Josh Shapiro sworn into 2nd term as Pa. attorney general by Paula Reed Ward, January 19, 2021, Triblive

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro promised to continue working toward justice for all residents on Tuesday as he was officially sworn into his second term in office.

Throughout his 15-minute speech from the state Judicial Center in Harrisburg, Shapiro spoke about inequality in race and socioeconomic status and pledged to continue to remedy it.

“The work goes on,” he said. “As we have seen over the past year, there is a long way to go.”

Although he touted the work he’s already done in his first term in office — the wide-ranging grand jury report into abuse in the Catholic Church, mediating a battle between UPMC and Highmark, addressing the ongoing opioid crisis, creating a conviction integrity unit, improving consumer protection — Shapiro spent much of his speech talking about the many things left undone.

We must, he said, “face down our country’s oldest division, emboldened by leaders who failed to act with moral clarity.”

He cited the 2018 attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill, as well as the death in May of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

“When bias and inequality limit people’s potential, it robs us of a safer, more just and prosperous country,” Shapiro said. “Justice requires us to have one rule of law — not different rules for different people. Not competing realities.”

He acknowledged the disparity in treatment that has been revealed by the pandemic.

“Covid laid bare the inequities in our commonwealth,” Shapiro said. “It ripped off the cover that let too many in power look past how fragile our society and economy were before the virus.

“These disparities are blinding, for all who care to see them: Who are the ‘essential workers’ and who gets to work from home? Which Pennsylvanians are able to get tests and vaccines, get a loan to keep their family business open, or meet their mortgage or monthly rent? Who has lost work, lost hours and whose portfolios have skyrocketed? How have we cared for the elderly, those suffering mental illness, and our most vulnerable? We know the answers, they are unacceptable — and to pursue justice, we must help find new answers.”

Shapiro also took aim at President Trump and his attempt to upend November’s election. Shapiro referred to it as “the big lie about our election told by the president and his enablers.

“They failed to tell the truth and fueled a domestic terror attack on our Capitol.”

The former Montgomery County commissioner and state representative pledged to continue to work for all Pennsylvanians — by protecting workers’ rights, pursuing corrupt politicians and ensuring that drug dealers are prosecuted, while those with addiction receive treatment rather than jail time.

“No matter where you’re from, what you look like, who you love or who you pray to or choose not to pray to, you deserve a team who will run through a brick wall to protect you — and we have and will.”

Refer also to:

Josh Shapiro wins re-election as PA Attorney General; One of his most important accomplishments so far? “Exposing the corruption in the Roman Catholic Church. That led to hundreds of predator priests abusing thousands of children in a conspiracy and cover-up that went from the Pennsylvania diocese all the way to the Vatican.”

AG Josh Shapiro criminally charges two more drilling companies, both deliberately hid a spill (“is just the nature of the beast” was the excuse), face five violations of PA’s Clean Stream Law. Will Encana/Ovintiv ‘n CAPP allow an AG like Josh Shapiro in Canada? Never.

DEP data shows bankrupt Chesapeake drilling new wells; Did Chesapeake file for bankruptcy to avoid paying outstanding royalties owed and avoid paying fines for criminal charges possibly up AG Josh Shapiro’s courageous sleeves? The company’s timing is suspect.

Cabot Oil and Gas gets frac’d! Pennsylvania AG Shapiro files 15 criminal charges, including 9 felonies, against Cabot for failing to fix gas wells that leaked methane over 9 square miles into 18 Dimock residential water supplies. “The Grand Jury presentments prove that Cabot took shortcuts that broke the law, and damaged our environment — harming our water supply and public health,”

After Pennsylvania AG Shapiro’s 2 year investigation, frac’er Range Resources pleads “no contest” to environmental crimes, gets tiny slap ($50,000 in fines & $100,000 donation to an NGO to make the criminal look good).

PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro expending significant investigave resources in pursuit of more than 12 criminal cases involving frac’ing: “some will result in criminal charges in the near future.” Any uncorrupted Attorney Generals in Canada courageous enough to take on frac crimes by Encana (Ovintiv)? Nope, not a one.