Pennsylvania House impeaches Philly prosecutor over policies

Philadelphia’s elected Democratic prosecutor faces a state Senate trial and possible removal from office after the Republican-led state House voted Wednesday to impeach him over progressive policies he has enacted amid rising crime in the city.

The move toward removing District Attorney Larry Krasner began months ago and picked up momentum in the weeks before the midterm elections, with Republicans introducing the impeachment resolution late last month. But the 107-85 nearly party-line vote marks a dramatic escalation of attacks about crimefighting policies against Democratic mayors and prosecutors that had previously been largely confined to campaign politics.

The vote sets the stage for what would be the first Pennsylvania Senate impeachment trial in nearly three decades. Republicans have a 29-21 majority in the state Senate that will become a 28-22 majority early next year, so they’d need the support of some Senate Democrats to attain the two-thirds majority vote required to remove Krasner.

Krasner, who was overwhelmingly reelected by Philadelphia voters last year, is not accused of breaking the law. Instead, Republicans argued that he should be removed from office for various reasons, including his failure to prosecute some minor crimes and his bail request policies, his staff oversight and reports that his office didn’t adequately notify crime victims about certain matters. They also alleged that Krasner obstructed the House’s investigation of his office.