Senate Committee: Begin Process to Remove Kane

If it accepts the recommendation, the Senate will conduct a hearing where Kane can defend herself before any vote to remove her. That process could take weeks, and removal will require approval of two-thirds of the chamber, or 34 senators.

A Pennsylvania Senate panel assigned to consider the suspension of Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s law license has recommended that the full Senate hold a hearing on removing her from office.

A Democrat, Kane is now running her office with a suspended law license and is fighting perjury and obstruction charges for allegedly leaking secret investigative material to a newspaper and lying under oath about it.

The constitutional provision says the governor shall remove officers after the Senate votes for it. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has urged Ms. Kane to resign, but she has resisted.

– A Pennsylvania Senate committee has determined that the Senate indeed has jurisdiction over a removal action against Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

Next week, Kane said, she would detail “prosecutorial powers” they would have to pursue any violations of criminal, civil, or ethics laws.

You can read the Senate Special Committee’s Report here.

The special committee did not specifically recommend the Senate remove Kane. Her term expires in January 2017.

Sen. Art Haywood (D-Philadelphia) said questions of Kane’s legal authority must be resolved by the state Supreme Court.

“Less critically, but still important, we must remember that such a proceeding would have a significant financial cost to taxpayers, is likely to be divisive and harmful to confidence in government, and that voters will be able to ultimately decide her fate in a very short period of time”, said Schwank, who provided a more detailed summary of her objections to the committee’s report on her website.

The process moved forward in a 5-2 vote, with one Democrat – Sean Wiley, of Erie County – joining the Republican majority on the bipartisan panel. Kane won the office in a landslide in 2012. Their next step will be to outline the Senate hearing process in a resolution, which will then be voted on by the Senate.

Kane says she plans to appoint a team of special prosecutors next week.

Chuck Ardo, Kane’s office spokesman, said the review will examine governmental email addresses that have already been linked to raunchy emails found on Office of Attorney General servers.