Bruce Castor

{{Cleanup rewrite|section=yes|date=February 2021}}

After serving stints beginning in 1981 with, respectively, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, the Northampton County (PA) District Attorney's Office, as an LBJ Congressional Scholar (Washington, DC) and defending Federal prisoners at FCI-Alderson (WV), Castor began his professional career as an assistant district attorney in 1985 before becoming district attorney of Montgomery County from 2000 to 2008. He next took a seat on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, an elected position he held until January 4, 2016, when he was succeeded by Joe Gale. Castor was defeated for re-election as Montgomery County's District Attorney in November 2015. Castor completed a nearly three-year term as a special assistant district attorney of Centre County, Pennsylvania on December 31, 2017, followed by an appointment as a special assistant district attorney of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania on January 6, 2018. On March 29, 2016, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced Castor's appointment (back-dated to March 21, when he actually took office) to the newly created position of Solicitor General of Pennsylvania.{{cite news|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20160330_AG_Kane_hires_Castor_as__solicitor_general_.html|title=A.G. Kane hires Castor as a top aide|author=Angela Couloumbis and Jeremy Roebuck|date=2016-03-30|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|access-date=2016-03-31|archive-date=2017-08-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831215947/http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20160330_AG_Kane_hires_Castor_as__solicitor_general_.html|url-status=live}} While he operated freely as the de facto Attorney General and was widely recognized as such, Castor formally became the state's Acting Attorney General, replacing Kane, who resigned on August 17, 2016, following a conviction of a third degree felony perjury charge and several related misdemeanors.{{cite web|last1=Couloumbis|first1=Angela|last2=McCoy|first2=Craig R.|title=Attorney General Kathleen Kane to resign|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20160817_Attorney_General_Kane_to_resign.html|work=Philadelphia Media Network|date=August 16, 2016|access-date=August 16, 2016|archive-date=March 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327135854/https://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20160817_Attorney_General_Kane_to_resign.html|url-status=live}}Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Kathleen Granahan Kane (2015) CP-46-CR-0006239-2015 Governor Tom Wolf later nominated Bruce Beemer to fulfill the remaining balance of Kane's term which expired in January 2017. Castor is the cousin of Steve Castor, who represented Trump during his first impeachment.

File:Gerlach Supports Death Penalty for Cop Killers.jpg and Joe Durante in 2007]]

After serving in the office since 1985, Castor was twice elected district attorney for Montgomery County, in which he is a lifelong resident, assuming office in January 2000.{{cite news|last=Marcovitz|first=Hal|title=County Commissioners, Others to be Sworn In|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mcall/access/47731712.html?dids=47731712:47731712&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+03%2C+2000&author=HAL+MARCOVITZ%2C+The+Morning+Call&pub=Morning+Call&desc=COUNTY+COMMISSIONERS%2C+OTHERS+TO+BE+SWORN+IN+NEW+FACES+WILL+TAKE+OVER+IN+MONTCO.+INCUMBENTS+WILL+RE-UP+IN+BUCKS.+OTHER+OFFICIALS+WILL+CHANGE+HATS.&pqatl=google|access-date=January 18, 2012|newspaper=The Allentown Morning Call|date=January 3, 2000|archive-date=June 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604210436/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mcall/access/47731712.html?dids=47731712:47731712&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+03,+2000&author=HAL+MARCOVITZ,+The+Morning+Call&pub=Morning+Call&desc=COUNTY+COMMISSIONERS,+OTHERS+TO+BE+SWORN+IN+NEW+FACES+WILL+TAKE+OVER+IN+MONTCO.+INCUMBENTS+WILL+RE-UP+IN+BUCKS.+OTHER+OFFICIALS+WILL+CHANGE+HATS.&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}} After his second term ended, he was succeeded by Risa Vetri Ferman. When she sought (and won) election as judge in November 2015, Castor sought to return to that office, but lost to Ferman's first assistant, Kevin Steele, who ran an 11th-hour campaign contending Castor should have charged entertainer Bill Cosby in 2005.{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Charlie |date=February 8, 2021 |title=Who Are David Schoen and Bruce Castor, Trump's Impeachment Trial Lawyers? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/us/politics/david-schoen-bruce-castor-trump.html |work=The New York Times |quote=The former president’s defense team brings together an Alabama civil rights and criminal defense lawyer and a former Pennsylvania prosecutor best known for not charging Bill Cosby.}} Castor countered that Steele could have arrested Cosby himself in the intervening years if he believed credible evidence existed to do so. A week before the election, Andrea Constand, who had accused Cosby of sexual assault in Montgomery County, sued Castor, claiming he defamed her by intimating she was not credible.{{Cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/politics/20151104_Steele_tops_Castor_in_contentious_Montco_DA_race.html|title=Steele tops Castor in contentious Montco D.A. race|first1=Laura|last1=McCrystal|first2=Jessica|last2=Parks|website=inquirer.com|date=November 3, 2015 }} The Washington Post said that this suit contributed to Castor's defeat.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/02/04/the-prosecutor-undone-by-a-secret-agreement-with-bill-cosby/|title=The prosecutor undone by a 'secret agreement' with Bill Cosby|last=Moyer|first=Justin Wm.|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 4, 2016|access-date=February 4, 2016}} In November 2017, Castor sued Constand and her lawyers for defamation, charging that the lawsuit and its timing were retaliatory and ruined his political career.{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/pennsylvania-district-attorney-sues-cosby-accuser-alleged-defamation/story?id=50901049|title=Former Pennsylvania district attorney sues Cosby accuser for alleged defamation|date=2017-11-03|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=2018-02-07}} In 2017, Cosby stood trial, but the trial ended in a hung jury with jurors unable to agree on Cosby's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, as Castor had predicted in 2005 would happen if he had elected to charge Cosby. However at Cosby's retrial he was convicted on all three counts and he was sentenced to serve 3 to 10 years in prison. After two years of time served the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the sentence, ruling that Castor's pledge to not prosecute Cosby was binding on all other prosecutors.

• Bill Cosby – Castor declined to prosecute Cosby for sexual assault in 2005 after he found "insufficient, credible and admissible evidence exists upon which any charge against Mr. Cosby could be sustained beyond a reasonable doubt".{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/02/17/cosby/|title=CNN.com - Prosecutors end Cosby investigation - Feb 22, 2005|website=www.cnn.com}} In November 2014 and through the November 2015 election, Castor's decision was heavily criticized, especially when other women came forward to accuse Cosby. Castor, however, assessed that none of these women known to him at the time would have been allowed to testify, making them legally irrelevant to the question of whether Castor should have arrested Cosby.{{Cite web|url=https://6abc.com/1052549/|title=Bill Cosby accuser files lawsuit against Montco DA candidate Bruce Castor|date=October 27, 2015|website=6abc Philadelphia}}{{Cite web|url=https://archive.thinkprogress.org/a-pennsylvania-election-reached-a-flash-point-over-bill-cosby-e1ad35944235/|title=A Pennsylvania Election Reached A Flash Point Over Bill Cosby|date=November 3, 2015 }} On December 30, 2015, with the statute of limitations about to expire, Cosby was charged with felony sexual assault.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/30/461482697/bill-cosby-is-charged-with-aggravated-indecent-assault-in-philadelphia-area-case|title=Bill Cosby Is Charged With Felony Sex Crime Over 2004 Case|date=2015-12-30|website=npr.org|publisher=NPR|access-date=2016-03-03}} At a preliminary hearing on February 2, 2016, Castor testified that he made a promise to never prosecute Cosby for the incident, but Judge Steven T. O'Neill ruled that the promise was not legally binding on the current district attorney, and ordered that the criminal case proceed.{{cite news|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/business/20160204_Legal_observers_puzzled_by_Castor_no-prosecute_pledge.html

|title=Legal observers puzzled by Castor no-prosecute pledge|author=Chris Mondics|date=2016-02-05|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|access-date=2016-03-03}} O'Neill further found that only Castor's word and no other evidence supported his contention and that the deal had never been memorialized in writing, and Castor was ultimately not a credible witness.[https://www.inquirer.com/news/bruce-castor-trump-impeachment-senate-trial-cosby-20210201.html Pa. Republicans are stumped by Trump’s pick of Bruce Castor for his impeachment defense], Philadelphia Inquirer, Remy Roebuck, Andrew Seidman and Laura McCrystal, February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021. O'Neill's ruling was reversed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on June 30, 2021, which held that Castor's non-prosecution pledge was in fact binding on Cosby's prosecutor; this ruling resulted in the overturning of Cosby's conviction and his release from prison.{{cite news |last=McCrystal|first=Laura|date=30 Jun 2021|title=Bill Cosby's release from prison again shines a light on Bruce Castor. And Castor feels 'vindicated.'|url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania/bruce-castor-bill-cosby-prosecutor-agreement-pa-supreme-court-20210630.html|work=Philadelphia Inquirer|location= |access-date=1 July 2021}}

• Dillon Cossey – Planned a Columbine-style attack on a local high school. Cossey was convicted in juvenile court.{{cite news |first=MarieClaire |last=Dale |title=Teen Admits School-Assault Plot |url=https://oklahoman.com/article/3157693/teen-admits-school-assault-plot |work=The Oklahoman |date=2007-10-26}}{{cite news |first=MarieClaire |last=Dale |title=Teen Admits School-Assault Plot |url=http://a.abcnews.com/US/wireStory?id=3782761 |publisher=Associated Press, Carried at abcnews.com |date=2007-10-26 |access-date=2008-07-19}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}
• John Eichinger – The most prolific arrested serial killer documented in Montgomery County history. Eichinger murdered three young women and a small child. Two of the women had rejected his sexual advances and the other woman and child were witnesses. Eichinger received three death sentences and one sentence of life in prison. The case formed the basis for the production of a demo video for a proposed television show based on Castor's career called "Probable Cause," written and produced in 2007 by then Times Herald reporter Keith Phucas in Norristown, Pennsylvania.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}
• Caleb Fairley – Fairley sexually assaulted and murdered a mother and her child in his parents' shop, earning a double life sentence.[http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/weird/vampires/18.html Caleb Fairley Case, Crimelibrary.com Caleb Fairley case at crimelibrary.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705172558/http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/weird/vampires/18.html |date=July 5, 2007 }} The case was the first time DNA evidence was used to convict a killer in Montgomery County. The Fairley case formed the basis for the book Vampire Trap by Katherine Ramsland. Castor is featured on the episode of Forensic Files ("Shopping Spree") devoted to the case.
• Bruce Godschalk – Godschalk was convicted of rape in 1987 (before Castor was elected) and was freed in 2002 after DNA tests cast doubt on his guilt. Castor had fought against DNA testing, arguing that Godschalk did not have the legal right to it.{{Cite web |url=http://www.staugustine.com/stories/110903/opi_1917376.shtml |title=Maurice Possley and Steve Mills, In depth: Crimes go unsolved as DNA profiles not sent to FBI, Chicago Tribune, Reprinted in St. Augustine Record, 10/6/04 |access-date=2007-08-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716134149/http://www.staugustine.com/stories/110903/opi_1917376.shtml |archive-date=2011-07-16 |url-status=dead }}[http://www.crimlaw.org/defbrief183.html Sara Rimer, Convict’s DNA Sways Labs, Not a Determined Prosecutor, The New York Times, Reprinted at www.crimlaw.com, 10/6/02] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929101355/http://www.crimlaw.org/defbrief183.html |date=2007-09-29 }} Godschalk filed a lawsuit against the county, which was settled for approximately $1 million. In 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in a similar case that convicts did not have a constitutional right to DNA testing.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/18/rapist.dna/|title=Supreme Court denies DNA test to rapist |website=www.cnn.com}}
• Craig Rabinowitz – Rabinowitz murdered his wife, Stefanie Newman, for the life insurance money to pay debts arising from a pyramid scheme, and to leave him free to pursue his obsession with a stripper. The case was front-page news for months and became the subject of multiple television programs and a book by Ken Englade called Everybody's Best Friend. He pleaded guilty to first degree murder and is serving a life sentence.Anne Barnard, Steve Ritea and Ralph Vigoda, Rabinowitz Admits Killing Wife - A dream urged him to `do the right thing', The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 10, 1997-10-31.Husband guilty of murder - obsession with stripper led to strangulation, Associated Press, 1997-10-31
• Rafael Robb – Robb, a University of Pennsylvania professor of game theory, was accused of murdering his wife in a rage. Pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 5–10 years in prison, a sentence many believe was too lenient, with Castor arguing for a 20-year prison term.{{cite news|title=Ex-Penn Professor Pleads Guilty In Wife's Death |url=http://cbs3.com/local/Rafael.Robb.University.2.595083.html |agency=Associated Press |publisher=cbs3.com |date=2007-11-27 |access-date=2008-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423034211/http://cbs3.com/local/Rafael.Robb.University.2.595083.html |archive-date=2008-04-23 |url-status=dead }}
• Guy Sileo – Sileo murdered his business partner in the General Wayne Inn, serving a life sentence for first degree murder. A highly circumstantial case, the "General Wayne Inn murder" has been the subject of numerous television portrayals.[http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11374797&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6 Families, friends of victims give support to candidate, Pottstown Mercury 4/24/04] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014727/http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11374797&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6 |date=2007-09-30 }}

{{Main|Pennsylvania Attorney General election, 2004}}

Castor ran for the GOP nomination for Pennsylvania Attorney General in 2004 against Republican Tom Corbett. Furious that he had lost endorsements of the southeastern GOP chairmen, Castor attacked Corbett and the county chairmen with allegations of backroom deals with Bob Asher,{{cite news|first=Margaret |last=Gibbons |title=Castor backs Corbett in attorney general race |url=http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1306&dept_id=187819&newsid=11858398&PAG=461&rfi=9 |work=The Colonial |date=2004-06-04 |access-date=2008-07-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930035417/http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1306&dept_id=187819&newsid=11858398&PAG=461&rfi=9 |archive-date=2007-09-30 }} the state's national GOP committeeman.{{cite news|first=Mary |last=Patel |title=Castor Roiled |url=http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2004-01-22/polnote.shtml |work=Philadelphia City Paper |date=2004-01-22 |access-date=2007-12-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208133715/http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2004-01-22/polnote.shtml |archive-date=2007-12-08 }}{{cite news|first=Debra |last=Erdley |title=Most still undecided on Corbett, Castor |url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_190535.html |work=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review |date=2004-04-22 |access-date=2008-07-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091103040420/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_190535.html |archive-date=2009-11-03 }} Castor and Asher had feuded for several years due to Asher's prior felony convictions for perjury, bribery, racketeering, and conspiracy in 1986 in the context of a political corruption scandal which also involved the State Treasurer, R. Budd Dwyer, leading to Dwyer's committing suicide at a press conference before his sentencing. Asher had been state GOP Chair during the scandal and was convicted for participating in the bribery of Dwyer. Asher's criminal past, connected to a political bribery scheme while he was the Republican state chair, became a subject of the campaign for the state's top law enforcement post.{{cite news|title=Editorial: A rare public dispute in ranks of the GOP |url=http://www.delcotimes.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10927797&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18171&rfi=8 |work=Delco Times |date=2004-02-06 }}{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Castor was unable to produce proof of any conspiracy against him and ran without the party endorsement in all but two counties, his home base in Montgomery County and Monroe County. Castor lost 52.8% to 47.2%, despite winning overwhelmingly the same southeastern counties whose chairmen had repudiated him, and his home in Montgomery County, where he took nearly 82.5% of the vote.{{Cite web|url=https://electionreturns.pa.gov/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219020617/http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=15&ElectionID=10&OfficeID=5|title=Pennsylvania Elections - Summary Results|archive-date=February 19, 2007|website=electionreturns.pa.gov}}{{Cite web|url=https://old.post-gazette.com/pg/04119/307815.stm|title=Corbett, Eisenhower win in attorney general race|website=old.post-gazette.com|access-date=February 10, 2021|archive-date=January 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117132732/http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/04119/307815.stm|url-status=dead}}

When his term as district attorney expired in January 2008, Castor took a position at the litigation firm of Elliott, Greenleaf & Siedzikowski in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania as a shareholder and director. One of his notable clients was professional basketball player Marko Jaric of the Memphis Grizzlies, who was accused of sexual assault in Philadelphia. Jaric was not charged in the case.{{cite news |author=Chris Mannix |title=Grizzlies' Jaric not charged after probe into alleged sexual assault |url=https://www.si.com/nba/2009/03/13/jaric |work=Sports Illustrated, SI.com |date=2009-03-13 |access-date=2009-05-03 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180309124053/https://www.si.com/nba/2009/03/13/jaric | archive-date = 9 March 2018}} In 2009, Castor represented Mark Sargent, who was investigated (but not charged) for patronizing a brothel while he served as dean of the Villanova University School of Law.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blogs/law/2009/07/villanova_dean_resigned_over_prostitution|title=Villanova Dean Resigned Over Prostitution|website=www.bizjournals.com|access-date=2018-02-06}} In 2010, Castor represented his former boss, attorney Michael D. Marino, whose nephew accidentally shot and killed a man while hunting.{{Cite news|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20101218_It_took_9_days_for_former_D_A__to_come_clean_on_hunter_s_shooting_death__affidavit_says.html?mobi=true|title=It took 9 days for former D.A. to come clean on hunter's shooting death, affidavit says - Philly|work=Philly.com|access-date=2018-02-06}} Marino, a former Montgomery County D.A., was present when the shooting occurred, despite knowing that his nephew was prohibited from owning and using firearms, owing to a felony conviction. Marino was not charged in the case. On July 1, 2013, Castor joined the law firm of Rogers & Associates (subsequently renamed Rogers Castor) as a civil-litigation lawyer in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, with former Lower Merion Commissioner and former Republican state senate nominee, Lance Rogers. Castor and Rogers Castor, renamed as Rogers Counsel, parted ways on December 31, 2020, and [https://www.mtvlaw.com/our-firm/bruce-l-castor-jr/ Bruce J Castor] joined the personal injury law firm of van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim.{{cite news |last1=Mitchell |first1=Max |title=Castor Splits With Longtime Firm, Joining Phila. Personal Injury Practice |url=https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligencer/2020/12/17/castor-splits-with-longtime-firm-joining-another-personal-injury-practice/ |access-date=17 December 2020}} In 2017, Castor led the investigation into the Death of Tim Piazza at Pennsylvania State University.{{Cite web|date=2017-04-28|title=Prosecutor: Charges likely in deadly fall at Penn State frat|url=https://apnews.com/article/039545018c21428f9cfafbdb600ed568|access-date=2021-02-10|website=AP NEWS}}

In 2007, Castor challenged incumbent County Commissioner Tom Ellis, a one-time friend who had chaired Castor's campaigns in 1999 and 2003 but endorsed Corbett in 2004.{{cite news |first=Jeff |last=Shields |title=Castor formalizes run for Montco seat |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmtpi/is_200702/ai_n18667935 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=2004-02-07}} Early in the campaign, Castor commissioned a poll showing that Ellis, who had been hobbled by negative press surrounding alleged domestic violence incidents, would lose in a general election.{{cite web|url=http://www.politicspa.com/temp/castor2.pdf |title=Poll Commissioned by Castor Campaign |work=PoliticsPA.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928011435/http://www.politicspa.com/temp/castor2.pdf |archive-date=2007-09-28 }} Ellis released his own poll to try to refute Castor's charges that he was unelectable.{{cite news|author=William Mulgrew |url=http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm?newsid=17790016&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=6 |title=Ellis Backs Candidacy With Poll Numbers |publisher=The Bulletin |date=2007-01-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927001017/http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm?newsid=17790016&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=6 |archive-date=2007-09-27 }} In a six candidate field, Castor won the party endorsement on the first ballot, but his preferred running mate, former State Representative Melissa Murphy Weber, was narrowly defeated by incumbent Jim Matthews on the second ballot.

Initially, Castor was reluctant to run with Matthews saying he believed Matthews was "untrustworthy." However, amid widespread pressure that he would be splitting the party, Castor relented and ran with Matthews against former Democratic Congressman Joe Hoeffel and incumbent commissioner Ruth Damsker in the general election.{{cite news|author=William Mulgrew |url=http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm?newsid=18097861&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=6 |title=Montco GOP Tries To Make Up |publisher=The Bulletin |date=2007-02-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181145/http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm?newsid=18097861&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=6 |archive-date=2016-03-03 }} During the campaign, some of Castor's earlier criticism of Matthews was raised by the Democrats, including financial support to Matthews from Bob Asher. Over Castor's objections who would not accept funds from a convicted felon, Matthews set up a separate campaign account from the Matthews/Castor account in order to collect contributions from Asher.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesherald.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Daily?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=%2FNTH%2FHome&r21.content=%2FNTH%2FHome%2FTopStoryList_Story_697080 |title=Dems want Asher money returned |author=Margaret Gibbons |publisher=Pottstown Mercury |date=2007-09-24 }}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} On election day, Castor won, taking first place in the general election setting an electoral record at the time for the position. His running mate placed third, giving the GOP control of the commission. This was the first time in at least 140 years that a Republican failed to capture both the first and the second spot. Castor and Matthews served with Hoeffel, who finished second.{{cite news|url=http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-11072007-1436703.html |title=Montco Republicans are winners |author=Jacob Fenton |publisher=The Intelligencer |date=2007-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080124122039/http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-11072007-1436703.html |archive-date=2008-01-24 }} It was immediately a rocky relationship with all Castor's earlier predictions about Matthews being "untrustworthy" coming true. Matthews and Hoeffel sided against Castor shutting him out of setting county policy. Castor responded by repeatedly making allegations of corruption against his fellow commissioners charging mismanagement of county finances, the hiring of unqualified people, and in the conduct of county business. A subsequent grand jury report found questionable behavior on Hoeffel's part for his participation in discussing county business at private breakfast meetings held with Matthews and senior aides–an alleged violation of state "sunshine" laws. However, unlike Matthews, who was later arrested for allegedly perjuring himself while testifying to the grand jury,{{cite news|last=Coughlin |first=Matt |title=Ex Montco commissioner to serve probation on false swearing charge, but unrepentant |url=http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/crime/ex-montco-commissioner-to-serve-probation-on-false-swearing-charge/article_3bc2f527-e74b-5506-a762-0dda0710ef4a.html?mode=print |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104114854/http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/crime/ex-montco-commissioner-to-serve-probation-on-false-swearing-charge/article_3bc2f527-e74b-5506-a762-0dda0710ef4a.html?mode=print |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 4, 2013 |access-date=August 13, 2012 |newspaper=PhillyBurbs.com |date=July 18, 2012 }} Hoeffel was never charged with criminal wrongdoing.{{cite news|last=Gibbons |first=Margaret |title=Matthews' day in court could come on May 31 |url=http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/crime/matthews-day-in-court-could-come-on-may/article_e6305d40-bad1-594a-881d-756ea7274f7c.html?mode=print |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201011935/http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/crime/matthews-day-in-court-could-come-on-may/article_e6305d40-bad1-594a-881d-756ea7274f7c.html?mode=print |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 1, 2013 |access-date=August 13, 2012 |newspaper=PhillyBurbs.com |date=May 25, 2012 }}{{cite news|last=DeHuff |first=Jenny |title=Commissioner Matthews arrested, resigns as chairman |url=http://www.timesherald.com/article/20111206/NEWS01/111209806&pager=full_story |access-date=August 13, 2012 |newspaper=The Times Herald |date=December 6, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110063848/http://www.timesherald.com/article/20111206/NEWS01/111209806%26pager%3Dfull_story |archive-date=November 10, 2014 }} Nevertheless, Matthews and Hoeffel were unable to achieve endorsement for re-election and dropped out of the race, while GOP voters easily re-nominated Castor who was thus vindicated in his allegations of government corruption and mismanagement by Hoeffel and Matthews.

On November 8, 2011, St. Rep. Josh Shapiro, Whitemarsh Twp. Supervisor Leslie Richards, and Castor were elected, marking the first time in county history Democrats controlled two of the three seats on the Board of Commissioners.{{cite web|last=Rawlins|first=John|title=Democrats historically gain control of Montgomery County|url=https://6abc.com/archive/8488946/|work=Elections|publisher=ABC News|access-date=August 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728041710/http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=8488946|archive-date=July 28, 2013|url-status=live}} Shapiro was elected chairman unanimously on nomination from Castor. All three members of the commission later noted the improved level of civility and functionality on the board, with Castor expressing pride in working with Shapiro and Richards whom he considered "honest."{{cite news|last=Roebuck|first=Jeremy|title=Peace has come to the Montco commission|url=http://articles.philly.com/2012-04-16/news/31350125_1_row-officers-montgomery-county-shapiro|access-date=August 12, 2012|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=April 16, 2012|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221505/http://articles.philly.com/2012-04-16/news/31350125_1_row-officers-montgomery-county-shapiro|url-status=dead}} The relationship amongst the three commissioners later prompted one columnist of The Philadelphia Inquirer to note that she owed Castor an apology for considering his complaints about the prior county administration "sour grapes".{{cite news|last=Heller|first=Karen|title=Karen Heller: What's great for Montco also bit of a bummer|url=http://articles.philly.com/2012-03-21/news/31220594_1_county-government-montgomery-county-government-employees/2|access-date=August 12, 2012|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=March 21, 2012|archive-date=January 31, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131120756/http://articles.philly.com/2012-03-21/news/31220594_1_county-government-montgomery-county-government-employees/2|url-status=dead}} On November 3, 2015, Castor was defeated in his effort to return to the district attorney's post and Joe Gale was elected to succeed Castor as county commissioner. Upon retiring from county service after 30 years on January 4, 2016, Castor began practicing law full-time as a trial lawyer.

On March 21, 2016, Castor took the oath of office as the first Solicitor General of Pennsylvania. Being summoned to her Scranton office by Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane on March 4, 2016, without explanation, Castor met General Kane expecting her to request him to represent her in a private capacity{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}. Instead, Kane offered him the newly created position of Solicitor General of Pennsylvania (later merged into the job of first deputy attorney general){{citation needed|date=November 2017}}, and Castor accepted. The move was necessitated because the Attorney General had her license to practice law suspended by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Castor was supposedly subordinate to Kane in all matters except for making legal decisions on behalf of Pennsylvania, though most observers considered him the de facto attorney general, a fact later confirmed upon Kane's resignation. In practice, Castor operated as a bridge between Kane and the remainder of the office of attorney general, in addition to being the final word on legal matters, in order to make the executive portion of the office function properly.

However, following Democrat Kathleen Kane's sudden resignation, Republican Castor was sworn in as Acting Attorney General of Pennsylvania, no longer simply de facto attorney general, though later that week Democratic Governor Tom Wolf nominated Democratic Inspector General Bruce Beemer to serve the remainder of Kane's term. The Pennsylvania Senate confirmed the nomination quickly.{{cite news|title=Governor nominates former state prosecutor Beemer to replace Kane|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20160819_Governor_nominates_former_state_prosecutor_to_replace_Kane_as_attorney_general__ousting_Bruce_Castor.html|access-date=19 August 2016|website=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=19 August 2016}} After Castor assumed the office of Acting Attorney General, he was the subject of criticism,{{cite web|last1=McKelvey|first1=Wallace|title=Everybody hates Bruce Castor, and the acting AG couldn't care less|url=http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/08/bruce_castor_kathleen_kane.html|work=The Patriot-News|date=August 19, 2016|access-date=August 19, 2016}} and on August 30, 2016, Bruce Beemer succeeded Castor as attorney general. Castor resigned from the office of attorney general on September 9, 2016, reverting to first deputy attorney general and, finally, solicitor general.

{{see also|Second impeachment of Donald Trump}}

On January 31, 2021, Castor was appointed to take the lead for Donald J. Trump's defense team for his 2021 impeachment trial, alongside criminal law practitioner David Schoen. Castor's opening arguments on February 9, 2021, were widely reported to be confusing and rambling,{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/us/politics/bruce-castor-trump-lawyer.html|title='The president's lawyer just rambled on and on.' Trump defense lawyer leaves some senators scratching their heads.|first=Luke|last=Broadwater|date=February 9, 2021|work=The New York Times}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2021/2/9/22275139/bruce-castor-trump-impeachment-trial-speech|title=Even right-wing pundits had no clue what Bruce Castor was doing during his impeachment trial speech|first=Aaron|last=Rupar|date=February 9, 2021|website=Vox}}{{Cite web|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/02/trump-impeachment-lawyer-speech-senate-trial-bruce-castor.html|title=Trump's Lawyer Rambles Through Hilariously Incoherent Impeachment Defense|first=Jonathan|last=Chait|authorlink=Jonathan Chait|date=February 9, 2021|website=Intelligencer|access-date=February 10, 2021|archive-date=February 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209230116/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/02/trump-impeachment-lawyer-speech-senate-trial-bruce-castor.html|url-status=live}} and famously included the statement "Nebraska, you’re going to hear, is quite a judicial thinking place"{{cite news |title=Even right-wing pundits had no clue what Bruce Castor was doing during his impeachment trial speech |url=https://www.vox.com/2021/2/9/22275139/bruce-castor-trump-impeachment-trial-speech |access-date=12 November 2022 |work=Vox}} that became an online meme.{{cite news |title=The best memes from Bruce Castor's bizarre impeachment speech |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/bruce-castor-memes-trump-impeachment-trial-b1800322.html |access-date=12 November 2022 |work=The Independent}} Trump was reportedly "furious" about Castor's "rambling, almost somnambulant defense."{{cite web|first=Maggie|last=Haberman|authorlink=Maggie Haberman|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/us/politics/trump-bruce-castor-david-schoen.html|title=Meandering Performance by Defense Lawyers Enrages Trump|work=The New York Times|date=February 10, 2021|access-date=February 10, 2021}} Texas Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn commented, "The president's lawyer just rambled on and on" and "I've seen a lot of lawyers and a lot of arguments, and that was not one of the finest I've seen." Castor for his part suggested the former president did not criticize his performance. "Far from it," he said.{{cite news|last1=Levy|first1=Marc|date=February 12, 2021|title=Lawyer defending Trump accustomed to political disaster|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-02-12/bruce-castor-impeachment-trial|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=February 14, 2021}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110102115020/http://www2.montcopa.org/montco/cwp/view%2Ca%2C3%2CQ%2C5181.asp Montgomery County Commissioners]
• {{C-SPAN|129248}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-off}}

{{s-bef|before=Tom Ellis}}

{{s-ttl|title=Member of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners|years=2008–2016|alongside= Jim Matthews, Joe Hoeffel, Josh Shapiro, Leslie Richards, Val Arkoosh}}

{{s-aft|after=Joe Gale}}

|-

{{s-legal}}

{{s-bef|before=Michael D. Marino}}

{{s-ttl|title=District Attorney of Montgomery County|years=2000–2008}}

{{s-aft|after=Risa Vetri Ferman}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Kathleen Kane}}

{{s-ttl|title=Attorney General of Pennsylvania
{{small|Acting}}|years=2016}}

{{s-aft|after=Bruce Beemer}}

{{s-end}}

{{Pennsylvania Attorneys General}}

{{Second impeachment and impeachment trial of Donald Trump}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castor, Bruce L. Jr.}}

Category:1961 births

Category:20th-century American lawyers

Category:21st-century American lawyers

Category:American prosecutors

Category:Chestnut Hill Academy alumni

Category:District attorneys in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Category:Lafayette College alumni

Category:Living people

Category:Montgomery County Commissioners (Pennsylvania)

Category:Solicitors general of Pennsylvania

Category:Pennsylvania attorneys general

Category:Pennsylvania lawyers

Category:Pennsylvania Republicans

Category:Politicians from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Category:Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni

Category:Members of the defense counsel for the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump

Category:Sigma Alpha Epsilon members

Category:Donald Trump attorneys