HARRISBURG — Bill McSwain, top federal prosecutor in Philadelphia under former President Donald Trump, will run for governor, he announced Monday, joining a crowded Republican field that may still yet get bigger.
McSwain’s announcement was not a surprise.
He had written to Trump in July, seeking the former president’s endorsement for governor and, before that, had told party figures that he intended to run.
It is his first run for public office.
McSwain, 52, lives in Chester County and went back to private law practice after more than three years as the U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, which included Philadelphia.
As U.S. attorney, McSwain battled Democrats in Philadelphia over law enforcement policy, including going to court successfully to fight plans to open a medically supervised drug-injection site.
McSwain is coming off an episode in July where Trump — speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas — said he had a letter from McSwain that claimed that Trump’s attorney general, Bill Barr, would not let McSwain investigate voter fraud in last November’s presidential election.
McSwain’s letter said he was given a “directive to pass along serious allegations to the state attorney general for investigation.”
Barr denied to The Philadelphia Inquirer that he ordered McSwain not to investigate allegations of election fraud, and said McSwain only made the claim to curry favor with Trump.
