According to the report by the Special Committee on Senate Address, which was considering Kane’s ability to perform the duties of her office with a suspended law license, the committee “finds a sufficient basis for the Senate to move forward with due to notice” to Kane for a full hearing before the full Senate.
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The fate of Pennsylvania AG Kathleen Kane, center, is now in the hands of the state Senate, following the special committee’s recommendation.
Schwank said the evidence gathered by the committee fails to show that a Senate hearing could legally allow the Senate to remove Kane from office. Drew Crompton, general counsel to the top state Senator, Republican Joe Scarnati, says the timeline and procedures for moving ahead are yet to be determined, saying “this is the process that starts the process” but he makes this promise.
But Sen. Gene Yaw, R-23, Williamsport, said the detrimental effect of the license suspension on her office merits consideration of her removal by the full Senate. All four of the panel’s Republicans voted to pursue an inquiry into Kane’s removal; two of the panel’s three Democrats voted against it.
Kane released a statement of her own, promising to dig deeper into the porngate email scandal she takes credit for exposing and that she says is the genesis of the charges against her. Kane says the criminal charges she faces for perjury and leaking information from a grand jury are payback from officials she embarrassed by exposing pornographic and inappropriate emails sent on state computers and government email accounts. “At that time, I will outline the prosecutorial powers that these special prosecutors will have to identify any violations of the criminal, civil and ethics laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania”.
She was the first Democrat and woman elected as attorney general. So attempting to remove her would just be wasting resources on a likely unsuccessful effort, she said. “In addition, I will call upon the Department of Justice to investigate emails circulated on the public email accounts of assistant US attorneys in this state”.
The scope of Kane’s planned email dragnet is also unclear. Kane said in a statement that she intends to fight the panel’s recommendation.
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“I have heard this chorus loud and clear”, she pledged.
