The AG office is ensnared in another scandal and once again they’re claiming a conspiracy against them.
Michele Kluk, 34-year-old Deputy Attorney General under AG Kathleen Kane, claims she was sexually harassed by Kane’s acting Chief of Staff, Jonathan Duecker, according to Brad Bumsted of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Kluk claims the confrontation happened at a bar in Hazleton and that Duecker was inebriated at the time.
Chuck Ardo, Kane’s spokeswoman, said that Kane “thinks this is all part of the effort to undermine her. We’ve been saying all along there’s an internal struggle” between old-guard employees and Kane, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Ardo also said, as per the Inquirer, that a text message from Kluk suggests she’s being used by people who want Duecker out.
Despite Ardo’s claim, Kluk maintains that “no one is using me to go after him.”
According to the report, Kluk did not consult the Department of Professional Responsibility regarding the matter, however, she did consult her supervisor, Larry Cherba.
Ardo says that he is unsure if AG Kane was aware of the alleged incident or not.
“I don’t know whether she did or didn’t know,” Kluk said.
Update: Angela Couloumbis and Craig R. McCoy of the Inquirer are now reporting that Kane knew of the complaint before hiring Duecker. Her aides advised her that the allegations had been reviewed and no further action warranted.
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20 Responses
You can be sure nobody is ever going to get accused of trying to pick up Laura Ditka.
She won’t fire a sex offender but fires many staff members for passing sending a few x rated jokes. What a nut/
got to go now
Observer
Are you AG Kane or one of her political minion’s paid or unpaided
Haha whistleblower that’s adorable! What’s wrong with an old drunk bald guy trying to make out with a woman at a bar? Aside from indecorum, nothing! But you did fail to mention the one kind of important detail: the old drunk bald guy is her boss. You idiot.
Only “observer” ever made me ashamed of my own party. Sure, Sharpton gives me a twinge now and then, but going after the complainant (who, if she had an axe to grind would have held a press conference the day after) and her husband (seriously?) is a complete, over-the-top caricature of everything Hillary has ever been unfairly accused of by the right-wing boys club. “Observer”, you are not helping and I fervently hope you are secretly a RepubliCON trying to make us look bad.
Too bad he doesn’t have a tape to clear his name. Blame it on Hazleton’s lack of internet (and electricity for that matter) or else this photographer on safari would have picked it up on his Google glass.
Sounds like we know who the real PERVERT’S are. Hypocrites.
It’s Hazleton, not Hazelton. Even Keegan knows that.
Wow this story broke on Politics PA last week! I wonder how the story was leaked? I wonder who leaked the story. Me thinks the trail might lead us to the Philadelphia DA’S office, because I am sure there is a snitch in the Attorney Generals Office. When the Party Changes, so should the staff.
How is a drunk bald guy trying to make out with you sexual harassment when also drinking in a bar after hours?? Riddle me this one. ? Punch the loser in the face , call the manager or a cop if it was so traumatic. I’m not buying it. Something’s fishy. Will wait for more details before I go so far as to start referring to her as a victim. Is there a report we can read??
The funniest thing about these joke so called porn E-mail chain letters, is Her own sister is on chain of E-mails. When is she getting exposed and fired.
lol yeah why didn’t she just let them handle this matter internally at the AGs office?? We all know theyve been nothing but above board in their treatment of whisteblowers, right?
RIGHT??
And let’s be clear: nobody is blaming her for being the victim of a drunken a-hole’s advances. The blame is for ignoring personnel privacy rules for no good reason – her stated reason is not credible. I’m sure if a complaint was lodged against her, she wouldn’t want it blabbed to the press until it was adjudicated, right? She IS an attorney, after all.
Tell the whole story.
First: “Kluk told her supervisor but did not file a complaint with OPR, the agency’s equivalent of internal affairs, because she wasn’t sure what the rules were for reporting sexual harassment.” A Senior Attorney who can’t be bothered to look up how to report sexual harassment? Really? Oh, come on.
Next: “Kluk said many people in the office know about the incident, and discussion of it increased after Duecker’s promotion. Reporters contacted her, she said, and she wanted to tell the story herself.” And WHO tipped off the reporters? Somebody out to get Kane, that’s who.
Ardo is 100% right. Frank Fina’s Porn Buddies will stop at nothing to protect their porn stashes.
Observer, it’s a stretch, but good job attacking the victim! Like Kane, you’re a class act!
Is Kluk still married to that hotheaded Easton cop?
“The city said Beiser was disciplined for other problems as well as the fight in Carbon County. Beiser had previously violated codes of conduct by ignoring department and county policy by carrying his firearm into the Northampton County Courthouse, disregarding an order from a superior officer and misleading another and running criminal background searches on witnesses of his Carbon County incident, according to court documents.”
BARD, well said. I can’t believe she’s accusing a female victim of sexual harassment of lying for political purposes.
“Chuck Ardo, Kane’s spokeswoman” ???
guess this is the thing at Damon’s that dude on the other thread was referring too.
And if Ardo is just going to keep using the “they are all out to get us” line then he isn’t worth his paycheck.
Its official – Kane has Jumped the Shark.