By Robert Field
Editorial “The problem with Kathleen Kane: How can the attorney general be unable to practice as an attorney?” studiously ignores the significance of all that has been revealed over the past two months.
According to the article, “Attorney General Kathleen Kane has done the commonwealth a great service by revealing the misogynistic and offensive emails that were exchanged among state prosecutors, attorneys and two Supreme Court justices — one of whom had to retire, and another of whom has been suspended…”
And those e-mail exchanges give substance to the claim by Kane that she is a victim of an effort by an “old boy network’’ to force her out of office. An independent female attorney general threatens them and the rest of the state establishment, a group that studies have described make up one of the most corrupt state governments.
“She was indicted in August on felony perjury and other counts related to leaks of secret grand jury material, but like every citizen, she is granted the presumption of innocence.”
Yes. by enemies at the Daily News who apparently broke all journalistic ethical standards by ‘outing’ her as an alleged source of grand jury information. She then was prosecuted by a Republican district attorney from Montgomery County in a case which is now before a politically ambitious Republican judge. (We suspect from prior observations that Montgomery county may be among the worst offender in the state. In other words, ‘the worse of the worse.’)
Moreover, as is the practice, Kane was not allowed legal representation or to defend herself before the grand jury. As the saying goes, any prosecutor can “indict a ham sandwich” before a grand jury.
“By remaining as attorney general, she may imperil every case brought by her office. Her insistence on staying in that role is incredibly self-centered…”
This baseless allegation isn’t taken seriously by virtually any legal authority in the state, apparently not only by the state Supreme Court. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court made clear that they were only suspending her license, not challenging her role as attorney general.
(Many states don’t even require an attorney general to be a lawyer, nor is it a requirement for Supreme Court judges.)
“If Kane isn’t acting as her office’s supervising attorney, if she’s mostly doing administrative work, just how well is she performing even that limited role?”
At the senate committee hearing on the subject, no less a witness than Ed Rendell, former governor and district attorney of Philadelphia, said that most of her duties are administrative and her tenure as attorney general was not a problem. The same has been said by Walter Cohen, a former state attorney general.
LNP should not try to justify its earlier mistakes by ignoring the revelationsof the past months and simply repeating now discredited accusations. And how will they rationalize her possible acquittal by a jury of her peers in August?
read the “Intell,” “New Era” and “Sunday News” for over 50 years — I never look at the Ellen-Pee and couldn’t care less what that G-O-P rag has to say —-
Hardly a GOP rag – just the opposite.
Don’t expect anything better from LNP … This is par for the course!!!
They are certainly doing the work of the G-O-P here — but again, I never look anymore so who knows — I don’t read any other Mechanicsburg newspapers, why should I care about Ellen-Pee ?–
LNP is anything but a GOP rag these days. Read it and see.
Good for her. She still can’t practice law. Legally. Now the long road to impeachment!!
When LNP sets it’s left-wing editors/reporters out on a witch-hunt (which they have done innumerable times over the years)there is never anything studious about their approach their position, or their final ‘verdict’ that they want everyone to accept.
The political party affiliation of those targeted matters less than ‘what’s in it for my checkbook’, which is all LNP has ever cared about anyway. Ethics be damned.
I just hate the new format, the new name, the republican slant and the colored “funnies” in the daily paper. Sunday funnies were a special Sunday treat, being read to by my dad and reading to my kids. Don’t even buy it anymore!