Human Resources recommended firing Chief of Staff Jonathan Duecker.
Attorney General Kathleen Kane didn’t listen.
That’s the new report from Angela Couloumbis of the Inquirer.
Earlier this month, Brad Bumsted of the Tribune-Review revealed that a Deputy Attorney General launched a formal complaint against Duecker for sexual harassment.
Couloumbis and McCoy also uncovered a second alleged incident.
Kane knew of the accusations before Duecker was hired as Chief of Staff but brought him on anyway. A few days later, the department’s Human Resources division formally advised the AG to fire him.
The Attorney General’s new spokesman Chuck Ardo responded that Kane is still confident she made the right call and will stand by her decision to keep Duecker.
While it could be argued this episode is the least of Kane’s problems, it still hurts her in an important way.
The AG’s defenders have contended that Kane is being targeted because she is willing to take on the “old boys club” and that her opponents are angry that their own embarrassing behavior could be made public.
As Kane herself told Maria Panaritis, “There are a group of guys who really are angry, who really do not want me there and they are doing everything they can to remove me.”
Yet by overlooking Duecker’s own problems, she undercuts her own primary line of defense.
Loading ...
16 Responses
This is really pathetic!! I can understand these
comments having served in public life for 12 years! Again it is the “old boys club!!! Have fun, and Kathleen will prove them wrong!!
This whole thing gives me a headach.
Is way too much.
When is She gonna fire Her sister for the so called PORN E-Mails? Her sister is a Supervisor, not protected by union rights.
The state police HATE Her.
KANE SHOULD TURN THE INVESTIGATION OVER TO PA STATE POLICE INTERNAL AFFAIRS AND GET A NOT POLITICAL REPORT. SOMEWHERE I HEARD PERSONNEL INVESTIGATIONS WERE TO BE CONFIDENTIAL. I GUESS EMPLOYEES IN THE AG OFFICE ARE NOT COVERED BY THIS RULE???????????
Guzzardi errs when politicizing the AG-Kane tragedy; it’s preferable to stick-to-the-facts; that he has [on another PoliticsPA site] finally decided to condemn her is refreshing, but that decision has [properly] been predicated on the facts of her behavior…and not anything the Clinton [Crime] Family has done.
While I find the promotion of someone with a cloud over their head to be ill advised, I don’t convict anyone until proven guilty.
I additionally find it strange that the HR Office and EOO Office both who are normally charged with the duties of investigating such allegations would recommend no further action to be necessary. Only to reverse course after the promotion is made and recommend firing the individual.
Sounds to me like those two areas either totally dropped the ball on the investigation or are playing Politics with the Old Boys Club !! Either way Kane should first clean house in those 2 offices. Then launch a new investigation and if allegations are proven to be true, fire the Chief of Staff.
I totally agree with the other comments about the biggest mistake by Kane was not cleaning House upon arrival.
Bill Clinton campaigned for Kathleen Kane. In Clinton World, sexual harassment is only a crime if Republicans do it. Kathleen Kane seems to have internalized Clinton values.
Observer’s “Old Boys Club”? Is that like the “Vast Right Wing Conspriracy”? There is that and, of course, the compelling testimony and documentary evidence but, in Clinton World, those are hardly compelling.
For the record, circumstantial evidence is evidence; Mrs. Clinton took bribes and Mr. Clinton was a very willing collaborator. The Double Talking Democrats do have a have Double Standard, do they not?
HER OWN SISTER WAS ON THE PORN E-MAIL CHAIN. ME PERSONALLY DOESN’T THINK THE CHAIN E-MAIL IS A BIG THING, BUT SOME OF YOU KANE SUPPORTERS DO. SINCE SOME OF YOU GUYS THINK THE JOKE E-MAILS ARE A BIG ISSUE, WILL YOU DEMAND THAT KANE FIRE HER SISTER.
Yeah the Kane Defense brigade has officially crawled up it’s own ass
I’m pretty sure Observer is someone’s poor attempt at humor, but I will address Vanessa’s issue. All of Kane’s hand-picked front office staff testified against her in the grand jury. They said she didn’t follow their advice and she released grand jury materials. End of story. Democrats have turned on her.
Now the HR Department is in on the conspiracy?? I think Observer has officially reached “Baghdad Bob” status.
Amen Observer! I said before, when the Party changes, so should the staff. The Democrats keep and promote the Republicans. The Republicans cleans house and gets rid of all the Dems they can. If you in the Union or Civil Service, no problem, we will just change your job title and take you out of the Union and Civil Service – Good-by!
Obviously, the Old Boys Club is well-entrenched in that HR department, and has been a continuing source of leaks to the Inquirer. I’m guessing that same HR department advised her not to publish the names of the Porn Purveyors that are still employed there – because the HR guys were among the biggest porn holders! She should have cleaned house of Corbett’s minions the day she arrived.
This obviously a conspiracy by the HR dept in collusion with the old boys club. This is in no way another illustration of an unqualified candidate well out of her depth.
I am so incredibly happy that, instead of the candidate who was an elected DA who had far more prosecutorial and administrative experience, we elected the candidate who hadn’t worked as an attorney for seven years and never managed other employees. That has worked out so well for us.