A federal judge referred Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to federal prosecutors Tuesday, finding that he and a senior assistant may have broken the law while trying to conceal how their office supported overturning a murder conviction.
U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond disqualified Krasner and Assistant District Attorney Matthew Stiegler from participating in the case, concluding that their personal interests conflicted with their responsibilities as prosecutors. Krasner, an elected Democrat, has been roiled by critics including President Donald Trump and Republicans in the state who’ve accused his office of implementing soft-on-crime policies under his direction.
“I have thus reluctantly concluded that Philadelphia’s highest law enforcement official and one of his top assistants may have violated the law,” Diamond, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote in his 40-page memorandum. “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 identified possible offenses including false statements, perjury, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy. The referral itself did not bring criminal charges or establish that federal prosecutors had opened an investigation.
The case overseen by his office involves Dennis Johnson, whom a jury convicted in 2009 of second-degree murder, robbery, and a firearms offense in the killing of Kenyatta Smith. Two trial witnesses identified Johnson as the shooter.
Johnson sought federal relief in 2015 and later amended his petition, presenting recanted testimony and statements implicating another man. Krasner’s office supported overturning the conviction in November 2022, arguing that Johnson’s trial lawyer was ineffective for failing to object to a detective’s testimony relaying another witness’s identification.
A magistrate judge recommended granting relief in 2023. Diamond scheduled an evidentiary hearing in May 2026 and invited the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office to participate. The district attorney’s office then sought to withdraw its position because its filing contained “material misstatements.”
Diamond found that Stiegler had decided to support relief before assigning the case to then-Assistant District Attorney Jaclyn Mason, who prepared the filing without independently investigating the evidence.
The judge also found that Stiegler later proposed blaming Mason alone for the errors and portraying her as a rogue prosecutor. Krasner endorsed that proposal and urged four supervisors to carry it out, Diamond wrote.
“Mr. Krasner did not simply learn of the Stiegler proposal; he urged the Law Division supervisors … to implement it and to present a false narrative to the Court,” Diamond wrote.
The supervisors refused and urged Krasner to transfer the case to the attorney general’s office. Diamond found that Krasner insisted on keeping someone involved to “protect the office” and threatened “consequences” if prosecutors alerted the court to the conflicts.
Diamond deferred deciding Johnson’s petition and allowed the district attorney’s office to remain involved, provided another prosecutor was selected and supervised independently of Krasner.
Republicans have long criticized Krasner as weak on crime, blaming his prosecution policies for violence in Philadelphia. In 2022, he was impeached by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a 107-85 vote, but the trial in the Senate was overly delayed and resulted in the state Supreme Court declaring the House’s vote null and void when that legislative session concluded.
In 2024, he even used his powers to sue Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk over his $1 million giveaway prizes for registering new voters in the state, which resulted in a judge denying his request to halt the giveaways at the time.
Abhishek Kambli, an attorney who worked in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division before leaving earlier this year, expressed surprise at the combined disqualification and referral, saying, “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a federal judge not only disqualify the DA from participating in a habeas case but referring him for investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
“And keep in mind this is all in the context of making false statements to let murderers out of jail,” he said. “Safe to say the people of Philadelphia deserve better than this.”
Krasner disputed the ruling in a statement immediately following the decision.
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“I respectfully and vigorously disagree with the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law,” Krasner said in the statement. “I look forward to appealing to the higher court as soon as the law allows.”
The Washington Examiner contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for a response.