Kathleen Kane is effectively being suspended. Not just as a lawyer but as Attorney General as well.
The disciplinary board in charge of Pennsylvania’s lawyers has notified Kane that they are seeking an emergency suspension of her law license, Angela Couloumbis of the Inquirer is reporting.
Couloumbis and McCoy note that under Rule 208, the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania can recommend the suspension of an attorney who they feel “is causing immediate and substantial public or private harm,” or has engaged in “egregious conduct.”
The action goes to the PA Supreme Court and the AG has ten days to respond.
If Kane has her law license put on hold, she can’t act as the commonwealth’s chief prosecutor.
Article IV, Section 5 of the Pennsylvania Constitution states that: “No person shall be eligible to the office of Attorney General except a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.”
Therefore, the suspension of her law license would basically be a suspension from the job as Attorney General.
According to Brad Bumsted of the Tribune-Review, First Deputy Bruce Beemer would become Acting Attorney General.
Kane and Beemer’s relationship is severely strained. Beemer testified against her in the grand jury investigation and last May Kane transferred control over personnel matters from Beemer to her controversial Chief of Staff Jonathan Duecker.
Kane was charged with eight counts earlier this month. She has consistently stated in the past that she will not resign.
Loading ...
164 Responses
DD – I think you are incorrect. Williams could not have known about the racist e-mails when he hired Fina and Costanzo. No way he knew that Fina used his State computer to distribute porn that depicted female employees engaged in oral and anal sex on their male “bosses.”
This is not an issue of misconduct on the job. It is an issue about the image of the Office. Seth Williams has the authority to fire those guys. In fact, he is morally obligated to do so.
There is such a thing as decency. We all expect that our prosecutors will have some. Fina and Costanzo do not.
Pat Unger-
I agree that Williams can give a bigger sweetheart deal, or even drop the charges, to make the case go away. I think there may be some forces in play that want the case to go to trial to get Ali and Fina on the stand under oath. There’s still a question about who leaked Kane’s dropping of the case (Fina prime suspect) and what roll Fina had with Williams on the case after he was hired in Philly.
How much leverage is there for the case to be dropped completely? Does the investigation into Williams by the FBI involve the case? (ie, did he try to fundraise off the case?)
The other problem for Williams firing Fina is that Fina’s emails occurred during his previous employment. I don’t think you can fire someone for their behavior at a previous job, when you were the one that hired them, unless you can show that Fina lied about things to get his current job, or he continued his email perversions.
“If Seth Williams wants to win future elections” …. I think the greater concern is: “If Seth Williams wants to stay out of jail”
The FBI investigation is not likely to go well for him if it’s been going on this long.
We have NO IDEA how many politicians got snagged by McCord cutting a deal and taping everyone for months (assuming this is even related to McCord), but tangentially, someone snagged by McCord could connect to Williams a step or two down the chain.
Given the widespread political corruption in Philly with pay-to-play, and no-show jobs, and unreported street money, there is a lot that can happen.
DD – I see your point. But – most of the “sting” defendants have already pled guilty. They aren’t going to let them w/d their pleas because Fina is a pervert racist.
With the remaining defendant, Williams can find some way to “make it go away.”
The easy explanation for Williams is that he is firing Fina for exercising poor judgment and for furthering ideas that are detrimental to the image of his Office. He does not have to call him a racist when he fires him.
If Seth Williams wants to win future elections, he will need to get rid of the guys who have embarrassed him for hiring them to begin with. If he wants to have ANY CREDIBILITY … if he wants the respect of his employees … if he cares what female voters think … Fina has to go … NOW.
Pat-
Seth Williams is really stuck. If he fires Fina for being racist, he undermines the rest of the sting case. If he keeps Fina, what cases can he put him on?
Depending how the grand jury looking into Seth goes, he might not be DA much longer and someone else will have to fire Fina.
rsklaroff-
1) Why would I “react” to the (fictional) “loss” of an anonymous poster?
2) Why would you portray Jessica as one of my “supporters”? Jessica’s been predicting and looking forward to Kane’s demise in many postings. To her credit, she has expressed disdain over (your idol) Fina as well.
3) My “effort to project FF’s actions upon all R’s” ??? Fina wasn’t sending those emails to himself in the Republican controlled AG’s office, and the content was hardly “liberal”. The DA, judges and special prosecutor in this case all “coincidentally” Republicans?
4) In your rambling (unproductive) article, you wrote this piece of irony, completely unaware of your own writing style: “..Obama obfuscates, consciously amnesiac to his having averred he would eschew raising any other issues”
Definition of obfuscate:
“render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible”
“to make (something) more difficult to understand”
5) From John Yoo (whose conservative credentials include support of torture by Bush administration and surveillance of US citizens):
“But critics of the Iran deal should save their strength when it comes to the Constitution. Last spring, Republicans in Congress created a process to review the agreement by majority vote. If Congress disapproves the deal, President Obama can still veto the resolution. In other words, two-thirds of the House and Senate will have to agree to stop the Iran deal — a bizarre inversion of the Treaty Clause. Congressional Republicans may have scored a political victory by putting every Senate Democrat on the record on the Iran deal, but they have also inadvertently bolstered the deal’s legality. … In providing a legal basis for the Iran deal, congressional Republicans have only themselves to blame. ”
He further points out: “a lawsuit would foist an unduly narrow reading of the Treaty Clause on the nation’s foreign affairs. Not all international agreements must take the form of Article II treaties. Congress enacts some pacts — such as NAFTA, WTO, and the coming Trans-Pacific Partnership — as regular statutes through simple majority votes in Congress. Presidents have reached some agreements unilaterally, such as FDR’s recognition of the Soviet Union and Jimmy Carter’s deal to free the Iranian hostages.”
6) Face it, HaHaHa pegged you correctly as a crazy old man wanting kids (aka blacks, women and non-jews) off your lawn (elected leadership)
… a fair shot …
Someone with a political background please explain to me how Seth Williams can NOT FIRE Fina and Costanzo. Please. I don’t understand it. Below is just the tip of the iceberg:
From Philly Mag — Fina’s group of faux motivational posters included an image of a white man, carrying a bucket of fried chicken, being accosted by two deranged-looking black men. The caption? “Bravery at its finest.”
African Americans make up almost half of Philadelphia’s population. How can a prosecutor who thinks like that serve Philadelphians? How can someone with such poor judgment be trusted to prosecute African Americans? If you were Black and he was the prosecutor on your case, would you feel like you were getting a dais shot???
Is Williams going to announce that he will only allow Fina and Costanzo to prosecute white people? It’s ridiculous. Those men cannot be trusted. Also – I wouldn’t be surprised if women who worked in that Office felt VERY uncomfortable around Fina and Costanzo.
I also agree with DD that your reading comprehension skills are lacking. Go have some more TEA. Throw darts at your Obama picture. yell at the kids on your lawn. Then take a nap …
@ DD:
I channel my concerns with BHO productively:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/251817-iran-nuke-capitulation-could-trigger-constitutional-crisis
@ DD:
After having ignored your customary gutter-innuendo [“Stop self pleasuring yourself over the political abuse of the legal system”], it’s desirable to ID the irony in your reaction to the “loss” of Jessica.
Your effort to project FF’s actions upon all R’s [“Getting rid of Kane is the ‘solution’ to how the GOP can hide it’s embarrassing emails and behavior from the public”] is not only chronologically and cognitively tenuous, but the import of this isolated concern contrasts with your reluctance to connect-the-dots of admitted-corruption by multiple-Dems [McCord, the state-reps, etc.].
The pledge of HaHaHa to emulate Jessica will also unburden readers, mercifully, of another of your inane supporters on this site; so be it, for it merely reflects another self-immolation.
HaHaHa
rsklaroff already has a room. It’s white, padded and he’s not allowed to have visitors nor sharp objects.
He suffers from Clinton Derangement Syndrome and Obama Derangement Syndrome and now Kane Derangement Syndrome. It seems to manifest by attending tea parties and drinking the Kool-aid they serve there.
Horace-
Exactly. The fact that you’ve shifted on this, from even this brief revelation about Kane’s persecutors gives hope that some jury members might see this for what it really is.
The board has no credibility treating this as an emergency.
Meek-
Seth is only for black people when he’s running for office.
What is Seth Williams waiting for?!?
Why do these racist jack-offs still have jobs with the City of Philadelphia? I can’t see how Williams can stop himself from slapping them in the face. He claims to be for Black people. I’m not so sure …
I have been following this story. At first it seemed that the AG was just a despicable human being with no brains. Now – it seems clear that the people who have been trying to destroy her have selfish motives.
Looking at the material that these guys were into …. WOW!!! I can now understand why they would do just about anything to discredit or destroy Kane.
This move by the Board needs to be shelved. There is no “emergency.” Kane should be allowed to defend herself and get the whole story out there before they kick her out of office.
IMO – the Board needs to look at these lawyers who were using government resources on racist and sexist (disgusting) material.
Can’t believe I’m saying this – but I agree with “Jessica Myers” …. You two need to get a room.
Also ; is it a majority vote? Can the chair overrule? Secret ballot? How many did Castille appoint? Can their ruling or decision be appealed? Is it unconstitutional she hasn’t been found guilty of anything yet? Will this set precedent?
As a citizen of PA do I have a “right to know” every name on the Disciplinary Board. If so can some one post the names here? I tried google it’s a black hole. Please Advise
Rsklaroff
Stop self pleasuring yourself over the political abuse of the legal system.
Getting rid of Kane is the “solution” to how the GOP can hide it’s embarrassing emails and behavior from the public.
Just AG-Kane has self-immolated, so too has Jessica.
Let her stay!
Recalling Jessica’s prior inane postings supporting DD, this constitutes a net benefit for PoliticsPa readers.
You two children have have made this site unreadable. I’m out for good. Enjoy one another.
A clear-thinking observer might conclude that shelving her in this fashion may provide the optimal short-/long-term solution, for reasons aforementioned.
“BB’s observations”?
Do you mean Brad Bumsted?
He has no “observations”. He listed a lot of possible legal actions that were highly remote, if the supreme court does not take up the suspension request. But, if the court refuses to suspend her license, that refusal would carry heavy weight against the other suggestions.
I don’t know if the supreme court is foolish enough to take the case, and be even more foolish to suspend her license. They might be that dumb, or they might see through the cheap ploys and politics to the GOP goal of overturning an election.
Let’s hope they are smarter than the sh*t-for-brains board members.
@ DD:
As predicted, your reaction is tangential, speculative and scatter-shot accusatory; if nothing else, for now, deal with BB’s observations.
Rsklaroff
Fina’s emails show a racist bent that supports the argument about the sting case being racially motivated/targeted.
If the board members are acting to cover up their own porn emails from being revealed, they could/should have their licenses revoked instead. You don’t know how far this email chain goes. Indications are it was common and widespread.
The board members (if they have a conflict of interest) are not “messengers”. They are players, looking for an outcome: overturning an election (and engaged in their own “official suppression” to keep Kane from releasing more emails).
@ DD:
What will be most instructive – noting her current reticence to speak to the press by invoking lingo reminiscent of Lois Lerner’s infamous invocation of the Fifth Amendment – will be her filing that’s due just after Labor Day.
If the Supremes hold a competence hearing, the results could presage what Metcalfe might subsequently pursue.
What’s the alleged-corruption and crime-tolerance threshold for loyal Dems who might not want their party to be besmirched in this fashion, PARTICULARLY if Dems were to win in November?
@DD:
Furthermore, BB would reply to your hypothetical by noting that the assistant-AG would be carrying out her responsibilities in the interim.
@ DD:
Your posting again is animated by the adage that the best defense is a good offense, for you predictably and unjustifiably attack and accuse both messengers and message…instead of dealing with substance.
Your sweeping dismissal of what you know defense attorneys can allege regarding a tainted prosecution is undermined both by your admission that a subset thereof related to FF could justifiably be delineated and by your meme that AG-Kane’s defense related to how other cases had been adjudicated.
You may wish to critique the BB piece I cited before issuing another inane comment…that is unless you will instead conjure some misguided rationale to ignore him, as well.
Rsklaroff
The cases they might have to revisit would be those of Fina and friends.
There is not a single thing Kane is accused of that could possibly taint a single case the AG’s office has handled under her leadership. ZERO.
Complaints about her management style and handling of personal have no bearing on any cases.
You ignore the racist and demeaning emails of Fina. I can only assume that you regularly trade similar ones with your friends that depict Obama or Palestinians or Muslims as the victims.
The supreme court should let the Montco case play out and be decided by a jury. What if the court suspends her and then she is acquitted or there is a hung jury and no conviction or a mistrial?
The court would be denying her due process. Also, there is not a full court, and there is an election in November to fill three seats. The court risks its own integrity interfering in this highly political case.
BTW, how many of the board members who recommended her suspension have porn emails of their own. If even one of them has a porn email to anyone that Kane could potentially expose, then there is a clear conflict of interest by those members of the board. This should be looked at.
Brad Bumsted’s column @ Trib-Rev elucidates multiple pathways by which she could be removed.
Chris is correct regarding the limited power of the Board, but the Supremes can indeed put everyone out of their collective misery.
I had predicted this eventality, despite protestations from both learned-idiots such as DD and self-dubbed legal-experts.
I also noted that the Supremes would want this resolved ASAP to minimize the volume of cases that they might have to revisit based on a claim that AG-Kane had promulgated a tainted prosecution.
the bored aint gon no write to make cathlen kane stop being a laywer and it aint gonna be aloud by the sue preem cortz, she gonna be genral ettorney for pennsy for a long time stil,
@ DD:
You lament the hastiness of the action without recognizing that an interim event transpired…the indictment this year based on behavior that occurred last year.
Your plea that the Supremes not act – blame politics if you will – places your predictions in jeopardy.
Perhaps your pledged fealty to AG-Kane presages that which you would bestow upon Hillary, but know that her days as a POTUS-Candidate are also numbered…another Democrat who hangs-on long after she has become a party (and public) albatross.
rsklaroff
I’m not lamenting the delay of the action, you idiot. I’m pointing out that given a year gone by since the alleged offenses, the hasty action requested by the board makes no sense. You seriously need to get a reading tutor.
“professional entities acted”? You mean the republican board? That’s not a surprise. I think/hope the incomplete/shorthanded supreme court would be crossing a huge political line if the suspend Kane’s license before a verdict in her trial.
@DD:
On the one hand, you lament the hastiness of the action (absent due process); on the other hand, you lament the delay of the action (because these events transpired last year).
True to form, you lapse into cudda/shudda cover rather than facing the fact that professional entities acted despite your fervent “knowing” predictions that they wouldn’t.
Eagerly awaiting your extensive mea-culpa posting; you’re going to have to take your own leave-of-absence, from work and from posting, to have sufficient time to compile your confessional.
Kane should either be resigned or be impeached, but this is not the way.
This proposed action reeks of corruption by the State Board. I am no fan of Kane–but this action smells like a swamp. Due process should be accorded all- even Kane. Let’s remember the great Bill Clinton was not disciplined until after the process was complete.
The Supreme Court should throw this out- the corruption this action reflects is repulsive.
Eventually Kane will go– but this corruption of our system should not go without condemnation by anyone who respects the law!
This is an egregious overreach by the board. They should be calling for suspension of license for Fina.
If the supreme court acts to suspend Kane they are engaging in politics. Kane’s office is taking down bad guys on a regular basis, and she should be allowed to continue.
The supreme court should wait for the outcome of the trial. Kane’s alleged actions took place last year. The very claim by the board that immediate action is needed is preposterous.
Who called it?
And to do this in the Friday afternoon news dump is particularly despicable, and shows that they know what they are doing can’t bear the light of public scrutiny. I am ashamed to be a lawyer in PA at this moment.
@ HaHaHa:
Your approach to being caught in your own quotes is beginning to channel that of DD; going ad-hominem is hardly indicative of a problem-solving approach.
Notice that the Board – ALL Republicans – is trying to ram this through before the November elections, when the Supreme Court will definitely go Blue? No wonder PA is ranked as THE most corrupt state in several different studies.
Let her stay until the verdict!
By no means do I want to discuss anything with a TEA-guzzling Repervlican like you, sklaroff, but I will set the record straight:
I have not defended Kane. But I have questioned the methods and motivation of the people who were “going after” her. Turns out I was right.
Racist e-mails to other white State Officials …. Cowardice and stupidity at its finest.
As promising as this sounds there is a long way to go for them to remove her license. That being said it seems there is light at the end of the tunnel of her embarrassing the Commonwealth! Whoever takes are spot is going to have a tough task getting people to trust the AG’s office again.
“She made some terrible mistakes. She has been unprofessional at times.”
All the more justification – from a defender of AG-Kane – for her to become sidelined ASAP.
DD? [Anyone? Bueller?]
It is reassuring to see that the tide has finally turned and reasonable people everywhere now realize what this is really about. Just look at the Comments on other articles. The perverts and their shills are swimming upstream now.
Kane was elected Attorney General. She made some terrible mistakes. She has been unprofessional at times. But no group of smear artists should be denying her the protections given to other citizens/attorneys. If the Supreme Court goes through with this, what will happen when she gets acquitted? Are they going to reinstate her as AG?
This is utterly ridiculous.
Nothing new here. Just the same people trying to silence Kane. It started with the smear campaign designed to make sure she never had a chance to defend herself.
Looks like the powers that be are looking to pull yet another end-around on due process. And this on the heels of AG Kane shedding some light on just what the creeps at the AG’s Office were up to. Things like this:
– Frank Fina’s group of faux motivational posters included an image of a white man, carrying a bucket of fried chicken, being accosted by two deranged-looking black men. The caption? “Bravery at its finest.”
– an email from Frank Fina to two colleagues — depicts a topless woman on her back, giving oral sex to a man in a dress shirt. It is captioned in the style of a motivational poster: “WILLINGNESS: Bend over backwards to do an exceptional job.”
There is a procedure in place for trying to pull an attorney’s ticket. PA Officials are trying to circumvent by filing “emergency” petition to lift Kane’s law license. They will stop at nothing.
When do they start the process of pulling Fina’s law license? Costanzo’s? And when is the grand jury being sworn in to investigate their leaking of confidential information?
This whole thing reeks. The ‘ol boys are growing desperate.
I’ve been predicting this for months, over the fervent objections of DD, with the most recent back-and-forth to follow.
https://www.politicspa.com/fm-poll-46-say-kathleen-kane-should-resign/68748/#comments
Game over.