Kathleen Kane is stepping down from her role as Attorney General effective tomorrow.
“I have been honored to serve the people of Pennsylvania and I wish them health and safety in all their days,” Attorney General Kane said in her statement.
That quote was preceded only by the sentence: “Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane today announced that she will resign her position as Attorney General effective at the close of business tomorrow, Aug. 17.”
Kane was found guilty on nine charges yesterday. Her sentencing hearing is set for October 24th.
Kathleen Kane was the first elected female Attorney General in Pennsylvania and was first sworn in on January 15th, 2013.
In January 2015, she pledged that she would not resign.
You can view the whole story using our comprehensive timeline.
UPDATE: Gov. Wolf has responded to Kane’s announcement that she will be resigning:
“What has transpired with Attorney General Kane is unfortunate. Her decision to resign is the right one, and will allow the people of Pennsylvania to finally move on from this situation.
“I have full faith and confidence in the employees of the Office of the Attorney General and know that they will continue to perform its most important functions including protecting consumers and prosecuting criminals. Moving forward, I will work with both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate regarding any potential appointment of an Attorney General.”
UPDATE 2: Bruce Castor will assume the office of Attorney General and hold it until until Gov. Wolf and the legislature agree on a replacement or in January when a new AG is sworn in.
Castor said he will remain as AG until Gov. Wolf appoints someone new and Legislature approves or new AG is elected & sworn in
— Carley Mossbrook (@CarleyMossbrook) August 16, 2016
UPDATE 3: Kane conducted an interview outside her office this morning on her tenure in office, in which she states “I don’t have any regrets.”
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65 Responses
Has Seth Williams been indicted by the Feds yet?
WE SURE DO.
Wonder when Kane will release the rest of the e-mails!?!
Can’t wait. Popcorn I didn’t use when the Judge refused to allow her to present her case is still READY.
It is said that Fina & The Corbett Pervs liked bestiality porn. And sexual images of children. And granny porn too!!! Very diverse!! !!
Glad the Kane saga is finally over. Now that they got their conviction against Kane, I would expect that the people responsible for the MANY illegal leaks from the recent Grand Jury (that investigated Kane) will be forthcoming.
LOL
Bruce Castor is a total disgrace and he is not fit for office. Sure he has experience, but he has no character. Look at what he did with the Bill Cosby case. Secondly, Castor announced he would continue his representation of Centre County and the District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller whom he represents as her criminal and civil lawyer (he sued Centre County 3x and lost). Castor hasn’t even recieved public endorsements from his own party, and he said personally during yesterday’s press conference that the Wolf Administration was not returning his calls. You know what this dirtbag did? He represented our criminal DA after she forged a signature, and then he billed the county 126k for that representation and threatened to sue us when we didn’t pay. Why should we pay for Parks Miller’s criminal defense? He will have to sue us like he threatened if he really does want the money. Overall Castor just has a rotten reputation, he will never be elected into office legitimately so he wants to get in house of cards style. Bruce Castor is a total disgrace, and this site should do a poll – Castor’s approval rating will be around 10% if that. He is a political hack who never made it except as Montgomery County District Attorney, and he even lost that election. How can we in good conscience let a man with this terrible reputation represent the state of Pennsylvania. If Wolf has one ounce of sense he would appoint someone different, and I’ve written him and called my local representatives in reflection of the same. Bruce Castor is a disgusting human being who is salivating over the potential power, don’t give him the pleasure. Kick him to the curb so he can sink in private practice, because after Cosby nobody really wants to hire him. The Judge in cosby said Castor’s testimony “lacked creditbility,” it was a nice way of calling Bruce Castor a liar, which he is. He is bottom feeding scum, total political trash. We have no pride if we sit back and let him become the AG of Pennsylvania. He has no business representing us. Stacy Parks Miller and Kathleen Kane belong in Muncy State Correctional institute, and Castor needs to go back to his hole and starve in private practice.
@ Pat Unger:
Had she NOT resigned, the Senate would have accomplished that task for her; if she had protested [as d4 aggressively argued should be successful, but I persistently argued had no legal foundation], the House would reported-out impeachment and the Senate would have briskly convicted.
Smart move to resign. Will help her at Sentencing. Hope she gets at least some jail time. She and Seth Williams are dragging law enforcement in PA.
@ Jaded:
The fact that she had to submit her passport [due to the Haitian trip, when there was no one left to watch the “store”] is telling, for the judge will probably transform awareness of the PATTERN of misconduct into an enhanced penalty.
HaHaHa is still rubbing his nub in humiliation as his poster of Frank Fina glares down at him judgmentally.
now for her sentence—-I say 36 months –state time
VICTORY LAP
I meant it as a put down of her. She disgraced her children and her name in Pa forever
# jared:
If she is put-away for a sufficiently lengthy time-frame, the opportunity will diminish to convey the desire that they emulate her.
Now she can tell her sons how she fought the good fight and stood up to the corruption around her. They will understand why she could not take the stand and speak out for all the world to hear her side.
{I think I’ll return to manifesting the discipline of appending hyperlinks to any history-rendition that I upload [victory laps ended, except if/when d4 types ANYTHING]; thanx to all the vetters, here, who – I hope – concur with how PA will benefit from the removal of KK, as of the end-of-business today.}
Can’t resist wandering off-topic [I’m still thrilled with the verdict], now that KK is cooked; can anyone explain why no one is attacking Cynthia?
*
http://abc27.com/2016/01/26/local-experts-respond-to-felony-charges-dropped-against-former-penn-state-administrators/
“…Cynthia Baldwin, who was the chief council for the Penn State Board of Trustees, violated attorney-client privilege, after she testified against all three, before a grand jury.
“Defense Attorney, Corky Goldstein says Baldwin, a former State Supreme Court Justice, was present when all three testified before the same grand jury.
“Goldstein is not sure if it was established that she was the attorney of record for the trio, but he says no one is allowed to witness the proceedings, unless they are representing someone who is testifying. Baldwin, later testified that she was not representing any of the former administrators….”
…
“Goldstein says the panel was straight forward with their focus, before they issued it’s ruling. ‘It is important to understand that court did not discuss the substance of the charges, or if they were right or wrong,’ said Goldstein, ‘It was the legality, because, was you can’t bring these charges because of Cynthia Baldwin’s actions of making them believe that she was representing them before the statewide grand jury’.”
Jennifer Storm, is Pennsylvania’s Victim Advocate. She was hoping for a different outcome regarding the three former administrators. ‘There is a sense of disappointment.’ said Storm, ‘Because holding these three men accountable, is just as important sometimes, as holding the abuser accountable’.”
*
CAN ANOTHER GRAND-JURY be empaneled to indict the triad [AND Baldwin]???
@ everyone:
now that my rendition of AG-history has been clarified, would anyone care to dispute my point about Cynthia Baldwin? This isn’t based upon conceptual recollections but, rather, has been a specific concern that has been harbored as JoePa was being pilloried unjustifiably
@ Tired:
THIS time, I checked a reference that clarifies:
“(Asher) recruited me … and I wasted two years of my life in pursuit of becoming attorney general,” said Castor, a Montgomery County commissioner and Asher foe.
Asher HAD supported Castor, but switched.
http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_712297.html
Now that’s a hot mug shot! I’d love an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs shot of this naughty naughty girl. They may need to build a new wing on the left of a state prison for all the slimers getting indicted. Don’t worry though everyone— Seth reported his 160k in cash gifts accepted and free football tickets so he’s on the up and up!
Kane and her flunkies were such a disappointment.
@rskarloff Castor never had Asher support in his run against Corbett. They hated each other before that, then really hated each other after. Egos like that can’t coexist apparently.
Rsklaroff is confused. Mike Fisher never served as acting AG, only as AG beginning in Jan. 1997 after his election in 1996. He succeeded Tom Corbett, who was appointed by Gov. Ridge in 1995 to complete the second term of Ernie Preate.
It was Fisher’s First Deputy, Jerry Pappert, who served as Acting AG in 2003-04 before Gov. Rendell in 2004 appointed Pappert as AG to complete Fisher’s second term ending in Jan. 2005.
@ Not Ready:
I don’t care how he’s posting [or not posting], for it should be noted that Mike Fisher was acting-AG before he was formally elected to the position.
So is Bruce Castor posting tonight as History Prof or Hairston, Har?
Is Rafferty running a campaign?
That’s great to hear about Kathleen Kane is to step down early for me voting for John Rafferty in November and wins this thing and I think is he will get things done very easily.
@ gulag Pittsburgh:
Your reference to Cynthia Baldwin is pivotal to appreciating the under-reporting of Sandusky; she not only falsely represented herself prior to the Curley/Schultz depos [causing great harm to justice, noting dismissal of lotsa charges], but she also suppressed info about this affair when Board meetings were held throughout the subsequent year [inexplicably, despite multiple private querying during the past few years…as referenced occasionally @ PoliticsPA].
@ History Prof:
Again, thanx for correction [must resolve to Google history before typing it]; the thrust of my comment was to recall his courage when running statewide with only Bob Asher as a supporter.
@ Hairston, Har.:
Concur with your praise of Castor that I, perhaps clumsily, attempted to convey; someone may wish to probe how KK [a Dem] opted to choose him [an R] for this position [reflecting sound judgment, eh?], for it recalls how Ford [popular in the House, but a moderate-conservative] was chosen by RMN [perhaps recognizing the need for competence were he to have to depart prematurely] after Spiro T. resigned [over Nelson Rocky?].
Castor ran against Corbett in 2004 and nearly beat him. In fact he crushed Corbett in the five county SE like 3 to 1. You know, the part of the state that is now critical to win? Castor not only never ran against Fisher, he introduced Fisher when Fisher announced he was running for governor and chaired his SE campaign. Plus, Castor’s son is or was now-Judge Fisher’s law clerk on the federal appeals court. Castor will be the last Republican AG of Pennsylvania. In fact, if the GOP had nominated Castor for Governor last time, he’d have beaten Wolf. It was the idiots at the state committee that decided to groom Corbett by making him AG that cause the Wolf win. The only GOP guv or senator in the whole Of America to lose in 2014. Corbett is the loser. Not just an election, a whole state for all time.
Castor never ran against Fisher. That was Marino. Castor was never tossed out of any law firm. He is a partner in one and left on good terms with his first firm. Where do you get this nonsense? And losing to Corbett in the AG primary in 04 changed the course of Pennsylvania GOP politics to the point where no Republican could ever win statewide again. Steele cheated with Cosby to win and then admitted he needed evidence Castor did not have when he arrested Cosby. Plus you notice the victim in that have has not set foot back into the U.S. and she probably never will. So that case will tank. It’s ok to hate the guy, but get your facts straight. Castor won five elections. All costing millions of dollars. How many have you won?
Cynthia Baldwin is a loser. Kicked upstairs to PA Supreme Court because Family Division (Soviet Republic of Allegheny County) wanted rid of her.
Castor is a loser. Lost to Fisher. Lost to Corbett. Lost to Steele. Tossed out of two law firms.
Interesting point, Montco. I have noticed increasingly that the Inky takes a side in most major stories. I don’t know if this is the age of journalism we are now in or if this is just the Inky. Angela Couloumbis and Craig McCoy were definitely players and not just scribes in all of this.
But, fuck all that noise about other people being far more guilty than Kane. She caused WAY more harm than good during her four years in office. She also set back the cause of women in office. And she is a cautionary tale against electing someone who only wants to use the AG’s Office to further political ambitions (ahem, Shapiro).
There is truly only one thing in this giant clusterf**k that angers me: it’s the fact that over the next year we’ll see hack gotcha journalism rewarded on the awards circuit, with the Inky’s Colombis and McCoy reaping all sorts of honors for their crusade. Once Thursday’s paper is published with the “Kane Resigns” headline, their package for the Pulitzer committee should be complete.
The fact that their reporting was fed by a pack of scum-sucking jerks guilty of far worse behavior than anything Kane did will be covered over and unspoken. They were not reporters in this, they chose a side and were players, actively working with those who wanted to destroy Kane.
This was a top-down Inquirer vendetta that was sparked when Kane arrived at their editorial board meeting with Richard Sprague as her mouthpiece. Bad move by Kane, but just as bad by the Inquirer. They’ve been at war ever since.
@ HaHaHa: PPA’s Baghdad Bob:
Your rejoinder to d4 is superb, but the answer to your query is obvious; politicians such as [soon-to-be-former] AG-Kane [a.k.a. “KK”] will hire him to spin and to respin lies that will mollify the crowd [and he probably is popular, as a result, among Dems].
Is there a republican running for AG?
@ Fred:
You reference two childhood icons [Clutch Cargo and Dudley Do-Right] to suggest Bruce Castor lacks true-friendships; you may recall that he challenged Mike Fisher two decades ago in the GOP Primary for this position so, in many respects, it reflects a sense of fulfillment [that, undoubtedly, had arisen due to having sufficient people-skills to have been able to have been appointed to his current position].
She better not try to come to my rest-stop and make money. I already seen Fina sniffing around.
Shamrock, yes, Democrats make for easy targets in corruption investigations, until they become one themselves.
Kathleen Kane is a decent person who prosecuted an evil, corrupt Philadelphia Judge (Willis W. Berry, Jr.). This Berry character is (was?) out of control corrupt; Berry scammed dead people, the children of the dead, the taxpayers and his very own clients in various scams over a span of decades! Google the name “Willis W. Berry, jr.” And the evil nature of Berry is there for the truth of the averments asserted! Berry actively subverted the US Constitution to assure Guilt of those before him! Thus, Berry was not prosecuted by the Philadelphia District Attorney as a reward! AG Kane got Berry convicted in 2015! In this regard, Kane did a noble act!
Moll-
I wish he would. Then, he’d be ineligible to run and they’d have to replace him with another candidate who didn’t take $150,000 from school charter PAC
She should have resigned along time ago. When she chose to only enforce the laws that she agreed with was the time that she should have been impeached. Too bad are legislators lack balls or the state would have never had to go through all the drama with her for this long.
Bruce Castor? AG? OMG! Not a political or legal friend in the world. Clutch Cargo and Dudley Do-right, all wrapped up in one.
Sayonara!
You’re right, Diano, best AG since Preate, assuming you judge your AGs by their criminality, corruption, and Lackawanna County residence. Except Kane did more than Preate (or any other AG) to drive good talented people out of the AG’s Office and to damage the Office’s reputation. So, I guess she is the best ever. [by the way, who the fuck would ever in their right mind pay David Diano for any advice or service?]
Damn shame. Best AG we’ve ever had.
It is a great day for Pennsylvania and the Attorney Generals office.
the long nightmare of Kane is over
Josh Shapiro for interim AG!
…as predicted.