“I am disappointed by the action taken by the Supreme Court today”. “The Supreme Court order is being reviewed, we have not had time to go through the fine points of its meaning”. Although revoking her legal credentials had been floated as a creative way of euthanizing the attorney general’s short, catastrophic political career, it would have been an inappropriately procedural means of overriding a popular election.
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Kane, 49, has said her discovery of the pornographic emails during the review of the investigation against Jerry Sandusky is the reason she is charged in the first place.
Ardo said Tuesday that Kane’s decision to release the emails was not revenge for the suspension of her law license or the charges against her.
“These emails will be fully released either as public documents defined by the Commonwealth Court, or at my discretion”. Castille said that Kane had engaged in “outrageous conduct” that “offend[s] the legal system”.
Her lawyers have argued that suspending her license while she is contesting the allegations would circumvent explicit constitutional provisions for removing her from office and violate her right to due process of law.
“This order should not be construed as removing Respondent from elected office and is limited to the temporary suspension of her license to practice law”, the court said in its ruling. While the Attorney General is entitled to her day in court, the people of Pennsylvania deserve to have an Attorney General that is fully focused and committed to doing the important work of keeping Pennsylvanians safe.
Fina and Costanzo, now employed by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, have been told to attend sensitivity training. “They have suffered enough from the endless distractions and controversies surrounding the current Attorney General”.
Like Kathleen Kane, Preate was indicted during his term as Attorney General.
“The 2016 election should not be about Kathleen Kane’s corruption and scandal”.
The Commonwealth and the citizens of Pennsylvania need an attorney general who conforms to the highest ethical and professional standards.
State lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called on Kane to step down.
Ardo said they are not ready to make an official announcement because they still have time. She is accused of leaking secret grand jury information to a reporter at The Daily News to get back at a former prosecutor.
Kane has said, however, that the criminal investigation into her was spurred by former state prosecutors who were afraid that she would reveal the existence of the pornographic emails.
Her accusers in the grand jury leaks case, former state prosecutors Frank Fina and E. Marc Costanzo, were participants in the email club.
The embattled attorney general has said the charges are part of an effort to force her out of office because she discovered pornographic emails being exchanged between state employees on state email addresses.
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The unanimous order by the state Supreme Court’s five justices also could prompt a legal challenge from the first-term Democrat.
