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Politics & Government

Key Democrats Denounce GOP Mumia Claims

Former Governor Ed Rendell and Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams on Monday discounted connections between candidate Kathy Boockvar and Mumia Abu-Jamal.

 

At a press conference Monday in Philadelphia, Bucks County 8th District congressional candidate Kathy Boockvar, former Governor Ed Rendell and city District Attorney Seth Williams spoke to discredit claims that surfaced in recent weeks which link the candidate and convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal.

The claims, which first began appearing via robocalls and on the Internet in recent weeks, state: “Radical activist Kathy Boockvar has ties to convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal.”

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The website where the claims appear, RadicalKathy.com, is run by the National Republican Congressional Committee. The website says it is “not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.”

Incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick's campaign has remained silent on the issue, NewsWorks.org said. A call by Patch to Fitzpatrick’s campaign manager has not yet been returned.

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FactCheck.org, an independently funded website, confirmed that Boockvar’s husband represented a witness to the 1982 murder of city police officer Daniel Faulkner in a case where the woman accused police of pressuring her to testify.

The National Republican Congressional Committee also has connected Boockvar’s husband, Jordan Yeager, to a National Lawyers Guild event that honored the featured the convicted murder. Yeagar is a former member Executive Committee members of the National Lawyers Guild, according to online accounts.

While the claims on RadicalKathy.com are true, FactCheck reported, they “don’t amount to much more than guilt by association.”

Rendell, who was the city district attorney who helped prosecute Abu-Jamal, was quoted by PoliticsPa.com as saying the Republicans were pointing out the connection because “Kathy Boockvar associated with Mumia is going to scare the heck out of suburban voters.”

“These false, personal attacks highlight everything that’s wrong with Washington and politics today,” Boockvar said in a statement released by her campaign. She also denounced Abu-Jamal.

Boockvar and Fitzpatrick are set to debate in the coming weeks.

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