(NewsNation) — Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner could possibly be removed from office after Pennsylvania’s Republican-led state House of Representatives voted Wednesday to impeach him.
He will now face a state Senate trial, although it is unclear when it will happen, as Pennsylvania’s two-year legislative session ends in two weeks.
It would be the first time in nearly three decades the Pennsylvania Senate has had an impeachment trial.
Lawmakers who voted in favor of his impeachment cited dereliction of duty as grounds for impeachment, blaming his policies for crime rates in the city. The Inquirer reports that they’ve accused Krasner of obstructing a legislative committee investigating his office, and mishandling criminal cases.
In a statement, the embattled district attorney said the vote was the only time the state House has ever “used the drastic remedy of impeachment of an elected official because they do not like their ideas.”
“They have impeached me without presenting a single shred of evidence connecting our policies to any uptick in crime,” he said.
On the other hand, Republican state Rep.Martina White, a prime sponsor of the impeachment resolution, said Krasner has “denied that there is even a crisis of crime happening on our street.”
To date, Philadelphia has seen 459 homicides in 2022. As of Nov. 15, there have been 1,669 nonfatal and 430 fatal shooting victims, according to the Philadelphia Controller’s office.
Last year, in 2021, there were a record 562 homicides in Philadelphia, as well as 1,831 nonfatal and 506 fatal shooting victims.
Democratic Pennsylvania state Sen. Sharif Street pointed out on “Morning in America” that several cities have had issues with crime, so there’s no logical argument for impeachment there.
“They don’t like the fact that DA Krasner represents a change in the use of prosecutorial discretion,” Sharif said. “He does not overcharge.”
Street criticized Republican lawmakers for waiting until the last minute to take action on impeachment.
“They’re doing this out of an act of desperation because they don’t have real, good policies to actually keep people safe,” Street said on “Morning in America.”