The Justice Department has sent grand jury subpoenas to Soros-funded Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office in recent days over potential obstruction of justice in the handling of cases before federal judges.
The subpoenas stem from a referral by U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond, who more than a month ago sent Krasner and his top deputy, Matthew Stiegler, to the DOJ for possible criminal investigation.
Diamond wrote that evidence in a murder conviction case could constitute false statements, perjury, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy. He alleged that Krasner and Stiegler sought to pressure prosecutors into presenting a false narrative to the court and that Krasner warned of “consequences” if staff alerted the court to an internal conflict.
“I have thus reluctantly concluded that Philadelphia’s highest law enforcement official and one of his top assistants may have violated the law,” Diamond stated in his opinion. He disqualified Krasner and Stiegler from the case but declined to disqualify the entire DA’s office.
The underlying dispute involves the case of Dennis Johnson, convicted in 2009 of killing Kenyatta Smith. The DA’s office had sought habeas relief for Johnson in 2022 based on ineffective assistance of counsel. When internal conflicts involving Stiegler later surfaced, Krasner opposed referring the matter to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and insisted someone from his office remain involved to “protect the office.”
Krasner was first elected in 2017 with nearly $1.7 million in independent spending from a PAC solely funded by George Soros.
