By Kevin Zwick
Staff Reporter
Capitolwire
HARRISBURG (Oct. 22) – Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s office gave disks to media outlets Thursday containing four dozen files pulled from a private email account of state Supreme Court Justice Michael Eakin.
Kane, who is facing numerous criminal charges for allegedly orchestrating a leak of secret grand jury material and lying about it under oath, publicized the emails the same day the court-ordered suspension of her law license took effect.
A review of the files shows Eakin was a recipient on all the emails but only actively participated in two separate email chains, while the rest he received but did not respond to or forward. The files of emails, pictures and videos contained some crude jokes, profane language and pictures of nude women. One email included a video of a sex act. However, the two email chains in which Eakin actively participated contained jokes and photos of women, but no nudity.
Kane, in a statement Thursday, said the 48 files were pulled for review in November 2014 by her first deputy, Bruce Beemer, who reviewed the emails along with Bob Graci, chief counsel for the Judicial Conduct Board, when it was investigating complaints against Eakin. The JCB cleared Eakin, and in a letter on that decision recently made public described some of the private emails as “mildly pornographic” and what “appears commonly in Playboy.”
Kane disagrees with the JCB’s assessment, saying the emails “are more than ‘sexually suggestive’ and ‘mildly pornographic’ they are offensive. Period.”
The latest piecemeal release from Kane’s office represents “only a subset” of emails she says are “pornographic, misogynistic, and racist.”
Eakin, a Republican, is one of the sitting justices who ruled unanimously to order the suspension of Kane’s law license last month. Beginning Thursday, Kane will be operating as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General without a valid law license. When the court moved to temporarily suspend her license last month, she responded by saying she would publicly release more inappropriate emails of judges and those in law enforcement.
The single email initiated by Eakin was a bawdy joke titled “Why I failed the 4th grade.” Attached to the email was a still shot, complete with word bubbles, of a female teacher educating her class of children about “abstract nouns.” She says they are objects you can think about but not touch and asks for two examples. A boy’s response says: “Your t• ts!”
Eakin responded to another email a few times. It contained a joke about adulterous male celebrities with attachments of four photos of women, none of which contained nudity but instead appear to be red-carpet or modeling photos. Eakin’s comments aren’t directed at the joke or photos, but toward the other recipients about a past golf outing and what appears to be another recipient’s drunken pass at a woman at a bar.
Only one email, which Eakin received but did not respond to or forward, contained a video of an overt sex act. The video begins by showing the “Mission: Impossible” movie poster and plays its famous theme song, but then depicts a man having sex with an obese woman.
The dozens of other emails included slide-shows of photos of nude women, some in centerfold-type poses. For instance, one email included a slide-show set to music and portrayed “Hooter’s” waitresses, some posing nude. At least one other displayed a woman in a more vulnerable position, passed out on the floor with a caption reading “Alcohol – Thank you, Mr. Daniels. Thank you, Mr. Guinness. Muchas Gracias, Senor Tequila.”
Others contained pictures and crude jokes. One email titled “When Somebody Steals Your Kodak Moment” appears to show memorable photographic moments spoiled. Included among several is a photo of people posing but a dog defecating in the background.
Eakin issues a statement last week apologizing for the material in the email.
“Those who know me understand the items chosen for release do not reflect my character or beliefs, nor have they ever been part of my consideration of any case or business of the Court,” he said. “I do not offer this as an excuse, and will continue to cooperate fully with the independent review by the Court and by the Conduct Board.”
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