The U.S. Department of Justice has sent federal grand jury subpoenas to the office of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner in recent days, as part of an inquiry into possible obstruction of justice, Fox News reported, citing two sources briefed on the subpoenas. The New York Post and the Washington Examiner also reported the subpoenas, each citing a source familiar with the matter. The Justice Department declined to comment, and no one has been charged with a crime.

The subpoenas follow a September 15 referral by U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond, who disqualified Krasner and Matthew Stiegler, chief of the office's Conviction Integrity Unit, from the habeas corpus case of Dennis Johnson. In a 40-page memorandum, Diamond wrote that there was credible evidence amounting to a prima facie showing of conduct that may constitute false statements, false declarations under oath, perjury, obstruction of justice and conspiracy, adding: "I have thus reluctantly concluded that Philadelphia's highest law enforcement official and one of his top assistants may have violated the law." He referred Krasner, Stiegler and the district attorney's office to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia for investigation, but declined to disqualify the office as a whole.

Johnson was convicted in 2009 of second-degree murder in the 2007 killing of Kenyatta Smith. In 2022, Krasner's office agreed Johnson was entitled to challenge his conviction because of ineffective assistance of counsel; internal disputes later arose over conflicts involving Stiegler and whether the case should be handed to the Pennsylvania Attorney General. Krasner has said he respectfully and vigorously disagrees with the court's findings of fact and conclusions of law and intends to appeal the decision. Grand jury subpoenas are a tool for gathering documents and testimony and do not by themselves mean charges will follow. Sources: Fox News; New York Post; Washington Examiner; U.S. District Court memorandum of Judge Paul S. Diamond (Sept. 15).