California district attorney candidate allegedly ‘hit on’ participants in cases he prosecuted

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Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer

A liberal attorney trying to unseat the district attorney in conservative Orange County is accused of trying to date participants in criminal cases he prosecuted while working in the DA’s office six years ago, a document shows.

Candidate Peter Hardin, who claims to have support from a Black Lives Matter-affiliated political action committee, is a “womanizer” who asked a defendant out on a date after dismissing a case against her involving domestic violence against her boyfriend, according to an internal memo obtained by the Washington Examiner.

IT’S ‘LAW AND ORDER’ VS. ‘WOKE’ AND BLM IN BITTER RACE FOR ORANGE COUNTY DA’S OFFICE

“Hardin was developing a reputation for being a womanizer and there was a perception that this may be impacting the way in which he handles cases,” said a memo dated Aug. 19, 2015, and written by Hardin’s supervisor, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Contini. “I was told that this was the general perception of many people on his team, but they were reluctant to come forward because they believe he is well connected.”

Hardin prosecuted misdemeanor cases out of a satellite Newport Beach courthouse. He is a former military attorney who allegedly left the service in lieu of a court-martial for “adultery.” However, his discharge papers say “unacceptable conduct,” according to the Orange County Register.

Contini, now an Orange County Superior Court commissioner, offered a few instances in which “Peter may have ‘crossed the line.'” She had offered an action plan to “counsel Peter on the reputation he has developed” and “caution him that the workplace is no place to spark romance — certainly not with victims, witnesses or defendants.”

Another example included Hardin offering to dismiss a case against a defendant “just because the [defendant’s] aunt was attractive,” the memo said. The offer came after another prosecutor had refused to do this. Contini said she was not “offended” by Hardin’s dismissal offer.

In a separate case, Hardin tried to date a witness who testified in a case involving a restraining order violation, the memo said. Hardin resigned two months after Contini wrote the memo. He did not respond to several requests for comment.

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Peter Hardin memo

One prosecutor who did not want to be identified told the Washington Examiner Hardin’s exploits were well known in the office and that he heard Hardin talking about it.

“He was bragging about it. He used to brag about a lot of things. He was a womanizer,” the prosecutor said. “On one case, he emailed a witness and solicited dates from the witness while it was in the middle of trial or right after.”

In the domestic violence dismissal, Hardin followed the defendant to the parking lot and asked her out as she walked to her car, the prosecutor said.

“He circumvented what other DAs did when he shouldn’t have and gave some form of punishment that typically involves no jail time,” such as counseling, the prosecutor said.

The district attorney election promises to be a bruising one, as both sides have leveled accusations against each other. Incumbent Todd Spitzer is running on a law and order platform, while Hardin promises to impose progressive policies. Hardin claimed in a video he had spoken to several leftist PACs, which have been instrumental in pushing a judicial system focusing on rehabilitation over jail time.

District attorneys such as George Gascon in Los Angeles and Chesa Boudin in San Francisco were ushered in with funding from tycoon George Soros and promptly unleashed policies that have created violent crime waves, police and prosecutors say.

Spitzer said the memo shows Hardin’s behavior was “disturbing and inappropriate.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“After losing his job in the military for sexual misconduct, Hardin went on to use his position of authority at the OCDA’s office to prey on vulnerable victims, witnesses, and even defendants,” Spitzer said. “As if Hardin’s woke, pro-criminal agenda wasn’t bad enough, it turns out he’s a predator, too. How can Hardin be trusted to prosecute defendants when he’s trying to date them?”

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