Posted on 02/16/2016 1:46:31 PM PST by TroutStalker
Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced Tuesday that she would not seek reelection in November, but urged others to continue fighting the "old boys network" she sought to dismantle.
"When we have accomplished all of that, I will rest peacefully and easily knowing that we have marched into hell for a heavenly cause," she said. "And we won."
Kane's announcement came less than a week after surviving an attempt by the state Senate to remove her from office. One recent poll showed her leading her opponents in April's Democratic primary.
But the first woman to be elected as Pennsylvania's top law enforcement officer still faces possible House impeachment proceedings and criminal charges related to the alleged leak of secret grand jury materials.
Gov. Ed Rendell, a longtime Kane supporter, endorsed one of her opponents — Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro — earlier this month. He had also testified at a Senate removal hearing, saying Kane did not need a law license to continue as attorney general.
Kane did not directly address her various legal and political battles at the Scranton press conference, but said her decision was motivated by her two teenage sons, Christopher and Zach. She described herself as a "single mom," a nod to her pending divorce from trucking heir Chris Kane, who helped fund the former Lackawanna County prosecutor's run for attorney general in 2012.
"While I love Pennsylvania, I love my sons first," she said. "I am a mother first and foremost because, at the end of my life, I hope that history judges me well. And time will tell. I hope more that God and my sons judge me will."
The attorney general took the opportunity Tuesday to highlight her office's achievements, including a mobile street crime unit that targeted drug cartels and an increased emphasis on prosecuting child predators and companies and individuals that preyed on seniors.
But Kane urged citizens and the candidates running for her seat in November to continue the charge against political corruption and the "old boys network."
With all the attention that Attorney General Kathleen Kane has brought to the emails of state officials in the last two-plus years, it was only a matter of time until her own garnered similar scrutiny.
In the last two years, Kane has released a steady stream of lewd and otherwise offensive emails involving federal and state officials from an array of agencies. That fight has resulted in disciplinary action against dozens of state workers and the resignations, retirements or suspensions of a number of a high-ranking officials. Most recently, it led to the suspension of Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin.
She vowed to continue that fight in the months that remain.
"I told you I would fight coruption and I'm fighting corruption regardless of the personal cost to me," she said.
On Tuesday, Kane emphasized the bigoted, homophobic and mysogynist content of those email chains.
"We cannot subject the people that we work for to this type of bigotry and prejudice," she said. "I know that giving up comes with great personal cost. I know that. I get that. But when we serve the people of Pennsylvania, that is our duty."
Kane took no questions. It remains unclear what impact her decision not to seek reelection could have on her legal defense — she had been using campaign funds — or any possible sanctions she faces, criminal or political.
At the end of her announcement, Kane left the small conference room and out into the torrential rain battering Lackawanna County.
She realizes of course that she is stealing lines from Man of LaMancha. Don Quixote and all that.
>>But Kane urged citizens and the candidates running for her seat in November to continue the charge against political corruption and the “old boys network.”
<<
The irony and chutzpah are palpable.
Oh puhleeze. She is/was a Clinton babe; he came to Pa. to campaign for her. I’m sure the Clintons were trying to build their coalition here..Kane, Sestak, etc. It failed...or at least got detained/derailed for awhile.
Of course, she’s leaving..’for the children’. buh bye.
No better way to fight the Old Boys Network than dragging Fast Eddie Rendell up there to testify on your behalf, eh, Kath?
Anti-Second Amendment witch.
Another democrat piece of human garbage. Good riddance.
If she were a Republican, that would have been stated in the first sentence.
“Oh puhleeze. She is/was a Clinton babe; he came to Pa. to campaign for her.”
We have a winner!
Drama...Queen....!
You can bet she’s got the TOTAL resume for Barry’s PERFECT Scalia replacement......
She was brought in to muddy the waters and she did but also she got caught up in the political crap. She is damaged goods. She needs to resign or be impeached. If this was a man he would have been gone by now!!
She is proud to be a criminal and cannot believe that she has been caught. She expected the organized criminal enterprise known as the Democrat Party of Pennsylvania would protect her from the law and is shocked that they did not do so.
“... emphasis on prosecuting child predators...”
The same woman who refused to abide by the Pennsylvania Defense of Marriage Act and pushed for homosexual marriage so that the degenerates could have sex with the adopted children. Yes, that same woman.
Ping
How much money is all this rigamarole costing us?
Good riddance. Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
