond “plays it straight,” citing her own courtroom experience with him.
“This is real, not a political hit job, as Krasner wants us to believe,” Flowers told the Washington Examiner. “Judge Diamond, the federal judge who referred the corruption case to the U.S. Attorney, is old school and bipartisan. He plays it straight: he even denied one of my Habeas petitions (fairly, even though I was disappointed) because he’s all about the correct process. If he thinks there is evidence Krasner conspired to wrongly retry a convicted felon, that’s serious.”
Krasner has long drawn the ire of many in the Philadelphia area, particularly over his radical left-wing ideologies and criminal justice reform policies. Since Krasner’s been in office, Philadelphia has set a record for homicides in a year, with many criminal experts attributing the spike in murders to Krasner’s soft-on-crime policies, which left many violent criminals roaming the streets and plaguing innocent victims in communities throughout the city, instead of keeping them in jail.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Martina White has been a longtime, ardent critic of Krasner and his policies, regularly highlighting how they made the city less safe and endangered the lives of innocent people. White called for Krasner to resign amid Diamond’s referral to the Justice Department.
“Philadelphia’s district attorney is supposed to prosecute criminal allegations, not star in them,” White told me. “Apparently, that’s too much to ask. Philadelphia needs a reliable DA, not a defendant-in-waiting. He should do the city a favor by resigning and letting the grown-ups get back to protecting public safety.”
It is well known that Krasner has regularly engaged in fearmongering rhetoric in Philadelphia to vilify Trump and his administration. He has held multiple press conferences and made numerous statements warning Philadelphians that he would “protect” them from the Trump administration. Over the last year, Krasner has regularly deployed scare tactics to threaten Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, threatening to “hunt them” and arrest them. He vilified the president and portrayed him as the root of most of American society’s problems. Yet, this time, with Diamond’s referral, Krasner cannot blame Trump. He’ll clearly try, but it’s dishonest.
“The fact that a federal judge feels it appropriate to refer this to the U.S. Attorney in this climate is consequential,” Flowers said. “Of course, a Justice may not indict. But this will have a definite psychological impact on Krasner. He always rails against ‘Trump the Bogeyman.’ He tries to make criticism of him all about ‘MAGA.’ But he can’t do it this time.”
White called him a “stain” on Philadelphia and mentioned that “law-abiding” Philadelphians would substantially benefit if Krasner were no longer in office.
“He is a stain on our city and a scourge on the good, law-abiding people who deserve so much better,” said the Pennsylvania state representative.
Flowers suggested that this time, Krasner might have bitten off more than he could chew with the serious allegations against him. It is a welcome reality for Flowers, White, and all Philadelphia residents who have suffered for so long since Krasner’s been in office.
“The progressive voters of Philadelphia saddled us with this man,” Flowers said. “Two electoral opponents could not defeat him, given the Democratic monopoly in this city. But now it appears that the cavalry may very well have arrived.”