Scranton, Pa. — Jim Bognet has now spent the past two years claiming Congressman Matt Cartwright wants to “defund the police” — facts be damned.
Bognet continued to spread lies to the people of northeastern Pennsylvania in an interview just yesterday, claiming the congressman supported “defunding the Wilkes Barre PD.”
This is a lie that Bognet has already been caught in before — when he first raised this claim in 2020, Politifact rated it as “false.”
And when he kept lying, he was given a “pants on fire.”
Since the truth is irrelevant to this shady D.C. lobbying executive, let’s look at the facts. Congressman Cartwright has voted for billions in annual funding for both local and federal law enforcement and he has the receipts:
- $511.7 million in Community Oriented Police Funding
- $2.2 billion in state and local law enforcement assistance grants
- $61.5 million increase in funding for Violence Against Women Prevention and Prosecution Programs
- $674.5 million in funding for the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Edward Byrne Memorial JAG program
- $30 million in funding for the Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership
- $120 million for initiatives to improve police-community relations
Additionally, as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, Congressman Cartwright has consistently brought federal dollars right here to fund law enforcement in northeastern Pennsylvania:
- $2 million for Lackawanna County initiative to reduce drug, gang activity
- $3 million for joint fire, police, public safety station in Moosic
- $2.5 million for Luzerne County emergency first responder unit
- $3.5 million for Scranton Police Department training and technology upgrades
Cartwright campaign press secretary David Early issued the following statement:
“The fact that Jim Bognet has been willingly lying to the people of northeastern Pennsylvania for years, even AFTER he’s been caught, just goes to show how untrustworthy this former lobbying executive really is. Our community deserves honest leadership — something Jim Bognet is incapable of offering.”
