A special committee of the Pennsylvania Senate will begin a series of hearings on Monday on whether the Senate should remove Attorney General Kathleen Kane from office because of the indefinite suspension of her law license. Kane said she would not cooperate with the committee, which she deems an end-around on voters, according to a letter she sent Friday to committee chairman Sen.
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“This committee has no authority under the Pennsylvania Constitution and the longstanding precedent to remove an Attorney General by means other than impeachment, after conviction”, Kane wrote. Kane allegedly leaked secret grand jury information and then lied about it, though she denied all allegations.
The bi-partisan Senate committee was formed after Kane’s law license was suspended and is tasked with examining how that suspension affects her ability to function as attorney general. Its mission is to examine whether Kane, a Democrat, can continue to perform her job as the state’s top law enforcement official.
The committee unsuccessfully sought to serve a subpoena Friday after Kane refused to turn over documents the committee requested a week earlier. The legislature seems to disagree and is considering her removal.
“The contentions that she makes in the letter are not grounded on our interpretation and the historical analysis that we’ve done”, he said. While she might wish that the constitution had listed her job as one of those exempt from the removal clause, it did not, he said. The committee – which Kane deems illegal – will hold its first hearing Monday in the Capitol. On the day after the state Supreme Court voted unanimously to suspend her license, Kane released embarrassing e-mails from Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin, including a few that included pornography. The Senate spent two months researching the constitution and law and determined it has the authority to remove elected officials, he said.
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It appears that the direct-removal provision was last used in 1891, when Gov. Robert Pattison invoked it to try to remove the state treasurer and auditor from office. The two had been accused of taking bribes from Philadelphia’s city treasurer.
