Larry Krasner, Meet Harry Truman

Has anyone checked that gravesite in Independence, Missouri? You might detect some movement, ’cause Ol’ Harry must be gyrating under the dirt. I refer, of course, to former U.S. President Harry Truman, that 20th Century paragon of character in leadership, who once, languishing in the polls, said, “I wonder how far Moses would have gone if he had taken a poll in Egypt? What would Jesus Christ have preached if He had taken a poll in the land of Israel? Where would the Reformation have gone if Martin Luther had taken a poll? It isn’t polls or public opinion alone of the moment that counts.”

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Truman also famously adorned the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk with a plaque reading “The Buck Stops Here,” a clarion call for accountability in public service. Others followed suit; after the Bay of Pigs debacle, there was John F. Kennedy on national TV, observing that “Victory has a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan” and proclaiming himself “the responsible officer of the government.” This while, we know now, he privately seethed at having been essentially set up by the CIA. But passing the buck wasn’t an option, because it would have been seen as an advertisement for one’s own weakness.

Fast forward to 2025, when the blame game is all we get. Case in point, our District Attorney, who, pundit-like, has time and again finger-pointed his way out of accepting responsibility. Recently, after being pilloried on social media, Larry Krasner had the audacity to use Truman’s phrase — “the buck stops here” — after being caught redhanded trying to literally pass it.

Here’s the background, in case you’re not up to speed. The story was best captured in one online headline that caught my eye: Soft-on-Crime Philly DA Larry Krasner Let a Predator Walk — Now a Beauty Queen Is Dead. It referred, of course, to the tragic death of 23-year-old Kada Scott, allegedly murdered by Keon King, who had been charged with violently assaulting an ex-girlfriend twice in the last year, including kidnapping, choking and biting her face. Alas, Krasner’s inexperienced prosecutors withdrew the charges against King because the victim, as so often happens in domestic violence cases, failed to show up to testify. So King skated, even though there was video evidence that could have been used at trial to seek a conviction without witness testimony.

After being pilloried on social media, Larry Krasner had the audacity to use Truman’s phrase — “the buck stops here” — after being caught redhanded trying to literally pass it.

In the resulting media coverage, there has been a noticeable lack of palpable outrage, as in this Inquirer editorial. Sorry, but blaming “the system” fails the Truman test, especially given the patterns here. For example, the withdrawal of charges in this case is more the norm under Krasner than an isolated occurrence. According to his office’s own website, 61 percent of all violent crimes charged have been withdrawn/dismissed by Krasner’s office over the past five years, nearly doubling the percentage under his predecessor.

Wonder why polls show Philadelphians still don’t feel safe, despite a record drop in violent crime rates? Because time and again perps released by Krasner go on to kill or maim when they should have been behind bars. How many anecdotes does it take to make a pattern?

Let’s not forget the guy in Brewerytown who took his dog for a walk and was shot to death in broad daylight by an asshole who’d twice walked out of court, despite a history of robbery, carjacking and even assault while in custody. Or 7-year-old Zamar Jones, who was shot in the head as he played with a toy on his family’s porch, killed by a longtime violent perp whom Krasner had just gifted with a plea deal of 3 to 9 months on a felony gun charge.

Or West Philly’s Mike Poeng, the store owner shot while washing his car by a repeat offender with an AK-47. Under Krasner, the assailant received a slap-on-the-wrist three-and-one-half year plea deal; it took the feds to swoop in and ultimately sentence the shooter to 14 years in federal prison. Meantime, Poeng is forever in a wheelchair, his store is shuttered, and he couldn’t move out of Philly fast enough.

Krasner as the anti-Truman?

The other pattern here is Krasner’s instinct to play the anti-Truman. Time and again he has denied or deflected responsibility — something he ironically criticizes his archnemesis Trump for. In this case, Krasner initially blamed the cash bail system for King being back out on the street; after the January kidnapping charge, King’s bail had been set at $200,000 and he posted the requisite 10 percent. Of course, the DA’s office could have appealed the bail amount, but Krasner’s team rarely does. He said that’s because the “unfortunate reality of this is that some, but not all of these judges, don’t want you calling them in the middle of the night.”

As then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan said to then-President Jimmy Carter, “there you go again.” It was the judge, see. Nice story, but it would be better if it were true. Krasner knows that Municipal and Common Pleas Court judges are on call around the clock to respond to appeals and other emergency issues that might arise. Moreover, King’s arraignment did not occur in the dead of night. It was actually broad daylight. Krasner wouldn’t have been waking anyone up.

As is so often the case, Krasner, while vaguely conceding that his office “could have done better,” was spinning. The outcry on social media called BS. His opponent in next month’s general election, former Municipal Court Judge Pat Dugan, displayed the requisite outrage on Fox News:

For his part, in a press conference last weekend, Krasner tried to go the Truman route, but even then seemed to be hedging. “We could have done better, in that a really sophisticated approach to the case would have been to try to put it all on with video evidence,” he said, referring to the withdrawn charges against King. “That is not usually an easy thing to do. I would say with 20-20 hindsight, it’s something that could have been done and I own that. I mean, ultimately the buck stops here.”

Notice the out? A really sophisticated approach. Talk to any of the legions of Assistant District Attorneys who have left Krasner’s employ in a tsunami of disillusionment, and they’ll tell you it’s not a question of strategy or approach but of ideology … Krasner is not a reformer so much as a non-prosecutor across the board. And the numbers bear it out on his own website:

The total number of violent incidents reported have remained virtually steady since 2012, averaging around 40,000 per year. The number of arrests and charges, however, have drastically decreased, by 39 and 35 percent. Drug offenses? Down 74 percent in arrests and 74 percent in charges. Property charges? Down 37 percent in arrests and 58 percent in charges. Cases referred to diversion programs, the raison d’être of the criminal justice reformer? An average of 14 percent in DA Seth Williams’ last four years, and only 4.5 percent in Krasner’s second term. Number of cases withdrawn or dismissed? Under Williams, an average of 30 percent between 2014 and 2017; Krasner, a whopping 61 percent.

In 2017, Krasner was right that the criminal justice system needed reforms. Cash bail does criminalize the impoverished; the probation and parole system is unjust and fuels mass incarceration; the death penalty is biased in its application. But Krasner hasn’t been about fixing those problems, so much as using them. Talk about patterns; he’s perfected the art of the political blame game. Let us count the ways he’s sought to exonerate himself by explaining away crime and disorder on his watch. Often, of course, it’s been Trump’s fault. Or it was because of the pandemic. Or the cops weren’t doing their job. And remember when he scapegoated then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro?

You gotta wonder: Just when will Larry Krasner don the mantle of the responsible officer of the government and, Truman-like, lose the asterisks and just welcome the buck actually stopping on his desk?

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