EASTON, Pa. — Attorneys involved an internal Republican Party dispute clashed over basic proceedings in Northampton County Court Thursday afternoon in a one-of-a-kind criminal case over local politics and pornography.
On paper, special prosecutor Robert Goldman and defense attorneys Chris Shipman and Andrew Teitelman appeared before Judge Craig Dally to argue if Goldman can prosecute Debra Biro, Melanie Heilman, Steve Lynch and Richard Morea. The four elected members of the Northampton County Republican State Committee have been arraigned on charges they harassed their fellow Republicans at a chaotic June 2023 meeting of the Northampton County Republican Committee.
Under normal circumstances, the district attorney's office would prosecute the case. But, earlier this year, Dally appointed Goldman to handle the case at the request of Glenn Geissinger, the Northampton County Republican Committee chair whose private criminal complaint revived the charges.
"I don't think anyone in this courtroom has been — with all due respect — in a case like this, we are in novel ground."Defense attorney Andrew Teitelman
Thursday's hearing quickly expanded beyond its initial goals as Teitelman argued he was entitled to question whether Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta followed proper procedure in authorizing the private criminal complaint in February. Between the political nature of the case, the possibility of conflicts with the district attorney's office and esoteric laws involving private criminal complaints, there's never been a matter like it in the history of Pennsylvania, Teitelman said.
"I don't think anyone in this courtroom has been — with all due respect — in a case like this," he said. "We are in novel ground."
Goldman countered with a steady stream of objections, saying Baratta and Magisterial District Judge Jackie Taschner both found enough evidence existed for the charges to proceed. Taschner even dismissed lesser charges of disorderly conduct, showing she handled the matter with discretion, Goldman argued.
It's fair game for the defense to question his unusual appointment as special prosecutor, he said, but they shouldn't be allowed to rehash the last 10 months of legal proceedings.
"It's a fishing expedition!" Goldman repeatedly argued.
As Dally refereed the arguments, an increasingly agitated Baratta looked on from the witness stand. Baratta, a former county judge not known for his poker face, shifted in his seat and rolled his eyes as Teitelman pled his case. At times, he shot questions back at Teitelman defending his decision making — behavior not typically allowed of a witness. Dally gave Teitelman leeway but didn't rein in his former colleague, either.
A 'political conflict'?
Geissinger alleges Biro, Heilman, Lynch and Morea hijacked a Northampton County Republican Committee meeting in June when they demanded the removal of two executive board members. Hours earlier, an anonymous source emailed pornographic images of the couple to local Republicans. The source notified recipients the images were posted in an online pornographic database.
When Geissinger attempted to refer the allegations to a special committee to investigate, the four became enraged and began shoving the pornography into other people's faces and screaming at executive board members, multiple witnesses testified in June.
Morea went nose-to-nose with Geissinger, and Lynch invited committee vice chair Andrew Azan to throw the first punch in a fight outside, witnesses later testified. Party officials ended the meeting when they could not restore order.
One of the individuals depicted in the images filed a complaint with Bethlehem Township Police. At the conclusion of the department's investigation, then-Northampton County District Attorney Terry Houck opted not to prosecute. Geissinger revisited the matter with Baratta in February, who advised him to file a private criminal complaint.
"I didn't think it was appropriate to use my detectives for that matter," Baratta testified Thursday.
The case proceeded with Geissinger as the prosecutor; he hired Goldman to try the four.
Baratta testified the case left him in an awkward position when some of the charges advanced to county court. The Democrat had just won a high-profile election and wasn't interested in prosecuting leading members of the opposing party in this case.
"I didn't want people to think I got my jollies off by getting involved with the Republican Party and telling them what to do," he testified.
District attorneys can refer cases to the attorney general's office if a conflict of interest exists within their office, but Baratta insisted that didn't apply to this case. Instead, Baratta said he had a "political conflict."
But minutes later, he contradicted himself, saying he did not have a political conflict. Despite his discomfort with the matter, his office would have proceeded with the case had Geissinger and Goldman not offered to continue prosecution of the matter.
Goldman, Baratta testified, had no involvement in his office and no access to its resources. He would not hire Goldman to work for him, either, he said. Dally, he noted, appointed Goldman at Geissinger's request — not his.
"I didn't think it was a conflict in my heart of hearts."Mike Baratta
Teitelman pushed on, citing a LehighValleyNews.com article in which Baratta said he allowed Goldman to remain on the case to avoid a conflict of interest.
Baratta responded by criticizing Teitelman's clients.
The defendants were happy to question the accuracy of mainstream media — Lynch routinely brought up conspiracy theories during a 2021 campaign for county executive — but was now using media sources to try to poke holes in his testimony. He said the article on the whole was accurate, though the phrase "conflict of interest" was not.
"I didn't think it was a conflict in my heart of hearts," Baratta said.
Dally did not issue a ruling from the bench on whether Goldman could proceed or if Baratta faulted in his handling of the case. Instead, he gave the attorneys two weeks to submit their arguments in writing after receiving the hearing's transcripts. The case is slated for trial in March.
LehighValleyNews.com stands by the accuracy of its reporting.
