U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, removed Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and Conviction Integrity Unit chief Matthew Stiegler from a federal post-conviction case and referred them — along with the District Attorney’s Office — to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for investigation and other appropriate action, the Philadelphia Inquirer, NBC News, and FOX 29 reported.

The ruling came in the habeas matter of Dennis Johnson, who is seeking to overturn a 2009 second-degree murder conviction. Diamond wrote that he had “reluctantly concluded” Philadelphia’s highest law-enforcement official and a top assistant “may have violated the law,” and that the record included evidence of possible perjury, conspiracy, or obstruction of justice.

What the memorandum says

According to the Inquirer and NBC News, Diamond found that testimony from Law Division supervisors described Krasner and Stiegler pressing staff to protect Stiegler, blame a subordinate, present what Diamond called a “false narrative” to the court, and warn of “consequences” for those who would not follow Krasner’s orders — language supervisors said they took as a firing threat. Diamond wrote that Krasner “urged” supervisors “to present a false narrative to the Court,” and that Stiegler’s testimony was “contradictory, evasive, or outright dishonest,” raising possible perjury.

Diamond declined to disqualify the entire DAO from the Johnson case but barred Krasner and Stiegler from any further role and said he would not allow an outside attorney hand-picked by Krasner to take over. Law Division supervisors had already recused themselves. The petition itself remains pending.

Krasner’s response — and what a referral is not

“I respectfully and vigorously disagree with the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law,” Krasner said in a statement reported by NBC News and FOX 29. “I look forward to appealing to the higher court as soon as the law allows. This remains a pending matter, which limits for now my and my office’s ability to respond in the media.” A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment. A judicial referral is not a charge; federal prosecutors decide whether to open an investigation or seek an indictment.

The memorandum lands amid broader scrutiny of Krasner’s Conviction Integrity Unit. Over the summer, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered the state attorney general to review cases in which Krasner’s office seeks to overturn a conviction — a backdrop Diamond’s filing does not erase, and that prosecutors now have to weigh alongside the referral.

When a sitting DA’s own staff testify that the boss demanded they “protect the office” and feed a court a false story, the conflict is not abstract: it is the state’s charging power turned inward to shield itself. Whether the U.S. Attorney’s Office acts — and whether Johnson’s petition still gets a clean merits review — is the next test.

Sources