DA Krasner: Impeachment process "authoritarian attack" on democracy
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) -- Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner says the Pennsylvania legislature doesn't have the constitutional authority to oust him from office. Krasner on Monday talked about the lawsuit he filed to stop the impeachment trial process.
"I think that it's important to look at the national context here and to look at it in two separate ways," Krasner said. "One is the national context of the attacks on reform prosecutors around the country. The other one is a more generalized authoritarian attack in this country, an authoritarian effort to nullify elections and to erase votes, and frankly, to undermine the foundations of democracy. That is, of course, unnecessary when your team is winning. But they're losing."
Krasner filed the lawsuit last Friday.
The lawsuit claims Philadelphia, not the state House or Senate, has oversight over potential impeachment and removal of its district attorney.
Krasner sued the Senate's top-ranking Republican, Sen. Kim Ward of Westmoreland County, unnamed members of the Senate committee that will oversee the case and the three impeachment managers designated by the House of Representatives.
The state House voted on nearly party lines to impeach Krasner on Nov. 16, sending the matter to the state Senate for trial next month. Removal will require support from two-thirds of senators.
All but one of the House Republicans voted in favor of impeachment, a move driven by opposition to the progressive policies Krasner has pursued during a time of rising violent crime in the city. All Democrats voted against it.
Krasner was overwhelmingly reelected by Philadelphia voters last year and is not accused of breaking the law.
The trial in the state Senate is scheduled for next month.