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1. Disappearing documents: Shapiro admin deleted accuser’s emails — while senior aides’ records were preserved

By Todd Shepherd
 

Internal records obtained from Governor Josh Shapiro’s office suggest the email account of a top aide who accused a cabinet secretary of sexual harassment was deleted under suspicious and possibly selective circumstances — and not as part of any routine records policy.

The aide, who resigned in 2023 after lodging the allegation, appears to be the only official whose email records have been entirely wiped from state servers during that period.

The absence of any preserved messages raises sharp questions about whether the Shapiro administration took steps to erase a digital trail tied to a politically sensitive personnel matter — and whether broader email retention practices in the governor’s office are compromised or selectively enforced.

Why It Matters. In August 2024, the governor’s spokesman, Manuel Bonder, told the New York Times that Shapiro “‘was not aware of the complaint or investigation until months after the complaint was filed.’”

Broad + Liberty asked who specifically in the chain of command erred by keeping the information from the governor. Bonder did not answer that question. Despite the governor’s office insisting that the accuser’s emails were handled in accordance with policy, the retention schedule in force at the time requires retention of emails from the Office of Legislative Affairs — where she worked — for a minimum of two years or until the end of the legislative session, whichever is longer. Her emails were sought just one year after she left.

Nowhere in Bonder’s response did he point to any portion of the retention schedule that would support his claims. Bonder also did not respond to a follow-up question asking when the accuser’s email account was deleted.

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2. Dem-aligned PACs mail fake Republican sample ballots in MontCo

By Beth Ann Rosica
 

A local political group supporting four Democratic candidates for the Perkiomen Valley School Board is intentionally attempting to mislead Republican voters according to Montgomery County Republican Committee (MCRC) Chair Christian Nascimento.

PV Forward, a political action committee, mailed out green sample ballots to some registered Republican voters with the oval blackened for the Democratic-endorsed school board candidates.

Why It Matters. The document, entitled “Perkiomen Valley Republican Sample Ballot,” is printed on green paper which Nascimento said the county Republican Party has used since the 1970s or ‘80s, and local Republican voters recognize this as the “official” party communication.

To compound the confusion, the fake sample ballot also lists some of the Republican-endorsed candidates for Judge. If Republican voters receive this mailing and check the first two names, Ann Marie Wheatcraft for Superior Court and Matt Wolford for Commonwealth Court, they will show as legitimately endorsed by the Republican Party.

If voters do not research the school board candidates listed on the fake sample ballot, they will have no way of knowing they are not actually endorsed by the Republican Party but, rather, by the Democratic Party.

Quotable. “We just want free and fair elections,” said Christian Nascimento, the Montgomery County Republican Committee Chair. “This is a travesty and a blatant attempt to sow confusion in voters.”

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3. Lightning Round

• Christine Flowers: An American Pope for the 21st century

• Thom Nickels: May Day kayfabe

• Chris Gibbons: The box in the attic

• Guy Ciarrocchi: Four books and one story that changed everything

• Gettysburg College effort to enroll ‘20% students of color’ prompts federal complaint

• Stephenie Scialabba: It’s time to fix the flawed tax policy hurting independent oil and gas producers

• Fred Harran: A safer Bucks County: Fully utilizing the Sheriff’s Office for public safety

4. What we're reading

We’re reading what all the world is reading this week: coverage of the new pope, Leo XIV, the first American to ever hold the office, and a man with local connections through his time at Villanova University. In addition to a column by our own Christine Flowers, John Allen at Crux gave a pre-conclave rundown of Cardinal Robert Prevost when he was still considered only a dark horse contender for the throne of St. Peter. The Chicago Tribune covered their native son extensively in articles about his upbringing and his family. Even Barstool Sports is on the Pope beat, tracking down the question of which baseball team holds the new Pope’s loyalty (he’s a White Sox fan.) Pope Leo’s election is truly an historic occasion for Catholics and, in some ways, for all Americans.