September 09, 2015
Supporters of embattled Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane will hold a rally Thursday inside the Capitol Rotunda, according to Pennlive.com.
The rally organizers oppose efforts to oust Kane from office and have petitioned a state disciplinary board, which reportedly is asking the state Supreme Court to take action against Kane. The petition, signed by 1,500 supporters, urges the disciplinary board to let the judicial process play out.
That action could include the emergency suspension of Kane's law license, a precursor to her removal, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported late last month. But the Philadelphia Inquirer, citing anonymous sources, reported the board seeks a suspension.
Kane's defense attorney, Gerald L. Shargel, released a statement Wednesday alleging these leaked reports are part of a "broader campaign to deprive" Kane of due process.
"Simply put, she is entitled to a fair trial by an untainted jury," Shargel said. "These disciplinary proceedings are confidential by design, with continued confidentiality guaranteed by Supreme Court Rule. In this case, the proceedings were never confidential; they were leaked upon their filing. The leak of confidential information only weeks before Attorney General Kane’s formal arraignment in the criminal case (at which she will plead not guilty), can only have been designed to poison the jury pool in the criminal proceeding now pending."
Kane, 49, has been charged with illegally leaking secret grand jury information to a journalist and then lying about it as part of an attempt to smear a professional enemy, Frank Fina, a former employee of her office. She has maintained her innocence.
