HARRISBURG- Editorial boards and columnists at newspapers across Pennsylvania are blasting Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s statement Wednesday.
In editorials in several papers Friday morning and columns printed since she spoke out about charges against her, Kane is criticized for her approach. Many of them call for her resignation.
Kane’s statement focused little on charges that she illegally leaked grand jury information and lied about it. Instead, she talked about why prosecutors and other state officials are out to get her after her discovery of pornographic emails exchanged among Harrisburg power figures.
Here’s a sampling from major Pennsylvania newspapers:
Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Her statement was “a desperate ploy and, frankly, another abuse of her office.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “The performance was another step in a tortuous descent that embarrasses not only Ms. Kane but also Pennsylvania. ”
Harrisburg Patriot-News: “It was an attempt to have us look at the shiny ball in her left hand while she hid all the legal matters behind her back in her right.”
Scranton Times-Tribune: “Ms. Kane is mistaken in her determination to remain in office while charged with crimes including abuse of power.”
Erie Times-News: “Kathleen Kane should resign as Pennsylvania attorney general. She can no longer credibly serve as the top law enforcement officer for the state.”
Christine Flowers, Philadelphia Daily News: “It was, perhaps, the most excruciatingly painful performance of a public official from the Keystone State since former Treasurer Budd Dwyer put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger on live television. Even those of us who can’t wait until she sinks into the Susquehanna, politically speaking, felt bad. Sort of.”
John Baer, Philadelphia Daily News: “Her evil-men-are-out-to-get-me defense ignores the fact she was charged by a woman, Montco D.A. Risa Vetri Ferman, after a lengthy investigation. And Kane’s porn-protectors argument fails to explain away her indictment for violating grand-jury secrecy then lying under oath to cover it up.”
Allentown Morning Call Headline: “What’s wrong with attorney general’s ‘whole story'”
