HARRISBURG — State Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane said a Senate-led effort to remove her from office would set a bad precedent for Pennsylvania in a document sent Monday to a special committee.
“The actions of the Senate in the present day will create a precedent for Pennsylvanians whereby an elected official may be removed at the whim of a separate branch of government, or political party,” she wrote. “This proposition creates chaos in times of political excitement or a rush to judgment.”
As she has previously, Kane said the Senate’s use of an obscure process known as direct removal to boot her from office would be unconstitutional. Impeachment is the proper constitutional way to remove an elected official, she added.
The Senate voted last month to move ahead with considering whether to remove Kane as the state’s top law enforcement officer because her law license has been suspended. Kane’s license was suspended last fall after she was charged with obstruction, conspiracy and perjury in connection with leaking secret grand jury information to a reporter.
Kane decided to send a seven-page statement rather than testify personally at a public hearing today of the Special Committee of Senate Address.
“By appearing, she believes it would legitimize the process,” spokesman Chuck Ardo said.
Kane has the choice whether to appear at any legal proceeding or not, Senate counsel Drew Crompton said.
“This is her hearing,” he added.
Kane’s chief of staff, Jonathan Duecker, also provided a statement leading to speculation he may appear before the committee.
He emphasized that Kane’s duties extend across the realm of public policy and managing budgets, programs and investigations.
“General Kane’s discussion with many present and former Attorneys General from throughout the US confirms that nearly 90 percent of what they do on a daily basis is for the operation of the office,” Duecker said.
Senators have said the main question facing them is whether Kane can do her job as attorney general with a suspended law license. The direct removal process has not been used successfully since it was added to the state Constitution in the 1870s.
Under the direct removal process, Gov. Tom Wolf could remove Kane from office after a two-thirds vote in the Senate for reasonable cause. But there is no requirement that such a vote be taken or a deadline for it to happen.
The special committee has 15 days to issues a report after the evidence from the hearing is in.
There has been speculation that Kane could file an appeal with the state Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of this process and asking that it be halted while the appeal is pending. That remains an option, Ardo said.
Veteran Capitol activist Gene Stilp suggested Kane is trying to influence potential jurors in her leak case, which has yet to go to trial. He is urging Wolf and the Senate to act together to remove Kane.
“Kane’s long range goal is a set of jurors in Montgomery County where Kane will go on trial later this year,” he said. “Kane will use Tuesday’s hearing any way she can to send a message to folks over there in Montgomery County that she is being treated unfairly by those in Harrisburg.”