Like A Scared Rabbit, D.A. Krasner Flees Own Press Conference

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

The district attorney of Philadelphia today fled a press conference again on foot rather than take questions from this reporter.

Before he turned tail and ran, Larry Krasner announced to a sparse group of reporters the ground rules for his weekly press conference.

"Alright, as always we are going to proceed by way of calling on journalists who are in this room and seeing if they have questions," the D.A. announced, before warning,  "If there are any outbursts, we're not going to tolerate that."

"First, we have John from Action News Six," the D.A. began. "Do you have anything, sir?" 

But John from Action News got an urgent call on his cell phone and had to race out of the room. So he didn't have any questions for the obsequious D.A., who apologized to John for interrupting his call.  

Next, a visibly rattled-looking Krasner called on "Jack from NBC 10." But much to the D.A.'s dismay, Jack didn't have any questions. Neither did "Tina from Fox 29."

"I've got questions," I volunteered. But Krasner had no intention of answering any of them.

"Hold on, sir," the D.A. said, before he took three straight questions from Tom MacDonald from WHYY. Then, the D.A. suddenly realized that there was only one reporter left in the room that he hadn't called on.

"I've got a question," I reminded Krasner. 

But more than a month ahead of rabbit season in Pennsylvania, Larry Krasner stood up on his hind legs. His nose was twitching, his slender ears were erect. While he was sniffing the air, Krasner instinctively sensed danger.

The media wasn't going to throw him any softball questions; the only thing left for Krasner to deal with were some hardballs from Big Trial. So for the fourth time in six weeks, Larry Krasner, a grown man who's allegedly the top law enforcement official in Philadelphia, had to flee his own press conference rather than face tough questions from a reporter.  

"All right, thank you very much, it's been a pleasure to see you and we'll see you again," Krasner said before gathering his papers and heading out the door, with your humble Big Trial correspondent in pursuit.

When you're a public official presiding over an official government function, such as a press conference, you're not allowed to discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or political affiliation. 

Similarly, the courts all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court have held that a government official isn't allowed to discriminate on the basis of viewpoint. For example, if you're the alleged reform D.A. in Philadelphia, you're not allowed to stiff a reporter just because he may view you as a lying fraud, as frequently documented on this blog.

As he scampered toward an office door, I reminded Krasner that by once again calling on every other reporter in the room except me, he was practicing viewpoint discrimination. And viewpoint discrimination has repeatedly been found by the courts to be a blatant unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment.  

For example in 2019, two federal appeal courts ruled that due to viewpoint discrimination, President Trump wasn't allowed to scrub negative comments off his Twitter account, “@realDonaldTrump."

But in the past two months, Krasner, a former civil rights lawyer, has shown he will go to any lengths, whether it's relying on deaf ears or fast-shuffling legs, to escape the one reporter in town who's got his number. Because when it comes to the facts that show he's done a horrible job as D.A., Krasner has no defense. 

When he's confronted with the truth, Krasner's first instinct is to stonewall. His second instinct is to run.

And that's the extent of the two-page Larry Krasner playbook. What the D.A. is always counting on is for the rest of the docile Philadelphia media to cover for him. And so far, he's gotten away with it. 

Round One With Larry Krasner

I've been trying to get a straight answer out of our crooked D.A. for some time.

Every week, when I would write about the corruption and dysfunction in the D.A.'s office, I would email Larry Krasner at his two official email addresses, larry.krasner@phila.gov, and lawrence.krasner@phila.gov.

And every week, Krasner would stiff me. He never responded to any of my questions. Another hardcore stonewaller was Jane Roh, [jane.roh@phila.gov], Krasner's official spokesperson.

This stonewall campaign from Krasner and Roh lasted three years. On July 11th, I decided to take a new approach. I decided to attend one of Krasner's weekly press conferences, typically held at 11 a.m. on Mondays.

My  problems started when I attempted to enter the press conference and Police Officer Agnes Torres of Krasner's security detail promptly informed me that the event the D.A. was holding was a "private press conference," and that I wasn't allowed in. 

Initially, Officer Torres locked me out of the press conference. But after she had to let so many others in, she finally left her post, as well as the door unlocked. So I wandered in, hoping to shout out some questions out at the weekly Q and A, when Krasner took questions from the media.

For years, Krasner entertained questions from reporters who had to raise their voices to get his attention.  But on July 11th, with Big Trial in attendance for the first time, Krasner decided to change the format. He announced to the media that he would only take questions about community swimming pools, a civic cause that he was boosting at his press conference.

Anybody who had a question about any other topic was told to line up in the hallway for a private confab with the D.A. behind closed doors. When he got through taking questions from every other reporter, rather than talk to me, Krasner and his security detail hustled out of the building.

Round Two With Larry K

On Monday July 18th, Krasner waited to the last moment to announce the location of his press conference, in a North Philly church. And then he again changed the format for his weekly Q and A with the media.

"Instead of our usual scrum, and I say that respectfully, I think there are occasions where some journalists who are the most aggressive get most of the attention," Krasner said. "That doesn't seem fair to me."

"I'm just gonna go down the line and see if there are any questions from the journalists who are here."

"What about Derrick Jones?" I interrupted.

I was asking about the 21-year-old suspect that police said rode SEPTA buses and trains to randomly hunted down and execute three passengers. I wanted to know why Jones wasn't in jail, rather than out on a killing spree.

The answer had a lot to do with "Let 'Em Loose Larry."

Jones, a repeat offender on probation who was facing a minimum sentence of three to six years in jail after he was arrested on gun charges, wound up serving only 11 1/2 months in jail, court records show, before he was released on house arrest. 

And then Jones, according to the police, used his newfound freedom to hunt down and execute three SEPTA passengers. 

So I wanted to know why Krasner gave Jones a lenient sentence. But Krasner didn't want to answer that quesiton. 

"Excuse me sir," Krasner said. "As I said, we're not gonna have a scrum. We're gonna start over here. Mr. Dean?" he said, before taking several questions from Mensah Dean of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

After Dean was through, I tried again.

"Derrick Jones," I said to Krasner. "Why did you give him a sweetheart deal?"

That's when the Philly D.A. decided to get tough and actually threaten me in front of a roomful of reporters.

"Sir, sir, please," Krasner said. "Mr. Cipriano, if you're gonna disturb the proceedings, we're gonna have to do something about it."

When he began the Q and A, starting on his right, Krasner took questions from every other reporter in the building. When he got to me, positioned on his extreme left, he abruptly ended the press conference.

Round Three With Larry K

At his July 25th press conference, Krasner called on every other reporter in the room by name, including a shy young intern at one of the local TV stations, so they could take turns lobbing him softballs in English and Spanish.

And when they were finally done, the D.A. abruptly ended the press conference, and headed for the exits. He was protected by a couple of bodyguards who physically prevented your Big Trial correspondent from confronting the cowardly D.A. as he hustled out of the room.  

Round Four -- Three Strikes And You're Out

On Aug. 8th, I tried a new tact. When he opened his Q and A, instead of waiting for him to call on another reporter, I decided to interrupt Krasner with a question.

I tried this three times. And on the third time, Krasner ordered two cops who were part of his security detail to evict me from the building. 

"Sir, that is the third time," Krasner said, pointing his right index finger toward the exits. "Detective [Tom] Kolenkiewicz, will you please escort him out."

"I am asking you to leave," Krasner said. "You have three times violated the rules of how we do this. Please exit."

Krasner Plays Hide And Seek

On Monday Aug. 15th, Krasner didn't notify reporters by email about his Monday morning press conference as he customarily does. And then, at 11:44 p.m., Krasner put out a notice on his Facebook page that 16 minutes later, he would be holding a press conference at noon at his office. 

"In person attendees are asked not to disturb journalists and other participants or the orderly process of a press availability," the press release stated.

Because of the short notice, I was unable to attend. So Krasner finally succeeded in staging a press conference without me. 

Krasner Changes The Rules Again 

On Aug. 17, after a mass shooting at the Shepard Recreation Center, Krasner moderated a joint press conference with the mayor, the police commissioner, and several other officials, an event live-streamed on Facebook.

At the joint press conference that I did not attend, Krasner told the media that the "orderly process of a press availability" was out the window.

"I'm simply going to facilitate questions for members of the media," Krasner announced. "If you have questions for a particular person who is up here please call out that person."

Round Five -- Today's Press Conference Ends With A Scamper

Today, Krasner called a press conference to announce the sentencing of Kevin Walker, a career criminal who's previously been convicted seven times, including four times for illegally carrying guns.

The fifth time came after cops saw Walker passing a firearm back and forth with a pal outside a steak shop on Germantown Avenue. 

When the cops arrested Walker, 29, of North Philly on Oct. 4, 2020, he had in his possession 117 containers of crack cocaine as well as a 40 caliber Glock handgun with 13 live rounds plus an extended magazine with 19 more live rounds.

Walker entered an open guilty plea to possession of drugs with intent to deliver, and three gun charges. An open guilty plea means that the judge is free to pass sentence on the prisoner. And Judge Roxanne Covington promptly sentenced Walker to 9 to 18 years in prison. 

The reason Krasner touted this otherwise routine case at a press conference was because of the unusually stiff sentence the judge gave Walker, so that Krasner could pretend he was tough on crime.

"Kevin Walker is the poster guy for somebody who needs to be locked up because he presents an ongoing danger to the community," Krasner stated. 

But two more arrests during the same week that Walker was arrested showed more typical sentences that are handed out to career criminals during Larry Krasner's tenure as D.A.

For example, Isaul Robles,  42, of New Providence, PA, had five prior convictions for guns and drugs.

He was arrested on Oct. 8, 2020, and entered a guilty plea on possession of drugs with intent to deliver, illegal possession of a firearm, and conspiracy. And his sentence was just 11 1/2 to 23 months in prison. 

 

On April 1, 2021, Robles was arrested again for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, a charge that in a negotiated plea bargain was reduced to unlawful contact with a minor and indecent assault. His sentence for his latest offense was just 1 1/2 to 3 years in jail plus four years probation.

Another career criminal was Michael Lephart, 42, of Northeast Pennsylvania, who had nine prior convictions for gun charges, drugs, and robbery. 

He was arrested on Oct. 5, 2020 and pleaded guilty to four gun charges. His sentence -- a paltry 11 1/2 to 23 months in jail plus five years probation.

But Krasner wasn't going to call a press conference to announce those kind of lenient sentences. Instead, he was going to cherry-pick the Walker case that featured a tough sentence from a judge on a guilty plea, so that Krasner could pretend he was tough on crime.

And when it came time to take questions from anybody who might question that narrative, like a scared rabbit, Krasner chose to run and hide.