Potential Harris VP pick Josh Shapiro’s actions while in office receive renewed attention

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a contender to become the Democratic vice presidential candidate, has seen his record come under scrutiny, with some of his actions while in office receiving renewed attention. Here’s what we know about those cases.

Questions over Shapiro’s handling of 2011 death of Ellen Greenberg

In 2011, Ellen Greenberg, a 27-year-old Philadelphia teacher, was found dead in her apartment by her fiance. She had 20 stab wounds to her body, including in the back of her neck. The medical examiner’s office initially ruled the death a homicide, but police publicly objected to the ruling because her apartment door was locked from the inside and her fiancé, who said he broke down the door to get to her, had no defensive wounds. The medical examiner’s office then revised the findings, saying the cause of death was suicide. 

Greenberg’s parents had been fighting since her death to have the case reexamined, and when one of their lawyers became Philadelphia’s district attorney in 2018, the family appealed to him to reopen the case. Citing a conflict of interest, however, he recused himself and sent the case to state Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office. 

In February 2022, the attorney general’s office announced it had reviewed the case and ruled once again the cause of death was suicide. However, in July 2022, Shapiro’s office referred the case back to the Philadelphia district attorney’s office, after critics cited unverified claims that Shapiro had connections to Greenberg’s fiancé’s family. The attorney general’s office said, “While the Office of Attorney General does not have an actual conflict in this matter, circumstances beyond our control have created the appearance of a conflict.”

Shapiro’s team previously told The Philadelphia Inquirer it had never addressed or clarified the allegations because it was “not acknowledging unfounded accusations.” 

In July, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear Greenberg’s parents’ case. Their attorney, Joe Podraza, told CBS affiliate WHP-TV they are seeking a decision on “whether coroners and medical examiners have absolute power, or can they be challenged when the evidence shows they are not only mistaken, but grossly mistaken.” 

The Greenbergs have also filed a civil suit against members of the medical examiner’s office, the police department, and the DA’s office.

Shapiro’s office accused of mishandling sexual harassment complaint against aide 

As governor, Shapiro has drawn criticism from the National Women’s Defense League and others for his office’s handling of a sexual harassment complaint made against one of his former cabinet members. 

A former employee of the governor’s office alleged in a March 2023 complaint that Michael Vereb, who was Shapiro’s head of legislative affairs, sexually harassed her for months and retaliated against her for speaking up. The woman resigned from her job after reporting the issue, saying the governor’s office did not remedy the situation or protect her from retaliation.

In early September 2023, Shapiro’s administration paid $295,000 in a settlement to the woman. Shapiro’s office announced Vereb’s resignation later that month. 

Both parties signed a nondisclosure agreement as part of the settlement, according to the New York Times, agreeing not to discuss the case publicly.

In a statement to The New York Times on Aug. 3, Shapiro spokesman Manuel Bonder said the governor “was not aware of the complaint or investigation until months after the complaint was filed.” 

“Governor Shapiro has no tolerance for harassment in the workplace or anywhere else,” Bonder said. 

Fetterman aides raise concerns that Shapiro was slow to grant clemency on Board of Pardons 

As state attorney general, Shapiro spent six years on Pennsylvania’s Board of Pardons, alongside then-Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, with whom he frequently disagreed publicly. A 2019 report by the Pennsylvania Capital-Star found that Shapiro voted to commute 17 sentences, compared to Fetterman’s vote to commute 30 sentences. 

Politico reported that Fetterman’s advisers brought up Shapiro’s commutation record with Vice President Kamala Harris’ team. Shapiro and Fetterman were on opposite sides of a 2019 clemency vote for two prisoners — Lee and Dennis Horton — who were over two decades into their life sentences for a robbery and fatal shooting that both said they did not commit. During their time in prison, the brothers had good behavioral records, including no reports of misconduct. 

In December 2019, the Board denied the Hortons’ request for clemency in a 2-3 vote – Shapiro voted against granting clemency, while Fetterman voted in favor. A spokesman for Shapiro told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Shapiro wanted the board to hold the case so he could interview the brothers separately and seek information missing from their files. 

When the case came under review again in 2020, Shapiro voted with the rest of the board to free the brothers. Shapiro’s spokesman told Politico: “The governor evaluates every pardons case individually and on its merits and during his time as attorney general, he approved more pardons and commutations than all of his predecessors over the last 25 years, combined.”