Jordan’s Committee Hearing on Philly Crime: Democratic DA Krasner’s Pro-Crime Revolution Exposed

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) held a hearing on May 3 in my hometown of Philadelphia on the horrendous crime in the city during the reign of the George Soros-supported District Attorney Progressive Democrat Larry Krasner.

One of the objectives of the hearing was to have the families of some murder victims express their feelings about the state of lawlessness and danger in Philadelphia. These witnesses included:

*Pauline Fitzgerald, Mother of Temple University Police Sergeant Christopher Fitzgerald who was murdered in the line of duty and former Philadelphia police officer

*Joel Fitzgerald, PhD, Father of Temple University Police Sergeant Christopher Fitzgerald who was murdered in the line of duty, former Philadelphia police officer, former Ft Worth TX police chief, and current Chief of Police and Emergency Management for the Regional Transportation District in the Denver Metro Area

*Terri O’Connor, Spouse of Slain Philadelphia Police Officer

Remarkably, Democrats, once again, as they did in a similar hearing in New York City in April 2023, demeaned the crime victims. Once again, a congressional representative from Pennsylvania, this time Mary Gay Scanlon, led the effort. She called the hearing a circus. The audacity to say that the parents of a murdered police officer and the widow of a murdered police officer are participating in a political circus instead of engaging in a cathartic activity is an absolute disgrace. It is beyond disgraceful.

But this is not unusual. It was her colleague from Pennsylvania, Rep Madeleine Dean (D-PA), who did this during last year’s House Judiciary Field Hearing on crime in New York City. Dean imperiously silenced a crime victim who objected to the lecture Dean was giving the crime victims. Things were so bad that one of the crime victim witnesses – disgusted with the Democrats’ disdain for them – chastised all the Democrats.

Another witness, Jennifer Harrison, was quoted as saying some of the Democratic members of the committee were falling asleep while witnesses attempted to tell their stories. “It was extremely disrespectful, it was defeating, it was disheartening.”

Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) alluded to the Democrats’ shameful treatment of crime victims during the 2023 New York City hearing during an exchange with Ranking Member Rep. Jerrold Nadler  (D-NY). Nadler tried to defend Krasner. He interrupted Meuser’s questioning of O’Conner.

Meuser responded to Nadler’s pathetic objections, “You know ranking member you lost your credibility when you compared this (hearing) to a nonviolent frivolous suit, in New York, while we have people here whose family members have been murdered, okay, your credibility was gone at that point.”

Democrats’ attitude toward crime victims has been historically contemptible. Democrats have believed for years that, as Mick Jagger wrote, “Every cop is a criminal and all the sinners saints.”

Democrats for years have preached the sermon that criminals are impoverished victims of a White racist society, while police are brutal enforcers employed on behalf of the wealthy and powerful. ( Of course, the Democratic Party diverted from these beliefs when it came to the January 6 protesters and the killing that day of an unarmed White woman by a Black police officer. The hypocrisy of Democrats knows no bounds).

Predictably, the Leftwing Democrats engaged in their usual sophistry. They continually cited that the number of homicides in Philadelphia has been down for the past two years. But what is so deceptive is that the homicides are down from a record high. This is like saying because Nolan Ryan’s strikeouts dropped 15 percent from the record of 383 in 1973 to 367 in 1976 he should retire. It is absurd.

Here are the facts. The data comes from the Philadelphia Police Department and was cited in an essay online by Michael Nutter, a former Philadelphia mayor.

“ During my time as Mayor, I wanted to see and evaluate trends, episodes, and timelines of homicides specifically in Philadelphia over a 40-50 period of time to better understand where the city was before my time as Mayor,” Nutter wrote….”The Years 2021 and 2022 saw the highest numbers of annual homicides in 63 years, while just 5-8 years ago the city was experiencing the lowest annual homicide totals in nearly 50 years.” (emphasis not in original)

The article is dated January 8, 2024. The calendar years from 2015 to 2018 would have been five to eight years before this article was written. Krasner’s regime began in January 2018, so it did not take him long to increase the city’s crime rate.

It is also worth noting that during the years 1993 – 2023, the median number of annual homicides was 338 and the mean rate was 348. During the Krasner era ( 2018-2023) the number of homicides is:

2018: 353

2019: 353

2020: 499

2021: 562  (all-time high)

2022: 514

2023: 410

The mean annual number of homicides during Krasner’s regime is 449. This is 29 percent higher than the 30-year mean. Furthermore, even the lowest annual number ( 410 in 2023) is higher than any year since 1997.

So why are Nadler, Scanlon, and Dean so proud of Krasner’s record?

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) articulated the reason for the hearing.

“The issue today is it’s enforcing the law it’s against the law to rape it’s against the law to murder it’s against the law to beat people to death it’s against the law to distribute drugs it’s against the law to carjack it’s against the law to steal it but we are not enforcing the law in the city of Philadelphia …that’s the issue that we’re here for,” Van Drew said.

Van Drew is right. It is as simple as that.