One of Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s closest aides was convicted in court today.
Patrick Reese, who until recently was the AG’s driver and bodyguard, was found guilty of one count of indirect criminal contempt.
Reese was snooping into hundreds of office emails in violation of a protective order.
According to Brad Bumsted of the Tribune-Review, when asked about the verdict Reese merely shrugged and responded “You heard it.”
Meanwhile, Kathleen Kane’s spokesman said she will wait until sentencing to release a statement. Reese is currently free on bail but could face up to six months in prison.
For now, Reese will continue his current job as an investigator in the AG’s office.
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45 Responses
Looks to me that since its been announced that Dave Peiffer is an unindicted co-conspirator and got immunity it could be trouble for Kane. The news reports say he was at all the high level meetings so he probably knows a lot. Does anyone know if the taxpayers are still paying his salary.
Cocko is a criminal now. Not even Louie can save him now. HaHaHa.
just that
Diano, you say what “might” be charges against Fina, and two of them have no criminal statute in PA so they’re not possible. But dipshit HaHaHa says Fina already committed a crime, so what’s the charge and what’s the evidence?
Can someone get this story pushed up above mine?
The National Organization for District Attorneys Offices has a guideline that Frank Fina ought to read:
“Prosecutors should be mindful of their responsibility to seek justice. Should a prosecutor find himself or herself in a situation in which the public trust in the office has diminished to the extent that he or she can no longer fulfill that primary responsibility, resignation should be considered.”
He’d be doing Seth Williams a big favor.
I also agree with DD and Pat.
Kane may have improperly leaked grand jury material to get even with a political enemy, but that pales in comparison to what she has exposed.
BTW – has a grand jury been empaneled to investigate the MANY leaks from the Kane grand jury? If not – why not? Is is fair to prosecute a woman for ONE alleged leak and ignore the MANY illegal leaks from Fina & The Corbett Pervs?
Oh – and is anyone in the City questioning Seth Williams’ hiring of Frank Fina’s lawyer’s wife as “Chief of Staff”/”General Counsel” (a newly created position at a high salary)? After all – she has very little prosecutorial experience and zero general counsel experience. And she does stand to gain from Fina’s $$$-driven lawsuit against AG Kane and The Inquirer.
Does it seem right that the lawyer representing Fina also represents Tyron Ali – the star witness in Seth’s “sting” case? The very case that landed Seth in this TERRIBLE position?
After making a HUGE mistake hiring Fina, does he think it’s a good idea to hire Fina’s lawyer’s wife? Just look at her quotes on yesterday’s article about compelling Kane to testify in the “sting” trial. She is talking about a case where her husband represents the witness. She was asking for “all the e-mails” … something they think would benefit her husband’s case against Kane.
I see MANY conflicts. This is fucked up (and I don’t talk that way …).
For the first time, I agree with the mental patient:
“[H]e [Eakin] deserves [to reside in] a f*cking medal* [cage].”
@ d2:
We AGREE!
“She deserves [to reside in] a f*cking medal* [cage].”
{*-spelled “metal”}
DD-
DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS
Larry-
Well, for starters of possible charges against Fina:
1) Perjury (depending upon what he’s said or will say)
2) Official misconduct in handling of cases (like sting case), or his own likely leaks to the press
3) possible collusion with judges to go after Kane
The reports paint a pretty clear picture of Fina as unethical guy, so there are probably plenty of skeletons lying around closets.
rsklaroff
Then it demonstrates that I don’t have a tune machine, and justice in PA is broken more than I thought.
Any conviction (or removal without conviction) of Kane is a miscarriage of justice. She’s done a HUGE public service exposing corrupt and unethical behavior from prosecutors to the supreme court. She deserves a f*cking medal.
HaHaHa again showing how little he knows about grand juries or the law in general. So what crime did Fina commit? Ready to tell us yet?
Why was there a “Protective Order” that prohibited the searching of e-mails??? Oh yeah … That’s right … There was a time when Fina & The Corbett Pervs enlisted the Judiciary to help them cover up their disgusting, vile, criminal behavior.
But that time has passed. The truth is now coming out.
He has LOUIE
reeae should head back to dunmore and hunker down among family and friends…….oh wait, he doesn’t have any. See ya never I hope
Did Cocco I mean Rocco resign yet?
Moola,
Why would Reese agree to a bench trial in front of Carpenter? Did he move for recusal?
Doesn’t make sense ….
Carpenter finds Reese guilty !!!!
Trump makes controversial comments !!!!
SHOCKING
BREAKING: Seth Williams has hired Frank Fina’s lawyers’s wife to be his “Chief of Staff” and “General Counsel.”
Her name is Kathleen Martin. Her husband is Frank Fina’s lawyer. Oh yeah — he is also Tyron Ali’s lawyer. Tyron Ali is the “informant” that Fina used to target Black people.
That’s right. While Fina was at the OAG, he and this lawyer (whose wife is now Seth Williams’ Chief of Staff) agreed on a “deal” where Fina dropped all the charges against Tyron Ali. In essence – the lawyer got one client to drop all charges against another client.
As if that wasn’t enough, the lawyer got his one client (Fina) to let his other client (Ali) keep the $400,000.00 he stole. That money was set aside to help children. It was taxpayer money.
Bruce Beemer, the 1st Assistant at the OAG, recently testified against AG Kane at the Senate’s hearings. Previously, he wrote a Memo that called Fina’s deal with Tyron Ali “unjust.” He said that Fina targeting Blacks was “improper.” All the was before Kane even took office.
Now – Fina is collecting a salary from the taxpayers of Philadelphia. His lawyer’s wife (Kathleen Martin) is collecting a salary from the taxpayers of Philadelphia. While she and her husband stand to gain from Fina’s $$$-driven lawsuit against AG Kane and the Inquirer.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Why would he resign? The emails are now officialy tainted.
Has Eakin resigned yet?
@ d2:
And if your prognostication is erroneous…?
rsklaroff-
So, your timeline has a “report” from the senate committee at the end of January (in the middle of petitions).
That’s not a VOTE, just a “report”.
The new PA Supreme Court (not the current one that plotted to rig the Judicial board reviewing Eakin) will be in session. They will likely hear strong challenge to the recent interpretation of the State Constitution regarding removal of Kane, as well as Wolf’s options.
Any Dem Senator voting to remove Kane is likely going to find himself with a challenger getting petitions signed.
So, a 2/3 vote is not guaranteed. The 30 R’s need 4 of 20 Dems to go along with them. If they have any common sense, they will vote to let Kane’s case play out in actual court.
All of the emails will soon be ruled inadmissible, due to the possible tampering and doctoring of the emails by kane and her minions. This conviction is only the beginning of what has been long rumored email manipulation by kane and her crew. Why do you think she has not released all of them yet. SHE is trying to corruptly hurt her enemies and protect her allies, most notably her sister. These emails are now poisoned and tainted by the touch of dirty and now criminal hands.
@ d2, Ha3, Marie and Observer:
Your gal did something correct today…
AG Kane cites Pittsburgh in opposing Harrisburg health care merger
http://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/9592181-74/health-care-kane#axzz3tc9o6Xum
…although it won’t rescue her from oblivion, probably within two months.
BREAKING: The Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board Tuesday charged Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin with violating the state’s rules of judicial conduct and the state Constitution by participating knowingly and routinely in chains of sexually suggestive and vulgar or offensive emails.
Marie and Observer, this is exactly what Eakin requested that they do, so it’s not exactly news.
Politics PA couldn’t wait to post anything bad about the Attorney General, so I want to post this:
Pa. Supreme Court justice charged in email scandal
Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin
In this Sept. 13, 2011, file photo, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin poses for photographs with the court’s other justices at Philadelphia’s historic Old City Hall. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, it was deferring action on explicit emails involving Eakin to the Judicial Conduct Board, which is currently investigating. The court issued a statement that said it was taking that approach based on the recommendation of a law firm it hired to review the email scandal involving Justice Michael Eakin. The law firm said Eakin sent emails that included one depicting a topless woman and others with “purported jokes and banter that are offensive.” (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Charles Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com By Charles Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com
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on December 08, 2015 at 4:44 PM, updated December 08, 2015 at 5:13 PM
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The Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board Tuesday charged Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin with violating the state’s rules of judicial conduct and the state Constitution by participating knowingly and routinely in chains of sexually suggestive and vulgar or offensive emails.
In a complaint filed with the Court of Judicial Discipline, the board held Eakin, who has been on the court since 2002, violated rules that instruct judges to avoid off-bench activities that create an appearance of impropriety or call into question a judge’s impartiality.
Eakin also violated sections of the Constitution, the report alleges, that require judges to remain in compliance with those rules.
Eakin will now face a hearing before the state’s Court of Judicial Discipline. Efforts to reach his attorney, William Costopoulos, were not immediately successful.
Justice J. Michael Eakin’s response to judicial conduct charges
Justice J. Michael Eakin’s response to judicial conduct charges
Eakin said he welcomes the process.
The current case started in late September, when embattled Attorney General Kathleen Kane gave various state agencies about 1,500 emails, including some linked to Eakin, that she believes present violations of rules of judicial conduct and general state ethics codes.
The emails initially turned up in the course of a data-mining process undertaken during Kane’s 2013-14 review of her predecessors’ handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse investigation.
Eakin had no role in that case.
Rather, his emails – many of who appeared on threads with another Attorney General prosecutor who used to work for Eakin – came under scrutiny after Kane undertook a broader review of pornographic and other inappropriate emails traded back and forth on OAG servers that captured traffic between OAG staffers and Supreme Court justices.
The emails, on a Yahoo.com account, include sexually suggestive pictures of nude women, adult humor and a number of gender, racial and ethnic jokes hat have proven offensive to various groups.
What’s in the ‘Porngate’ emails released by AG Kathleen Kane?
What’s in the ‘Porngate’ emails released by AG Kathleen Kane?
Attorney General Kathleen Kane released 48 emails that had either been sent to or from state Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin’s private account on Thursday. Here’s a sampling.
Kane, who is currently fighting her own battles arising from charges that she improperly authorized leaks of secret grand jury materials and later lied about her actions to investigators, has asserted that the Eakin emails warrant further review on two fronts:
* Their content, which the Attorney General has characterized as racially and sexually offensive.
* Whether the “club” that received and sent the material – including some prosecutors, other jurists and a number of private attorneys – calls into question Eakin’s impartiality and independence.
The Court of Judicial Discipline, where the case now rests, is made up of judges, lawyers and non-lawyers and operates likes a regular trial court in that it disposes of charges brought by the Jdicial Conduct Board.
The Judicial Conduct Board’s counsel acts as the prosecutor and presents the case in support of the charges, which must be proved by “clear and convincing evidence.”
The court then decides whether or not discipline is warranted and, if so, what kind of discipline is appropriate.
All trials before the Court of Judicial Discipline are public proceedings, and can include testimony from any witnesses with relevant information and the accused judge.
If the court finds a “clear and convincing” case of violation of the code of judicial conduct, it can impose various punishments ranging from a reprimand, to suspension for a specific time period, to permanent removal from office.
Hey Sklaroff, HERE’s a link for you:
(Eakin is done.)
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/12/judicial_conduct_board_files_c.html
In other news: “Senate plan introduced for possible removal of AG Kane”
http://www.wpxi.com/ap/ap/pennsylvania/senate-plan-introduced-for-possible-removal-of-ag-/npdxq/
“The Special Committee on Senate Address introduced a five-page resolution that envisions a hearing on Jan. 12 where Kane would be able to give her side of the story. The committee would issue a report 15 days later.”
Thus, she’s on-track for removal by month’s end.
Except he admitted to performing the searches, has a coworker roll on him and can’t claim ignorance. What do you suspect his appeal will be? I did this thing that I wasn’t supposed to do but the judge who issued the order did so because he has it out for my boss? He committed the crime, time to do the time.
This conviction won’t stand, on appeal. It was initiated and heard by Fina’s Porngate Grand Jury judge Carpenter, who was appointed by? Porngate Justice Eakin. After it gets to the new Dem Supreme Court, it will be sent back to be heard by a new judge, who has no connections to the case. Carpenter, besides being corrupt and amoral, is an idiot – and anybody who tries cases in Norristown can tell you that.
Shocker
DD – the Judge probably thinks that Reese was flying the black helicopter that was following him …
The folks in MontCo seem all deep in this. Kevin Steele better extract himself …. before it is too late.
Who knew so many first-rate white collar criminal litigators spend their days posting here?
I sure didn’t.
Exactly, SB.
Not to speak for Terry but the hindering comes from his ability to directly influence potential testimony. If he finds that someone was expected to testify in an ongoing matter that goes to trial he can attempt to impact someone’s future testimony. Let’s say he finds Terry testified, he can corner Terry and try to convince him to say something different.
“one count of indirect criminal contempt”
That sounds very subjective, and not very criminal (especially with how contemptuous Carpenter is).
Terry. My list doesn’t mention Fina. Don’t know him don’t care about him. I was merely pointing out that anyone who has even casually followed the history of this case knows that Carpenter prejudged this case. His “the truth is dying to be told” opinion even says so. No need to get your panties in a bunch. We all know you are a Fina apologist. Try to stay on topic-dumbass. BTW-since you are so smart, explain how his conduct interfered with the working of the court-a necessary prerequisite to a contempt charge-dumbass
Reese only did these things because the Repervlican Clown Car made him do it. Eakin even forced him to drive the Repervlican Clown Car once!
Wait what, you seem to come from the “blame everyone but the guilty” school of thought. Fina made Kane leak grand jury materials and lie about it under oath. Fina made Reese snoop on emails. Fina made Carpenter issue a guilty verdict. Fina will make Carpenter sentence Reese to 6 months.
You’re a dumbass.
Of course, it’s not that he…..you know, violated the order and wait for it….broke the law?
It must be that the judge had it in for him. He broke the law, he got got. That’s how it works.
Why is this news? carpenter heard the case. He already prejudged this entire case so this is no surprise. At least Kane will have a jury so she doesn’t have to deal with Carpenter. BTW-don’t anyone be surprised when Carpenter sentences him to the maximum allowed by law-6 months.
This is only the beginning.