Going on the attack in the days following the conservative Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, probable Republican candidate for governor Stacy Garrity held a Monday press conference to criticize Gov. Josh Shapiro for his lack of transparency and accountability regarding sexual harassment and misconduct committed by his Administration.

Speaking at the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association in Harrisburg, the State Treasurer said that Shapiro is lacking in trust.

“We have learned on so many issues that Josh Shapiro’s talk only matters when it benefits him, and the actions of his most trusted advisors speak louder than words about the culture his administration has created,” said Garrity. “And that is why we are here today. The lack of accountability Josh Shapiro has delivered, the lack of transparency Josh Shapiro has offered, and the trust that Josh Shapiro has eroded has hurt victims across our Commonwealth.”

Garrity detailed reforms that she says her administration would make in the executive branch, including requiring all agencies to preserve evidence; launching independent investigations into all sexual harassment investigations; and banning taxpayer-funded settlements for sexual harassment cases in the executive branch.

She singled out the 2023 departure of former Shapiro aide and ally Mike Vereb, who resigned as Secretary of Legislative Affairs amid a a sexual harassment investigation. It was revealed that the Governor’s office settled a suit against the former state representative, agreeing to pay $295,000 to settle claims.

Garrity also sought to tie Shapiro to LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, whose name appears frequently in the Epstein files.

“Josh Shapiro’s behavior throughout the Mike Vereb scandal is just one symptom in his broader disregard for women,” she said. “Josh Shapiro has accepted more than $2 million from LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, even though Hoffman has virtually no ties to Pennsylvania. Hoffman appears more than 2,600 times in the Epstein Files and, though never charged with criminal wrongdoing, he traveled with Epstein around the globe, including to Epstein’s Island, and did so after Epstein became a convicted sex offender,” continued Garrity.

Garrity’s campaign has called on Shapiro to either return the donation or donate it to a charity supporting Epstein’s victims.

The treasurer’s comments about Hoffman’s contributions to the Shapiro campaign run counter to her full-on support of President Donald Trump, whose name also appears in the files on the disgraced financier. Trump has formally endorsed Garrity for governor and reiterated that support at her recent fundraiser at Mar-A-Lago.

Perhaps feeling emboldened after a weekend with Pennsylvania’s top conservatives at the PLC in Camp Hill, Garrity continued to take swings.

“I’m not just here to remind you of the skeletons in Josh Shapiro’s closet, I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t need to settle for a Governor who will sweep sexual harassment and abuse charges under the rug. We don’t need to accept that our state government is a cesspool where intimidation is the norm and public employees fear retribution. And we don’t need to be on the hook for other public official’s sins. I’m here to tell you a Garrity Administration will lead by example, and we will hold our administration accountable,” concluded Garrity.

Shapiro for Pennsylvania spokesperson Manuel Bonder took exception to Garrity’s remarks.

“Governor Shapiro has a track record of taking on powerful institutions, exposing sexual abuse, and putting predators behind bars – and he continues to fight to deliver real accountability and justice for survivors here in Pennsylvania,” he said.

As state Attorney General, Shapiro led a major investigation into sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, resulting in a landmark 2018 grand jury report that detailed decades of abuse by over 300 “predator priests” and a systemic cover-up by church officials. He released a 900-page report finding that at least 1,000 children were abused, with cover-ups stretching to the Vatican, and advocated for eliminating the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases.

“Stacy Garrity, on the other hand, is the very worst of our politics: a hypocritical, desperate candidate whose complete and total allegiance to Donald Trump has led her to defend his repulsive relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and state her apparent belief that the Epstein files are no big deal – all while she has silently stood by as her endorsers in the State Legislature refuse to pass a law giving survivors of sexual abuse their day in court,” Bonder continued.

“The hypocrisy of Garrity and the Washington consultants controlling her campaign knows no bounds – and it’s exactly why she belongs nowhere near the Governor’s Office.”