Judge refers Philadelphia’s progressive district attorney to DOJ for prosecution

Key Points:

• A federal judge referred Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and top prosecutor Matthew Stiegler to the Justice Department for potential obstruction of justice, perjury, and false statements related to a 2009 murder conviction review.
• Judge Paul Diamond found credible evidence suggesting Krasner and Stiegler may have violated the law by attempting to protect their reputations instead of transparently explaining why they withdrew a motion supporting conviction review.
• The controversy arose from the handling of Dennis Johnson’s second-degree murder conviction, where key witnesses recanted after 15 years and the DA’s office initially agreed to concede ineffective counsel but later sought to blame a junior prosecutor for errors.
• Krasner allegedly pressured senior prosecutors to attribute mistakes to the junior prosecutor, refused to refer the case to the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office despite conflicts, and warned of “consequences” if prosecutors alerted the court to the issues.
• Krasner denies the court’s findings and plans to appeal, while Judge Diamond disqualified Krasner and Stiegler from the underlying case, highlighting a significant internal conflict within the DA’s office.