Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner apparently thought congressional document requests work like gym memberships, something you sign up for and then completely ignore for months on end. As USA Journal reported, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan slapped Krasner with a subpoena Wednesday night after the George Soros-funded prosecutor spent more than two months pretending the committee's original May 4 request simply did not exist.
Not a single responsive document in over two months. Zero. The man produced nothing. He was given until May 18 to comply. Instead, he called the request "baseless," said he was retaining counsel, and promised a lawyer would reach out. That lawyer apparently got lost on the way to the phone because nobody ever heard from them.
Then on July 7, Krasner decided to fire off a letter stuffed with personal attacks on committee members and a wish list of conditions for his cooperation. Because nothing says "I respect the rule of law" like ignoring a congressional demand for two months and then sending back a nastygram.
Jordan's response was to upgrade from asking nicely to compulsory process. The deadline is now July 29.
So what is Jordan actually investigating here? The committee wants to know whether Krasner's office has been deliberately softening charges and plea deals for illegal aliens specifically to help them dodge deportation. And this is not some wild theory pulled from thin air. Krasner's office has a written policy, on paper, encouraging prosecutors to consider "alternative plea offers" when a conviction might trigger immigration consequences. The policy states that "low-level and nonviolent crimes should not lead to deportation."
In other words, if you are an American citizen who commits a crime in Philadelphia, you get the regular menu of consequences. If you are an illegal alien, the kitchen sends out a special lighter entree designed to keep federal immigration authorities from doing their job. Two menus, one restaurant. Very progressive.
Krasner's reaction to the subpoena was, predictably, dramatic. He called it "yet another step in authoritarian efforts to do dirt in the dark" and accused Trump of spending "all day, every day, violating the law." Bold words from a guy who just spent two months ducking a lawful congressional investigation while his prosecutors were allegedly engineering plea deals to keep deportable offenders on Philadelphia streets.
This is all happening against a backdrop of Philadelphia's City Council passing a package of "ICE Out" measures in April designed to obstruct federal immigration enforcement. A federal judge has already blocked part of it.
Jordan also pointed out that giving defendants preferential treatment based on immigration status could violate federal civil rights laws, and he referenced a DOJ investigation into similar policies in Fairfax County, Virginia.
The deadline is July 29. The over or under on whether Krasner actually complies is looking pretty grim, but at least now the consequences for ignoring it just got significantly more interesting.
Read more conservative news commentary at: USA Journal News
