Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is reportedly facing a federal investigation by the Department of Justice and grand jury subpoenas over alleged obstruction of justice, according to a report that has put one of the country's most controversial progressive prosecutors under a new kind of scrutiny — from Washington, not from his critics at home.
The reported federal interest follows explosive testimony from inside Krasner's own office. According to the report, four of his own supervisors testified that he pressured them to mislead a court in a murder case in order to "protect the office," and threatened them with consequences when they refused. Whether the federal investigation is directly connected to those allegations has not been officially confirmed.
What is on the record is that a judge has already taken the extraordinary step of referring Krasner to federal prosecutors. The Associated Press reported in September that a judge referred the Philadelphia district attorney to federal prosecutors for investigation. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on October 14 that the judge who accused Krasner of potential crimes will not step back from the case. Fox News reported on Tuesday on grand jury subpoenas in the matter.
"No one in a position of power should be above the law."
Krasner, first elected in 2017, has long faced criticism over his progressive approach to criminal justice and prosecution policies — declining to prosecute whole categories of offenses, seeking shorter sentences, and building a conviction-integrity unit that has freed dozens of prisoners. His supporters call it reform of a broken system. His critics, including Philadelphia police and victims' families, call it a refusal to enforce the law, and blame his policies for the city's struggles with violent crime.
The reported federal scrutiny raises the stakes beyond that long-running political fight. A district attorney accused by his own supervisors of pressuring them to mislead a court — in a murder case — is not a policy dispute; it is an allegation about the integrity of the office itself. If the allegations are substantiated, the consequences could be significant for Krasner and for the office he leads.