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Kane Fights Subpoena [UPDATE]

KaneThe conflict between Attorney General Kathleen Kane and the special State Senate committee investigating her is about to get interesting.

According to Kevin Zwick of Capitolwire, Kane is ignoring a subpoena from the investigatory body.

This shouldn’t be a major shock as the AG has openly questioned the authority of the committee. Now, though, the two appear headed for a collision course.

“It is disappointing that Kathleen Kane will not take advantage of the opportunity that the Special Committee has given to her to provide information as to whether her office is functioning properly under an Attorney General with a suspended law license,” said Senate Committee Chairman John Gordner. “It was our hope that the information would be helpful to the Special Committee as we move forward in our tasks as outlined in the Senate motion that unanimously authorized the Committee.”

The committee will meet again on Monday to decide what to do next. It seems likely they’ll have to take legal action to force Kane to comply with the subpoena.

Stay tuned…

UPDATE: Soon after announcing her decision, spokesman Chuck Ardo showed up in the Capitol newsroom with documents the AG decided to hand over to the committee, according to Steve Esack of the Morning Call.

“To maintain the respect and decorum of our government, I offer this response to your issuance of a Subpoena Duces Tecum,” Kane wrote.

48 Responses

  1. @ d2:

    Obviously, despite my terse request “[read ENTIRE articles, d2 & Ha3],” you injected opinion rationalization instead of addressing what will be transpiring within a few hours.

    Based upon your negative mindread about “Kane’s staffers/deputies” [being intimidated and/or engaging in CYA-behavior] and your tangential claim [“The AG’s in many other states aren’t required to have a law license”], you trot-out your predictable conclusion [“the idea that Kane cannot do her job is ridiculous and without merit”] absent even citing what is impending.

    *

    “Kane’s top lawyers” warned her that “Any action that could be construed as you practicing law exposes the attorney staff to disciplinary sanction, either for allowing you to make such a decision or not reporting it.”

    One might conclude reasonably that what will transpire will yield a working-hypothesis that will skewer AG-Kane, inasmuch as “The Senate panel will meet Tuesday to take testimony from constitutional experts Bruce Antkowiak, a law professor at St. Vincent College and former federal prosecutor; Beth L. Weisser, an attorney with Fox Rothschild who has represented attorneys in disciplinary cases; and Robert Davis, a former bar prosecutor and acting chief counsel of the Pennsylvania Lawyer Disciplinary Board, who specializes in defending lawyers accused of ethical transgressions.”

    Furthermore, she did not comply with the discovery-order, claiming “documents relating to disciplinary counsel in her case are confidential”; again, she subjects herself to a contempt-charge, absent any third-party confirmation of the justification for her adopting this defiant stance.

    Indeed, as repeatedly predicted in these postings during recent weeks [specifically with regard to the motivation of the Supremes to suspend her law license], the legal impact of a disrupted law-office will pervade all of its activities [“Beemer and the other deputies wrote that they expect challenges from opposing counsel in any ‘legal’ decision Kane makes to bring or settle a case”].

    Those who have relished buying “popcorn” to watch porn-tainted public officials being prosecuted may want to consider an emergency purchase thereof, prior to when a developing record that is damning might prompt the committee to “give Kane an opportunity to testify,” for she will need to explain “how she’s complying with the suspension order.”

    *

    Can anyone reasonably doubt that the committee will report-out [by Thanksgiving] that the current status of the department ostensibly being run by AG-Kane is not only in turmoil but also is traumatizing the delivery of legal services for which it [and she] are responsible?

    I’m lookin’ @ you, d2, and you cannot invoke your stable of rationalizations to negate the import of this fundamental concern [regardless of whether you are an R or a Dem].

  2. Some of Kane’s staffers/deputies are playing a bullsh*t game of cover-your-ass, because some defense attorney gave them some pushback on Kane’s status. (Or, just using the situation to oust Kane and advance themselves).

    The AG’s in many other states aren’t required to have a law license, and they have the same duties as Kane.

    So, the idea that Kane cannot do her job is ridiculous and without merit.

  3. Another update on poll numbers:

    Do You Support the Senate Inquiry into Kathleen Kane?

    Yes – 45%
    No – 55%

  4. Updated poll numbers:

    Do You Support the Senate Inquiry into Kathleen Kane?

    Yes – 46%
    No – 54%

  5. Nice try, troll-boy. You suck at being a troll. Give it up.

    BTW – AG Kane is not going anywhere. Her message to the Repervlicans Clown Car: PROVE IT IN COURT OR SHUT UP. And be ready to be exposed for the corrupt, racist, woman-hating perverts that you are.

  6. Impeach this loser already. Kane is such an embarrassment. An AG who ignores the constitutional procedures of our government is no law enforcement official. Even Richard Nixon resigned when it got this bad. Move on already, Kathleen Kane!

  7. DD – this explains how the Clown Car operated with such impunity. They knew that they had the Discoplinary Board and the Judicial Review Board in their pocket. It would be like a drug cartel who has paid off the police.

    BTW – has a grand jury been sworn in to investigate the MANY leaks from the Kane “investigation”?

    Kevin Sreele is going to have some explaining to do if he prosecutes ONE alleged leak by Kane and ignores the MANY by Fina & The Corbett Pervs. He should look at what happened to Seth Williams when he got into bed with Fina & The Corbett Pervs. Leave that crew for the Repervlicans!!!

  8. New revelation:

    One member of the 12 member Judicial board that cleared Eakin, was himself a recipient of McCaffery’s porn emails. So, yet another conflict of interest that should have been disclosed, and resulted in a recusal, but didn’t.

    — from the article
    mobile.philly.com/news/?wss=%2Fphilly%2Fnews&id=348177091&#y2r2kIviVzuMfKPf.01&betaPreview=redesign
    “Some of Dooley’s emails, obtained by The Inquirer, show he received at least 11 messages with sexually explicit content – including naked women and women engaged in sex acts – from McCaffery and others in 2008 and 2009.
    Some were also sent by McCaffery to a onetime agent in the Attorney General’s Office, who blasted them out to other prosecutors and investigators there. One such explicit email, made public in a filing by Kane to the state Supreme Court, was sent in 2009 to Dooley’s official email at the East Whiteland Township Police Department.

  9. Addendum:

    When trying to review the document submission by AG-Kane, the above hyperlink didn’t work, nor did another ID’ed elsewhere…

    http://c/Users/Nick%20Field/Downloads/KANE_PACKET.PDF

    [from]

    http://www.montcodfa.org/aggregator/sources/5

    …and it should be recognized this issue has received national attention…

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/11/09/can-you-serve-as-attorney-general-if-youve-lost-your-law-license/

    …inclusive of a key-facet of what will be tackled…

    “Article IV, Section 5 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides: ‘No person shall be eligible to the office of Attorney General except a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.’ So one question is whether, under Pennsylvania law, an indefinite suspension of a bar license is itself disqualifying for someone who is already in office.”

  10. http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/capitol-ideas/mc-stop-the-presses-kane-changes-her-mind-on-senate-cooperation-20151113-story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

    Although most of the documents she remitted cannot be reviewed publicly [“Documents show Kane turned over one brief memo she issued Sept. 25 putting First Deputy Bruce Beemer and Executive Deputy Attorney General Larry Cherba in charge of all court records for wiretaps and search warrants. Kane also gave the Senate a memo Beemer and three other top agency lawyers wrote to Kane outlining why they did not think she could continue running the agency. The Beemer and Cherba memos were not provided to media per attorney-client privilege, Ardo said.”], she sorta complied [“Kane reproduced a bunch of news releases about arrests and civil legal actions her agency has done since the Supreme Court suspended her law license as of Oct. 22.”].

    The buried-lede is pivotal [“No word yet on whether the records are acceptable to Gordner and his bipartisan committee set up by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson.”], and it’s anticipated that this query will be answered in 48 hours [“The committee will hold its second meeting on Tuesday. The agenda calls for a panel of constitutional and legal ethics experts to offer opinion on the rights and duties of suspended lawyers.”].

    One can reasonably anticipate that the focus will be trained on the ability of this panel to rebut her ability to delegate her constitutional authority effectively; if they can ID an Achilles’ Heel, observers will be able to prepare her political obit for publication by Thanksgiving.

    What would become intriguing would be whether she would comply with a personal-subpoena [“To maintain the respect and decorum of our government”] to respond to whatever tentative-conclusion that might emerge on Tuesday; just like unrefuted input was temporarily sidelined [when she complied with the Subpoena Duces Tecum], she must avoid an adverse outcome predicated on unrefuted input about her office as it currently behaves [that, in light of Ardo’s recently painful experience, recalling the Sandusky quotes, would probably not be reasonably anticipated to be delivered by anyone other than AG-Kane herself].

    In short, after having reformulated the available database, it seems that the Senate committee will be empowered to conclude an adverse outcome [noting the prior input from the 3 DA’s] unless whatever is amplified on Tuesday [regarding her specific capacity to function] can be neutralized [probably by a personal appearance].

    It can be anticipated that her defenders would yelp that she would be stripped of key “rights” were she to appear soon thereafter [noting how they have clamored for her impeachment, indeed citing the plurality–but not the majority–poll-results herein as support], but the committee could cite her rationale for having complied with discovery [without having appealed the order to Commonwealth Court, as she could have done if she had wanted to challenge the powers of this committee credibly, prophylactically] as justification for nailing her if she failed to answer a subsequent query [generated by on-the-record testimony] regarding her ability to function [without an active legal license].

    To those who feel put-off by the use of “[brackets]” here, the “Executive Summary” is simple: the committee will be able to “telegraph” its report by what transpires on Tuesday [which, presumably, will detail faulty internal-function, judging from public comments tethered to “turmoil,” particularly with regard to how the AB’s office relates to the 67 county-DA’s] and, if she cannot personally refute such concerns [that reasonably respond to the rock-solid interests of the Commonweal, the “charge” to this committee], her fate will have been sealed.

  11. Katniss Kane is the Only Good Looking woman in Pennsylvania Politics and you Knuckleheads want to get rid of her You are all INSANE

  12. Kane should set up a special investigative committee and subpoena all the members of the legislature, or at least all the members of the Special Kane Committee, on the theory that she is investigating if the legislature is being run properly. This would mock the hypocrisy of this absurd Special Kane Committee.
    Will the next legislative move be to set up a Special Committee to see if the Governor is running his office properly? And then maybe another Special Committee for the Commonwealth Court or even the Supreme Court?

  13. I notice that some ass has used my screen name. Sy should stop this. I will shortly stop posting and go elsewhere. Support for Kathleen Kane is strong and growing and I support her.

  14. Updated poll numbers :

    Do You Support the Senate Inquiry into Kathleen Kane?

    Yes – 46%
    No – 54%

  15. I have e-mailed Sy Snyder requesting he prohibit mental patients from re-posting previous inane comments.

  16. What I wrote on November 10, 2015 at 8:18 am remains on-point, as opposed to the writings of d2, Ha3, elroy, et al.:

    The beginning of the end? Special Senate panel begins considering fate of embattled AG Kathleen Kane

    http://timesleader.com/news/493239/the-beginning-of-the-end-special-senate-panel-begins-considering-fate-of-embattled-ag-kathleen-kane

    After “a trio of county district attorneys testified that their licenses to practice law were essential to their official duties,” no contrary data were acquired…as had been predicted; this presages the findings, as AG-Kane continues her boycott of these proceedings.

    https://www.politicspa.com/senate-committee-begins-kane-hearings/70593/comment-page-1/#comments

    THUS, AG-Kane may have read my posting and may then have reconsidered the wisdom of her boycott.

  17. Diano, as usual, you have no credibility because if this were a Republican AG and all other facts were the same, you would be jumping up and down about how solid a case there is for removal under this constitutional provision. Shillboy.

  18. I think the key line from the article is: “No word yet on whether the records are acceptable”

    It would be funny if she sent them a copy of Harry Potter as a response, since the committee is trying to conjure a magical justification for willfully misinterpreting the removal clause.

    Pat Unger-

    Right on point, as usual.

  19. Kane released grand jury materials directly to the Philadelphia Daily News…because FINA made her do it. Kane lied under oath about leaking the confidential materials…because FINA made her do it. Kane fired people who testified against her…because FINA made her do it. Oh, b-b-b-but this is all because of PORN EMAILS!

  20. This is fun. Its like a social experiment watching one person with multiple accounts converse with themselves and then someone antagonizing them to force them to continue their insane conversation. It’s like Jerry Springer without the chairs being tossed around…

  21. Whatever do you mean? That was one of the e-mails that Kane uncovered that was sent by Frank Fina. E-mails like those form the motivation for this Kane witch-hunt. When Kane found those e-mails, the people responsible for them (Fina being one of them) went on the attack. It really isn’t that hard to figure out. Some people just took longer. Pretty soon, only the perverts, racists and woman-haters themselves will be left … and, of course, their shills.

  22. Oh boy … He is coming unhinged/unglued again …

    Either that or he really thinks that only 1 or 2 people have figured this out. Maybe he thinks the two people are the head of NOW and Cindy Bass!!

    It’s not that complicated. The people who sent around and laughed at e-mails like this didn’t want the Public to to know – and were willing to go to great lengths in their cover-up:

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/zadock1/3580634808

  23. That’s right, support for Kane used to be confined to one person with two screen names on PoliticsPA. Now it’s two people with 6 screen names. Go Kane!

  24. The Senate lynch mob will have to look up the meaning of Subpoena Duces Tecum, then these geniuses should return to work and pass a budget. Support for Kathleen Kane is growing and the public is beginning to “get” what has been going on. If anyone sees one of these gang of 6 geniuses at a bar on the West Shore or elsewhere, tell them to get a life.

  25. Pat Unger RIP
    Noted Malahide farmer, seed dealer and former volunteer firefighter Pat Unger, 56, was killed in a farming incident, March 16. He was trapped in a grain bin on his farm, north of Lyons.
    Friend and fellow seed dealer Ian Foster had known Mr. Unger for at least 30 years. “It’s going to be a tremendous loss to the community,” he said.
    Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Labour are investigating.
    Malahide Fire Chief Brent Smith, who started his new job Monday, confirmed volunteer firefighters were called to the farm at 14555 Imperial Road, just north of Wilson Line, between 3:30-3:45 p.m.
    He said some of the firefighters who first arrived on the scene knew the victim.

  26. SB – Perhaps the State Senate has caught wind of the poll numbers and is now going to use that provision only on low-level officials who have gone senile?

  27. jamet:

    A man who wants to call a dog “sir fluffalot” and calls his budgie “weapon x”

    Do you call your budgie “weapon x”??

    LOL

  28. I wonder why after putting out a statement saying she would not comply, she then complied. Maybe something happened. I wonder what…..

  29. OMG … This is classic …

    TOP DEFINITION

    jamet:
    A west indian homosexual. A man who pierces both his ears and wears women clothing and talks in a high pitched voice. A jamet usually is oblivious to the fact that everyone is staring at him. Not because he is cool but because he is a jamey.

    Can’t make this stuff up.

  30. Pat Unger
    Don’t assume “jamet” is a misspelling of a common female name. It isn’t.

    I am in complete agreement with Saylor and the Supremes. You misunderstood my post. Your parents obviously did not instill common sense or a courteous manner in you.

  31. Nothing “inflated” about those numbers. You can look for yourself!! The poll is right here on PoliticsPA.

  32. “jamet” huh? Your parents don’t know how to spell?

    Or shills like you are getting sloppy? In any event, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court does not agree with you:

    Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor said the high court’s decision to suspend Kane’s license “is in no way constitutionally disabling.” He said Kane remains a member of the bar in Pennsylvania – a requirement, under the state constitution, for anyone to be attorney general.

    “An attorney who is the attorney general, and is suspended, is still a member of the bar of the Supreme Court, because the suspension is just temporary,” Saylor said during a speech at the monthly press club luncheon in Harrisburg. “That could be dealt with very quickly. . . . There could be a reinstatement, and a member could be again able to practice law.”

  33. kraig001
    What does that prove? The PA Constitution says the AG must be a member of the bar. The PA AG is a member of the Bar with a suspended license. What the federal or other state governments do is irrelevant.

  34. In response to the subpoena, Kane should send them the following (on a single piece of paper):

    22 U.S. states do not require their attorneys general to be licensed members of the bar. Nor is the U.S. attorney general, or justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, required to be members of a state bar.

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