The NAACP’s Lebanon County Branch has released a letter sent to the Disciplinary Board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court expressing “deep concerns” about public comments made by Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf.
Hess Graf, in an email to LebTown, called the organization’s letter against her a “purely political attack with no merit.”
The letter (PDF) was sent following published comments that Hess Graf made about PennLive reporter Christine Vendel while that news organization was requesting an interview with the DA. The interview request concerned two snowmobilers who face a variety of charges for repeatedly running over a fox in Heidelberg Township.
According to the PennLive story, Vendel, who oversees breaking news and investigations for the news outlet, was called “an awful person,” by Hess Graf, who added, “I hope she burns in a fire.”
The story says that when one of Vendel’s colleagues pushed back on this comment during an interview request, Hess Graf replied, “Well that’s how I feel.” PennLive reported Graf would only agree to granting the outlet an interview if the reporter sent was not Vendel.
Vendel was part of a PennLive team that reported on the cases of two women who said they were let down by the Lebanon County DA’s office after they came forward to report being raped.
During a recent sit-down exclusive interview about various DA initiatives that preceded the fire comment to PennLive, Hess Graf told LebTown she’d prefer being in front of a jury to being interviewed by the press.
“I am not a political person, I have no filter,” said Hess Graf. “I tend to just say what I think. And I don’t know that’s – I’m not very polished in that respect.”
South Annville Township resident Michael Schroeder, who told LebTown he was speaking as a Lebanon County citizen and not an NAACP official, said the letter’s purpose is to make the board aware of the statement, adding that the letter doesn’t request the disciplinary board take any specific action. Schroeder is also secretary of the local NAACP chapter.
The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania investigates complaints by clients and the public against attorneys.
“This public utterance that ‘I hope she burns in a fire’ tends to undermine and subvert and call into question the fundamental integrity and independence of the judiciary,” said Schroeder. “Which is essentially what is stated in the press release.”
He added it’s not appropriate for a district attorney to “say such a thing when the reporter was just trying to do her job.”
“Maybe the DA doesn’t like the findings, that’s fine, or if she thinks something is wrong with the findings or the data, that’s fine for her to bring that up,” said Schroeder. “But to say she’s a horrible person for no other reason that she (a reporter) is investigating me, because she’s found patterns of failure to prosecute sex crimes for allegations of sexual assault, why she said that is a question the DA should be asked and answer.”
Over the past several days, Hess Graf had declined LebTown requests for an interview concerning the fire statement, but she emailed a statement Friday and said her schedule limited her availability for an interview.
“In response to the complaint/letter from the NAACP: This letter represents another attempt by an organization led by a perennial losing candidate, Mike Schroeder,” said Hess Graf in the statement. “This is a purely political attack with no merit.”
Schroeder, who ran for the office of the County Commissioners in 2023 on the Democratic ticket against incumbent Jo Ellen Litz, dismissed Hess Graf’s remarks with a laugh, and said the response was a distraction away from the real issue concerning her comments.
The NAACP’s letter to the disciplinary board cites Canon 1.2 of the Pennsylvania Code of Judicial Conduct, which the letter notes applies to all judges and district attorneys and stipulates: “A judge shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary.”
The balance of Hess Graf’s email statement reads:
“The comments were said out of frustration over the biased reporting coming from a particular reporter. While I regret the words chosen, they do convey the level of frustration I’ve had due to the one-sided and biased opinions that have been presented in recent articles. With that being said, I certainly don’t wish actual harm on anyone. I dedicated my career to prosecuting criminals of violent crimes and working with our law enforcement teams to ensure the safety of the people in Lebanon County. I look forward to continuing that work.”
LebTown asked Schroeder how the letter related to the mission of the NAACP.
“The mission of the NAACP is to protect and defend the civil rights of all people,” said Schroeder. “And the civil rights, in particular, in this particular case of the people who were allegedly sexually assaulted and not getting a fair shake by the district attorney. It’s a matter of holding public officials accountable.”
This is the third time the county’s NAACP chapter has filed complaints about Hess Graf over the past several years.
Schroeder presented a letter on behalf of the executive committee of the Lebanon County branch of the NAACP at a December meeting of the County Commissioners that expressed “deep concerns” about the county district attorney’s office’s handling of sex crimes as noted in PennLive news reports.
Read More: County Commissioners allocate over $3 million in ARPA funds for four projects
The “deep concerns” were about “pattern of responses by the Office of the Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf to allegations of rape and sexual assault as documented in a year-long investigation” by the Harrisburg-based news outlet.
The letter’s concerns included: the district attorney’s office’s “pattern of not filing charges in cases where the victim knows their attacker,” Lebanon County’s ranking as “8th lowest in the state for the rate of sexual crimes prosecutions in 2022 and 2023 based on the number of sex crimes reported,” and the DA’s office exhibiting “a troubling lack of transparency and accountability, refusing to respond to any media inquiries about these matters despite repeated requests via email, phone calls and office visits.”
No commissioner made a statement following Schroeder’s public comments at the December meeting, which included a call to action to have County Commissioners exercise their voice and have the District Attorney respond publicly and in writing to the NAACP’s letter.
Schroeder noted then that commissioners have no authority over the DA’s office since that position is elected by county voters.
In February 2022, the local NAACP chapter filed an ethics complaint against Hess Graf over her investigation of two fatal shootings by Pennsylvania State Police troopers.
Read More: NAACP files complaint against DA over investigation of fatal PSP shootings
Hess Graf investigated the fatal shootings of Charity Thome and Andrew Dzwonchyk, both of which involved state Trooper Jay Splain. She cleared Splain and a second trooper of any wrongdoing in the Thome shooting and also cleared Splain and another trooper in the Dzwonchyk investigation.
Graf’s husband, Cpl. Christopher Graf, was Splain’s supervisor at the time of the Thome shooting, and according to a later deposition by Splain, the three had crossed paths socially at a birthday party for another trooper’s son.
In July 2023, Hess Graf self-disclosed a “private reprimand” over the handling of the Thome shooting. The reprimand was in response to the February 2022 ethics complaint filed by the NAACP.
Read More: DA discloses ‘private reprimand’ over conflict in Thome shooting investigation
Concerning the disciplinary disclosure, Hess Graf said at that time: “In hindsight, I can understand the public scrutiny and the Board’s decision, though I still stand by the investigation and its outcome. We accepted the determination.”
Ultimately PSP settled separate federal civil rights suits over the Thome and Dzwonchyk shootings totaling $3 million.
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