Good morning and welcome to Broad + Liberty's Weekly Reads.

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1. Shapiro admin can’t locate key emails in sexual harassment case — “zero emails on the server…is preposterous”

By Todd Shepherd
 

A week’s worth of emails from a former Shapiro administration deputy cabinet secretary no longer exist. 

That’s what an attorney conceded in court last month as he represented Gov. Josh Shapiro’s attempt to suppress Broad + Liberty’s legal effort to obtain more documents on the biggest scandal Shapiro has confronted in his first term. The employee in question, a young woman who claimed she was sexually harassed by a top Shapiro aide in 2023, no longer works for the commonwealth. 

The revelation made in court on February 12th raises the specter that the emails were purposefully deleted because they could shed new light on the scandal. The government’s lawyer seemed to suggest, instead, that they were merely deleted for matters of good digital hygiene. 

But government regulations indicate the emails should have been preserved a minimum of three years, if not longer. In this case, however, the emails were deleted substantially sooner.

Why It Matters. Many regard the Vereb scandal as the most important and threatening development thus far to Shapiro’s reputation, and it quickly became a focal point for national political reporters last summer when Shapiro was considered to be one of two finalists to be the vice-presidential running mate to Kamala Harris’ nascent presidential campaign.

For example, as the “Veepstakes” speculation was reaching its peak last July, a political reporter for the New York Times filed a Right to Know with the governor’s office that was a duplicate of the original Right to Know filed by Broad + Liberty in December of 2023, according to the RTK log from the governor’s office.

Quotable. Rep. Abby Major, who has been a confidant to the deputy who resigned, and who herself was also the subject of sexual harassment at the capitol, excoriated the idea of missing emails.

"The idea that there are zero emails on the server for an employee is preposterous. Even after someone’s account is removed, there are still records of emails that were sent and received in other inboxes,” Major said.

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2. Did Larry Krasner cause an armed standoff in Bucks County?

By Ben Mannes
 

A deadly January 24, 2025, car chase and armed standoff at a Bensalem gas station serve as yet another example of how Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s policies continue to endanger both law enforcement and the public.

Court records show that the standoff that resulted in the fatal shooting of Zachiry Derrek Kerschner was entirely avoidable, had the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office followed lawful protocols to properly ensure that repeat offenders on release for recent offenses remain behind bars where the law dictated they should be. Instead, Kerschner, a convicted felon with a history of firearms offenses, was allowed to remain free despite a legally mandated prison sentence.

His unlawful release and subsequent lack of supervision set the stage for the dangerous confrontation that unfolded in neighboring Bucks County, where Philadelphians have relocated to escape the lawlessness of Krasner’s policies.

Why It Matters. The consequences of Krasner’s policies extend beyond repeat offenders like Kerschner — they directly endanger law enforcement officers who are forced to deal with individuals who should never have been released in the first place. The five officers involved in the Bensalem standoff were placed in immediate, life-threatening danger because of a failure by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office to enforce the law as written.

“Every day, law enforcement officers put their lives on the line when they go out and perform their duties.” said McVey “What should have been a simple traffic stop ended in tragedy. Kerschner should have been behind bars that evening, not roaming the streets unsupervised with a gun.”

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3. Lightning Round

• Beth Ann Rosica: We don’t need to break the bank to fix our education crisis

• Guy Ciarrocchi: Five years after the pandemic began, looking back at those who stood against the tide

• Beth Ann Rosica: On the fifth anniversary of school closures, an open letter to those responsible

• Wally Nunn: Lies, damned lies, and the Inquirer.

• Christine Flowers: Trump gets respect in Italy because he doesn’t mince words

• Howard Lurie: Send in the clowns? Don’t bother, they’re here.

• Guy Ciarrocchi: The gift of coaching softball

• Paul Davis: Carjacking overachiever convicted

4. PA's Independents are frustrated

5. Having an impact

Today we begin Sunshine Week, a non–partisan celebration of the importance of open records and transparency in government. So it is fitting that the lead story of this week’s email details Broad + Liberty’s continuing investigation into the Shapiro administrations coverup of a sexual harassment scandal and the disappearance of government emails connected with that misconduct.

That coverup, like the offence itself, would have never come to light without the diligent efforts of investigative reporter Todd Shepherd — and the support of readers like you.

6. What we're reading

Greenland? Panama? A 51st state? Many have wondered what is behind Trump’s turn toward old-style expansionism. In the Wall Street Journal this week, reporters try to answer the question by examining Trump’s recent focus on one of his predecessors: James K. Polk. Our eleventh president, Polk served a single term, nearly doubled the size of the country, and retired. Part of his legacy comes from being in the right place at the right time, but part of it was also inspired leadership of a young nation with the vigor to overtake the continent. But is it possible to have a Polk-like president in the 21st century?