“The suspension is temporary but it does raise questions about whether it makes Kane ineligible for her office”, Politics PA’s managing editor, Nick Field, wrote.
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A law license is a pre-requisite to be attorney general under the Commonwealth Attorneys Act of 1980, which made the attorney general’s office an independent, elected position. She says she’s the victim of an effort to hide pornographic and racially insensitive emails that were exchanged on state computers and the names of former staffers and other officials who sent them.
Her lawyers say she’s innocent of leaking secret information. According to political watchdog and activist Gene Stilp, Kane can still serve but with her legal ability completely restricted and her administrative duties very limited.
In August, Kane spoke out about the charges against her, saying: “I broke no laws of the Commonwealth”.
They have argued that suspending her license while she is contesting the charges would circumvent constitutional provisions for removing her from office and violate her right to due process of law.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court temporarily suspended state Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s law license Monday, as she faces charges that she lied to a grand jury about her role in leaking purportedly confidential investigative material to the press. Under this method, the governor would remove Ms. Kane for “reasonable cause” after a two-thirds Senate vote.
“No fact finder has ever found that she did anything wrong”, Kane’s attorneys from Powell Law said in a statement.
The court’s disciplinary lawyers have argued that Kane admitted that she authorized the release of secret investigative information.
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In a statement, Kane said she was disappointed in the court’s action but grateful that it recognized her rights as an elected official.
