Embattled Pennsylvania AG Kathleen Kane suspended from practicing law
Updated: Pennsylvania’s highest court has dealt an additional blow to embattled Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, suspending her from practicing law in connection with an ongoing criminal probe over grand jury leaks.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued its order (PDF) on Monday placing Kane on temporary suspension. The unanimous, unsigned order from the Supreme Court did not say how long she would be suspended for, but specifically stated that “this order should not be construed as removing [Kane] from elected office and is limited to the temporary suspension of her license to practice law.”
Kane, who was first elected Attorney General in 2012 as a Democrat and has stated that she will run for re-election in 2016, has been under fire since last year when she was accused of leaking confidential grand jury information in order to damage the reputation of Frank Fina, a former top state prosecutor. Last month, she was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. According to The Morning Call, she will be arraigned in Montgomery County Court next month.
“While I am disappointed in the court’s action, I am grateful that the court recognized my constitutional rights both as a democratically elected official and as a citizen of the Commonwealth,” Kane said in a statement published in the Patriot-News. “The court, in specifically recognizing my continuing authority as attorney general of the Commonwealth, today allows me to continue the good works of this office: work which has transformed our war on sex crimes and fraud; work which will also root out the culture of misogyny and racially/religiously offensive behavior that has permeated law enforcement and members of the judiciary in this Commonwealth for years.”
Philly.com reported that Kane had expected to be suspended from practicing law. Additionally, she had been planning on asking for a rehearing if the court ruled 3-2 against her on party lines by requesting that Judge Michael Eakin, one of the three Republicans on the court, to recuse himself because of his involvement with another scandal involving Fina. Eakin and Fina have both been connected to a chain of racist and pornographic emails that were distributed through official state email servers. Eakin, for his part, has said that he only received the emails and did not send any. Kane has claimed that the current charges against her are backlash for the “Porngate” email scandal.
Morning Call, meanwhile, reports that Kane’s suspension could be a prelude to her removal as Attorney General. Bruce Ledewitz, a professor at Duquesne University School of Law, told Morning Call that only licensed attorneys can serve as Attorney General. While Kane is still an attorney, her suspension could lead to impeachment proceedings being brought against her, the paper reported.
For Kane, the suspension was the latest setback in her once-bright career. After a successful first year in office as Attorney General, during which time she received a lot of praise for how she handled an investigation of her predecessor’s response to the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal at Penn State, Kane’s political star dimmed considerably. In 2014, she was criticized for dropping a probe into public officials taking bribes.
Updated at 4:33 p.m. to include Kathleen Kane’s statement.
