Ethics Complaint Alleges Kane Used Public Office For Her Criminal Defense

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent

Already the target of a criminal investigation by one Pennsylvania prosecutor, Attorney General Kathleen Kane could soon be investigated by the state’s ethics commission, too.

And maybe the FBI.

Political activist Gene Stilp on Tuesday morning filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission against Kane. It alleges she’s using state office to aid her defense against criminal charges brought by Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman.

Kane was changed Aug. 6 with obstructing administration of law or other government function, official oppression, criminal conspiracy, perjury and false swearing. The charges stem from information about a secret grand jury proceeding that she leaked to a newspaper, allegedly intending to embarrass a fellow prosecutor as part of a political revenge scheme.

Since charged, Kane has professed her innocence and refused to resign. But Stilp believes she has run afoul of Pennsylvania’s ethics laws by remaining in office.

“During this process the Attorney General has utilized Commonwealth owned property and Commonwealth employed personnel to further her actions for her defense and has financially benefited from the use of Commonwealth personnel and property,” Stilp said Tuesday.

He pointed specifically to Kane’s Aug. 12 news conference, during which she discussed the criminal charges against her. The news conference was held in the state-owned media center, in the basement of the state Capitol, and was conducted with the assistance of public employees, including security personnel, communications personnel and Kane’s own staffers.

“No official business was conducted by anyone involved,” Stilp added.

At the conference, Kane deflected attention away from the criminal charges. In a 15-minute speech that did not include questions from reporters, Kane claimed the charges against her were the result of her decision to expose pornographic and racially insensitive emails passed back-and-forth between state prosecutors and judges.

“The chain of events that led to this moment,” she said, “began with a group of state prosecutors and judges passing pornographic, racially offensive and religiously offensive emails amongst each other — email traffic sent and received on government computers and on government time.”

Lawmakers on both sides, along with prominent Democrats such as Gov. Tom Wolf and state auditor general Eugene DePasquale, have called on Kane to resign.

“I am not sure how the top law enforcement officer in Pennsylvania can continue to perform her duties while she is defending herself against these serious charges,” Wolf said after the charges against Kane were announced.

In the meantime, reports indicate her legal problems may be mounting. The FBI and a Philadelphia grand jury are investigating Kane and her office, according to anonymous sources quoted by The Legal Intelligencer, a Pennsylvania-based law journal.

The Legal Intelligencer says the FBI investigation is separate from the charges brought by Ferman against Kane.

Kane’s office did not respond to request for comment on the ethics filing.

She is scheduled to be arraigned in Montgomery County on Aug. 24.