Larry Krasner seeks removal of judge who alleged crimes
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has asked U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond to step aside from a post-conviction murder case after Diamond suggested Krasner may have committed crimes and referred him to federal prosecutors. Krasner called the accusations baseless and said Diamond acted more like an advocate than a neutral judge.
Key Takeaways
- Larry Krasner filed federal court papers seeking Judge Paul S. Diamond’s removal from a pending murder post-conviction case.
- Diamond previously said Krasner and former Conviction Integrity Unit chief Matthew Stiegler may have committed conspiracy, obstruction, or perjury.
- Krasner called Diamond’s DOJ referral “virtually unprecedented” and disputed the judge’s factual findings.
- The dispute centers on Dennis Johnson’s bid to overturn a 2009 murder conviction that Krasner’s office once supported.
- Diamond gave parties one week to file more paperwork on the recusal issue; DOJ had not confirmed any probe.
What did Larry Krasner ask the court to do?
In overnight filings reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Krasner argued Diamond should be removed because the judge had acted more like “an advocate against DA Krasner” than an impartial arbiter.
Krasner and Assistant District Attorney Thomas Gaeta said the proceedings had become a “circus,” with Diamond the “ringmaster.” They cited improper questioning of witnesses, inconsistent credibility findings, and blaming Krasner for not testifying even though Diamond never asked him to take the stand.
In a nine-page letter signed only by Krasner, he went further, saying Diamond should be recused from this matter and every other case involving the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office for the foreseeable future. Coverage of related institutional and risk themes also appears in our Fintech & Crypto Alerts hub.
Why did Judge Diamond accuse Krasner of possible crimes?
In mid-September, Diamond filed a memorandum stating Krasner and Stiegler may have committed crimes while handling the Dennis Johnson case. Johnson was convicted in 2009 of killing Kenyatta Smith. In 2022, Krasner’s office supported habeas relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel, then later sought to withdraw that position after staff concluded Assistant District Attorney Jaclyn Mason had made significant errors.
Diamond said that after Mason resigned, Krasner and Stiegler worked toward a “false narrative” blaming her, including a proposal to review her old cases for more errors that could cast her as a “rogue” prosecutor. Diamond said that effort could amount to criminal conspiracy and referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to NBC10 Philadelphia, four Law Division supervisors rejected what they viewed as an inappropriate proposal and urged referring the case to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office over conflicts of interest. Krasner opposed that referral, arguing someone needed to remain involved to “protect the office.”
How has Larry Krasner answered the allegations?
Krasner called Diamond’s suggestion of criminal conspiracy allegations “more closely resembling fever-dream conspiracy theories than evidence.” He wrote that the judge’s findings “twist the truth to the point of breaking” and rest on “nothing of substance.”
He said Stiegler’s proposal was to check Mason’s prior cases for real errors, not to invent them, and that supervisors’ advice against it was accepted—so the plan was never pursued. On threats of “consequences,” Krasner said he sought to stop staff from filing pleadings without his approval while he was still deciding the correct course, not to block truthful testimony.
Krasner labeled the DOJ referral “virtually unprecedented,” warning these are “fraught, authoritarian times” at the Justice Department. As of late September 2026, there was no confirmed indication DOJ was investigating, and federal prosecutors declined comment. Diamond directed that any further recusal paperwork be filed within a week.