Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s abrupt announcement that she would not seek a second term almost certainly writes finis – both on her political career, and on Harrisburg’s long running soap opera featuring the state’s first woman attorney general.
Under heavy pressure to resign, Kane so far refuses to do so. She also still faces 12 charges, including two felony counts, alleging a leak of grand jury material while the state legislature may yet move forward with impeachment. But while her legal fate is unknown, her political fate is now sealed.
This one is over–the tale has been told– fait accompli.
But where does the Kane saga belong in the notorious annals of Pennsylvania’s disgraced politicians?
Certainly, it doesn’t belong as part of the infamous history of corruption blazed by so many state politicians back to the Civil War era. The Kane epic is not about the petty venal corruption or graft that characterized so many past scandals and brought down so many state politicians.
Nor is it about the more modern abuse of using state resources for campaign purposes, such as the recent “bonus gate “scandals that wrecked so many political careers.
Indeed, Pennsylvania’s often-squalid politics offers little perspective on the political demise of Kathleen Kane. The Kane story doesn’t fit the corruption narrative at all.
If not corruption, then what did bring down someone who three years ago was one of the most celebrated politicians in the state, destined many believed to be a future governor or even a higher office?
It was character not corruption that brought Kane low. In particular four main character traits fated her fall as surely as a classic Greek tragedy.
- TEMPERAMENT – Kane often seemed to lack the temperament needed to fulfill the duties of a statewide elected official. Her many and much documented quarrels with senior aides and consultants are illustrative (she has had seven press secretaries in her brief tenure). Probably most revealing was her long running feud with Frank Fina, who handled the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse case. Many of Kane’s problems seem directly linked to discrediting Fina and the fear that he would destroy her tenure as attorney general.
- INEXPERIENCE – many of her early problems can be traced to her lack of public experience. Prior to her election she worked as an assistant DA in Lackawanna County, which provided some experience as a prosecutor. But she lacked managerial skills in running a large complex department. Typically, statewide office in Pennsylvania is only achieved after years of experience in local government or the legislature. Yet, Kane had never ran for any office or served in any elected capacity at the state or county level before her election.
- BAD POLITICAL JUDGEMENT – Kane exhibited poor political judgement almost from the beginning, early on shutting down a promising corruption investigation, awkwardly threatening to sue a Philadelphia paper for printing unflattering stories about her, and ignoring staff advice again and again. Her stunning refusal to prosecute a sting operation involving four Philadelphia lawmakers and a traffic court judge particularly hurt her. The appearance of blatant partisanship was even more evident in her handling of the porn email scandal that engulfed her office – selectively releasing only material linked to persons she apparently hoped to embarrass politically.
- POLITICAL ENEMIES – Kane in office embodied what one political scientist has called the “paranoid style in American politics.” She believed the state’s male dominated political establishment was conspiring against her. While there is little evidence of a conspiracy, she surely made enemies with her combative take no prisoner’s style. Tellingly, the felony charge that most unhorsed her – leaking testimony from a grand jury – is common and rarely prosecuted. In fact, the grand jury recommendation to indict her was itself leaked.
In the end, Kane’s political demise was more a suicide than a homicide. Still, it’s hard to see how her story might have turned out differently. Lack of experience, made worse by bad judgement, a temperament ill-suited for state politics, and the tendency to make enemies doomed her.
If character is fate, it was her fate to fall. And like a classic Greek tragedy, she met that fate.
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305 Responses
I hope my children don’t some day read this stuff:
http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/08/26/kathleen-kane-frank-fina-porngate-emails/
I’m Attorney General Kathleen Kane of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, it makes my crimes and corruption all the worse for our system.
Don’t feel sorry for me. I am a despicable loser. I betrayed the public’s trust. I am the worst of the worst.
* Someone get the guns out of my house b/f I go Bud Dwyer *
I’m tempted to excerpt pieces of this article, but there’s so much describing the train wreck of a legal problem the Attorney General has created for herself that I’d end up doing the whole thing. It’s amazing to think that since it’s writing, she’s only decided to make things worse. It’s like she can’t control herself.
http://articles.philly.com/2015-12-20/news/69169315_1_kane-ellen-granahan-emails
I feel sorry for you too Frank. It’s not even like you were ever in an election and Democrats think your head on a pike will balance out our string of corruption in statewide offices.
The double standard is alive and well with us. As you know, it’s only misogynist if a man sends it, it’s only racist if a republican sends it and it’s only memorable if our enemies receive it. Thank god for that, you know what I mean?
Officially, Frank, you’re still a hero.
And here is my mea culpa:
I am a pervert and a racist. I did watch bestiality videos at work. I did demean black people by sending racist material from my State computer.
I did try to cover-up my e-mails. Part of that cover-up was the attack on Kane
I did steal files from the OAG. I tried to get the Feds to hire me. They laughed at me instead. And then they rejected my sting case – the one where I targeted Blacks.
When I got to the DA’s Office , I didn’t stop targeting Blacks. When I took over the Salvation Army case, IO gave immunity to the White guys and went after the Black guys.
I am a cheater. I lie.
That felt good!!
There are 40,000 PSU alum demanding that Fina and the 2nd Mile be investigated. My guess is that they will get their way. But Fina will already be in jail for his role in Hate-gate and mis-using grand juries.
It’s probably due time for another mea culpa.
Corbett’s team was ultimately vindicated by my investigator’s thorough report. It was a good thing for boys today who were in the Second Mile that Fina and co. learned the lesson of Michael Jackson’s prosecutors.
I hope everyone understands why I had to retract the things I said about them.
“June 3rd: It is announced that Adrian King is resigning from the AG office. In a 2015 profile, Maria Panaritis said Kane “knew and deeply trusted only one of her top lieutenants: Adrian R. King.”
BTW, looks like Nick has been working hard updating the official PoliticsPA Kathleen Kane timeline. Seems to run on forever.
https://www.politicspa.com/the-kathleen-kane-saga-a-timeline/65556/
March 24th: Meanwhile, Kane reviews a case in which Fina did not act in an investigation of former Philly NAACP head J. Whyatt Mondesire. She wants to release information about the case against the advice of her staff.
At 12:53 a.m. Kane’s top deputy Adrian King emails her.
“I fail to see how we can legally give . . . access to any OAG [Office of Attorney General] criminal division file materials.”
Kane responds at 3:38 a.m.
“I am well aware of the limitations of disclosing criminal files. . .,” she wrote. “I have been in this business quite some time.”
During this exchange, the two also discussed the public relations nightmare caused by Sprague’s unexpected presence before the Inquirer editorial board.
“You are now being perceived as weak, lacking credibility, and having something to hide (when you have absolutely nothing to hide),” King wrote.
“Sprague was engaged to represent me, since it is my reputation, not anyone else’s, that has been trashed,” Kane replied.
“It is reassuring, though, that when it has to do with me, despite my constant defense of others, I am on my own,” she continued, “nothing I am not already used to.”
Kane would later testify that King was in favor of leaking the materials. King would ultimately hand the information off to a political operative, although he claimed it was inside an unmarked manilla envelope and he didn’t know what was inside.
However, if she doesn’t take the stand, the testimony against her by people she placed around her and without an axe to grind will carry a lot of weight with the jury.
“Now more than ever, Kane says she feels people’s support and looks forward to proving her innocence at trial:
“I know I did nothing wrong, I know it and I know that they will see it too.
“Am I looking forward to sitting in that chair? No, I am not, I have never been there.”
Kane has a right at that trial to NOT take the stand. The government will bear the burden. Kane and her lawyers get to do the cross-examining.
GET A CLUE, troll-boy.
The August trial should be illuminating with Kane on the witness chair. She will be questioned and questioned and cross examined repeatedly by the District Attorney’s office.
What’s a little porngate emailing between sisters?
I have never and will never e-mail you, troll-boy. Sorry.
At least no one will care any more if we start emailing each other again.
Sorry to hear that, KKK.
Meanwhile if I’m not in jail I’ll be in the tollbooth next door.
Luckily – he doesn’t have to be an “esquire” to be one of the most powerfull men in the World (which he will again be).
ROFL
The one thing he’ll never be called again is esquire. My hero.
I wonder if Bill be called the “First Gentleman” or the “First Husband” when Hillary is POTUS.
My license is only suspended, but Bill will never be allowed to call himself a lawyer again. Something to aspire to I guess.
Ewwww!!! Stop it, buggy. I just vomited in my mouth.
I like real men. Not bald, weak, sniveling creeps. And I would never date a racist.
I think Marie secretly wants to have sex with Fina.
If my high priced lawyer keeps me out of jail and I only end up without a law license like Bill Clinton, I’m sure one of my rich friends will help me out. If not, I’m sure you’ll put in a good word for me.
Maybe you can get a job at a rest stop or service station along the Turnpike.
Right. Right. Wink wink. Must’ve been the troll.
I suppose you’ll disavow writing this too:
“Sy Snyder has been notified. Bid adieu to your troll comments.”
I wrote no such thing. And I already told you I am sorry about your license suspension. Not much more I can say, KKK.
You said “Someone explain to me how Fina’s license has not been suspended. The Superior Court just found that he lied to the Court. And wrote that his conduct was “highly improper.””
My license has been suspended because I’m indicted.
I am sorry your license is suspended, KKK. That sucks. I didn’t say I was confused. There’s a pathetic groupie troll here pretending to be me. I am his role model. Sometimes he gets angry because I did not make him President of the HaHaHa Fan Club.
Well, that would explain why my license is suspended and his is not. You said you were confused.
No. Not yet, KKK. Eventually he will be though.
Gotta be patient. I know I am. Learned my lesson the hard way when I bought 38 batches of popcorn waiting for Kane to be dragged from office. It never happened.
There’s no way I spend any more cash on popcorn until I know that the CLOWN CAR will actually endeavor to ACTUALLY PROVE SOMETHING against Kane at a trial. For right now, I’ll believe it when I see it.
Is Fina indicted yet?
It’s not fun, they’ll suspend your license. Peace bro.
Agreed, Marie. The Supreme Court and the Disciplinary Board loses even more credibility if Fina is not suspended.
You see that other article about Williams letting Johnny Doc slide? What a disgrace.
I understand that people will try and smear me. I created enemies by holding those emails over the judiciary system and trying to play puppetmaster.
Please ignore the smears and judge me only by my actions. My illegal, hypocritical, menacing, and corrupt actions.
Someone explain to me how Fina’s license has not been suspended. The Superior Court just found that he lied to the Court. And wrote that his conduct was “highly improper.”
I had not seen that, Pat. Thanks.
Even I’m not that bad, sheesh.
I have to agree with MMQ. It does seem like someone is so blinded by their hate of Frank Fina that they’d rather he was in jail and Jerry Sandusky was out touching boys.
Agreed, Ha3. Fina will not hold up too well in prison. Maybe he can be the jailhouse lawyer and avoid being buggered every night!!
Anywho – more bad news for Fina below:
“The group, which claims more than 40,000 members, wants each candidate to state whether they will drop the charges against the men and “apologize to the Penn State community for the damage that the [Office of the Attorney General’s] politically motivated prosecution has caused.”
They also are looking for the candidates to weigh in on whether they will investigate The Second Mile Foundation, Sandusky’s former charity, and former state prosecutor Frank Fina, who led the investigation that resulted in the charges against Spanier, Schultz and Curley.”
This bears repeating:
You may remember that I tried very hard to smear Corbett’s team. In the end, I was forced to retract all of it because of where the facts led.
Believe me, I charged my investigator to leave no stone unturned. He was so good that he uncovered the porngate emails that family and I were a part of, but, the point is that I wanted so badly to put the abuse of boys on the shoulders of my enemies.
Unfortunately for me it turned out that they were the heroes who probably protected many more victims–even today.
It is Michael Jackson’s death that keeps his hands out of boys pants. It wasn’t his prosecutors. We should all be thankful that Corbett’s team did what California’s rush to arrest couldn’t do and keep a monster off the streets.
Adios.
Sy Snyder has been notified. Bid adieu to your troll comments.
Kane’s Sister said it best:
“Hold fast my sister and never forget, it’s only misogynist if a man sends it, it’s only racist if a republican sends it and it’s only memorable if our enemies receive it.”
If my family didn’t have a double standard for Democrats, I wouldn’t be so happy. So, I am very happy for that hypocrisy.
Give us Barbaras!
This bears repeating:
Anyone who tries to separate Kane’s problems from the people behind them is disingenuous.
Kane can be all the things listed above: inexperienced, poor temperament, etc. But that doesn’t change the fact that she was targeted by a corrupt bunch of creeps who were motivated by self-preservation.
Kane won an election. In a landslide. She may be stupid. She may be naive. She may have been in over her head. But, what she found when she did what she promised to do while campaigning was a disturbing network of people who seemed to think the rules don’t apply to them. They used their State computers to distribute vile, racist material.
Their attitudes towards minorities, women and homosexuals is very disturbing. The fact that they shared the material with Judges they appeared in front of is even more disturbing. They created a group of people who all had the goods on each other. People that shared the same racist, woman-hating attitudes. And, once you were part of that group, the other members had a hammer they could hold over you.
Frank Fina was one of the prosecutors in this group. He prosecuted people for mis-using their State computers. And then he used his State computer on this:https://www.flickr.com/photos/zadock1/3580634808. That is but one example. There are many others.
The person who was allegedly The Genesis of the e-mails is Seamus McCaffery. He was a Supreme Court Justice. His brother is currently a Judge in Philadelphia. He was once aligned with Kane.
When Kane won, but before she took office, Fina finalized his “unjust” plea deal with Tyron Ali. Bruce Beemer called it “unjust.” Fina dropped all the charges. Fina let Ali keep the $430K he stole from a non-profit set up to help children.
Con-man Ali’s lawyer is Bob Levant. Fina negotiated that sweet deal, in the 11th hour (right before Kane was set to take over) with Levant.
And now Fina is suing the AG’s Office for money. And guess who one of his lawyers is? Yep — Bob Levant.
Rumor has it that Levant has helped Seth Williams with the FBI’s criminal investigation into Williams.
Now – Seth Williams has just created a new position at the DA’s Office – “General Counsel and Chief of Staff.” It’s a high paying job. The person he hired just walked off the street into that job. Her name is Kathy Martin and she has zero general counsel experience and hardly any prosecutorial experience.
But – she is Bob Levant’s wife. It’s no wonder that Williams refuses to fire Fina. They are in bed together. Levant and Martin are on that stinky mattress too. Something is rotten at the DA’s Office.
Tell Fina not to worry. After he gets sentenced, his lawyer will ask the Judge to keep him housed separately from Sandusky in the State prison system. Unfortunately for Fina, the inmates aren’t going to like him no matter where he goes.