He resigned from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in June, accusing Kane of using the pornographic emails as a weapon in her “personal and political vendetta” against him, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Tom Wolf is nominating Kathleen Kane’s former top deputy to step in as attorney general for the remaining months of her term.
Kane, who refused to step down as attorney general when she was indicted a year ago, announced Tuesday that she was resigning as required under state law.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said Monday he has not yet decided if he will seek jail time for Kane.
Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said he expected Beemer would be confirmed swiftly, potentially by the end of August.
Kane’s lawyers said that they are going to appeal Kane’s conviction.
Beemer would serve as attorney general until a successor is picked by voters in November and sworn in in January.
Kane became recklessly entwined in a revenge game, a seemingly made-for-television – bribes, pornography, judges – political clash with former prosecutors from the attorney general’s office, and when that happened, the line the traditionally non-political office of the attorney had crossed a line it should never cross.
When she suspected a former office prosecutor had leaked a critical news article about her shutting down a statehouse probe, she chose to leak word that he had shut down an investigation into an NAACP official in 2009, the jury found.
In reopening the case previous year, then Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said she found sufficient evidence to prosecute Cosby on three felony aggravated indecent assault charges.
“I don’t know what the Commonwealth bound itself to and I don’t know whether the District Attorney of Montgomery County has the authority to bind the Attorney General of Pennsylvania”, Castor said during a press conference.
Wolf issued a statement Tuesday on Kane’s resignation, saying that he will “work with both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate regarding any potential appointment of an Attorney General”.
He will then return to his role as inspector general.
Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro, chairman of the Montgomery County commissioners, is on the ballot, opposing Republican nominee John Rafferty, a state senator from Montgomery County.
After hearing days of testimony about petty feuds, political intrigue and “cloak-and-dagger” machinations, Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy called Kane a flight risk and ordered her to surrender her passport.
Offering no support for Castor, Steele said, “Bruce Beemer is a career prosecutor who has been a stabilizing force through hard times in the attorney general’s office”.
In 2004, Castor ran for attorney general, losing in an expensive and hotly contested Republican primary to Tom Corbett.
Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler County, who has been trying to get Kane impeached long before she was charged in the grand jury case, was unequivocal.
Bruce Castor was First Deputy Attorney General under Kane.
Castor said he had agreed not to prosecute Cosby if the entertainer testified in a civil case brought by his accuser.
Bruce Beemer formerly served as Kane’s top deputy, before resigning amid her criminal trial.
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The choice of Mr. Beemer was immediately hailed among prosecutors and agents in the office, many of whom viewed him as a stabilizing force during Ms. Kane’s tumultuous tenure.
