By: Mark Scolforo
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Philadelphia’s elected prosecutor asked a state court Friday to halt a Republican-led effort to remove him from office, arguing that the process ended when the Legislature’s two-year session ran out earlier in the week.
District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, wants Commonwealth Court to declare that the General Assembly lacks constitutional authority to remove local officials like him — as opposed to state officials — and that the claims against him do not amount to the “misbehavior in office” required for impeachment.
Philadelphia, not the state House or Senate, has oversight over potential impeachment and removal of its district attorney, the lawsuit claims.
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.
“Never before has the legislature exercised its power to impeach and remove someone duly elected twice for things that do not come close to a crime,” Krasner’s lawyers told the court. “And never before has the statewide legislature exercised its power to impeach a locally elected officer like District Attorney Krasner.”
Ward’s spokesperson, Erica Clayton Wright, said Friday that the filing was under review and a response will be made “once we have had time to evaluate the case.” Clayton Wright has previously said congressional impeachment proceedings have spanned more than one legislative session.
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/philly-prosecutor-sues-to-stop-lawmakers-from-removing-him#respond