A panel of state Senate Republicans on Tuesday morning subpoenaed state police and Gov. Josh Shapiro's hometown for documents related to the security enhancements made to the Democrat's private residence in Montgomery County, after the assassination attempt against him in April.
Republicans on the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee subpoenaed financial records, communications, permits and more information from Pennsylvania State Police and Shapiro's home municipality, Abington Township.
"No one disputes that the governor should have reasonable and appropriate protection, or that the governor should have access to transportation for reasonable and appropriate travel associated with his role," Chairman Jarrett Coleman, R-Lehigh, told the panel, before criticizing Shapiro's office for not providing more details about the security upgrades.
The records must be provided to the committee by noon Jan. 16.
Republicans had planned to issue the subpoenas last month, but Coleman canceled the meeting and granted the Shapiro administration an extension to provide more information about the upgrades.
Coleman said the Governor's Office provided some documents via email at 10:25 a.m., just five minutes before the beginning of the Intergovernmental Operations Committee meeting Tuesday.
But Coleman said he did not have the opportunity to read the email prior to the meeting, and the committee approved the subpoenas in party-line votes Tuesday. Coleman and Senate Republicans also subpoenaed detailed information regarding Shapiro's use of the state plane.
Coleman's acknowledgment of receiving an email from Shapiro's office drew the ire of some Democrats on the committee, including Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, who unsuccessfully sought to postpone the meeting until Coleman could review the documents.
Costa also argued that the committee lacked the authority to subpoena such records.
Will Simons, a spokesman for Shapiro, called Coleman's efforts "partisan attacks" that show a "clear disregard" for the governor and his family.
According to Simons, Pennsylvania State Police and an independent security consultant recommended security enhancements be made to Shapiro's private home in Montgomery County after the arson attack at the state-owned Governor's Residence in Harrisburg.
"As a direct result of those recommendations, security improvements have been put in place to keep the governor and his family safe," Simons said.
Those improvements have cost taxpayers more than $1 million, according to records obtained by Spotlight PA, including costs for a new security system and for groundskeeping.
Shapiro and his family split their time between their Abington home and the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg. They, along with some guests who had celebrated the beginning of Passover the night before, were asleep inside the Governor's Residence when a man broke into the mansion and set it ablaze.
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