In probe, Corbett says to his critics: 'Wait and see'

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett knows his wide-ranging legislative-corruption investigation has attracted plenty of criticism: that it has gone on too long, that only Democrats have been arrested, and that his expected pursuit of the Republican gubernatorial nomination next year presents a conflict of interest.

None of that is making the second-term prosecutor reassess how his office has pursued allegations that state lawmakers and their aides improperly diverted public resources to help win campaigns or benefit themselves.

In an hourlong interview Friday, Corbett said people should "wait and see, have patience."

"Do I believe a lot of people out there are saying things that they're going to have to eat their words? Absolutely," he said.

He would not set a timetable but said that did not mean he had not been pushing his staff for progress.

"I'm back there every day saying, 'Let's move, let's move, let's move,' " he said. "Trust me, and I'm a former U.S. attorney, I know we are moving this faster than our colleagues in the federal government ever would move it."

His investigation is well into its third year, so far yielding the arrests of 12 people connected to the House Democratic caucus, including two former state representatives.

They were charged more than a year ago, and now Corbett is on the verge of having to make a monumental decision about his political future. He has formed an exploratory committee for a possible run for governor, but will not say when he plans to announce a decision about the race.

Lately, the only declared GOP candidate, U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach, has been hammering Corbett for raising money and looking for votes from Republicans while investigating lawmakers and their aides.

"While you're doing that work during the day as the chief law enforcement officer," Gerlach said, "you, obviously, at night are trying to get around the state, hold fund-raisers, and seek political support from legislators and county chairs and their political supporters as well. I think there's a fundamental political conflict."

Corbett did not take contributions from state legislators during his reelection race last year and is maintaining that policy for now, but he said he might accept donations once the targets of the investigation are clear.

"When we file charges - because we will file charges - when we file charges, if there's the ability then to distinguish some, that's a bridge that has to be crossed at that time," he said.

Last year, Corbett made headlines when he announced he would not make any arrests within a month of the November election, when seats in the General Assembly were on the ballot.

That policy might not be needed this fall, he said.

"It's different," Corbett said. "I don't know that I'm going to stick to that, because this time it's only the municipals and the judicials."

The legislature is mired in a partisan budget fight that could drag on for months. Corbett acknowledged that a new round of arrests could make the talks even more complicated, particularly if they involve high-ranking incumbents.

"We are aware of that, yes," Corbett said. "That's about as far as I can go right now."

Speculation and rumor about new charges continue to swirl around the Capitol, but the only tangible sign of the scope of the investigation has been the millions of dollars in legal fees the caucuses have announced paying.

Corbett declined to go into specifics of the probe, citing the strict secrecy of Pennsylvania's grand jury rules, but said he had heard the critics.

"We read blogs. We know what's out there," Corbett said. "We can't comment on those things. What's out there could be wild speculation, could be accurate. We can't comment on it."

Gerlach noted that a few editorials criticizing Corbett's handling of the case had recently appeared, and said he was concerned that the probe may be discouraging lawmakers and other politically active people from speaking out about the gubernatorial campaign, still in its infancy.

"I think it has caused a number of folks just to sort of hunker down and keep their head down and not get active and vocal on statewide political issues," he said.

In response, Corbett said those who had done nothing wrong had nothing to worry about. As for allegations that the investigation already shows signs of being politically motivated, he said the career prosecutors working for him would never allow that to happen.

"If I were to all of a sudden say, 'I don't want you to charge this person' ... these guys would scream bloody murder. They'd go right to the federal government and say, 'Hey, there's something wrong here.' I know they would. I would expect them to."