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Kane entitled to due process

By Phil Goldsmith To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, is it possible for Pennsylvania's political, legal, and civic establishments to hold two conflicting ideas in their minds at the same time? One, that Attorney General Kathleen Kane is a political embarrassment; the second, that she is still entitled to due process?

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane. (ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer)
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane. (ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer)Read more

By Phil Goldsmith

To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, is it possible for Pennsylvania's political, legal, and civic establishments to hold two conflicting ideas in their minds at the same time? One, that Attorney General Kathleen Kane is a political embarrassment; the second, that she is still entitled to due process?

Apparently not. The political lynching of Kane continues in high gear with the state Supreme Court on Monday temporarily suspending her law license. The secretive state Disciplinary Board had been seeking the action since last month, after Kane was charged with perjury, obstruction, and other charges. As the state constitution requires that the attorney general be a member of the bar, the loss of her license means Kane may not be eligible to continue to hold the office.

Before the court acted, we knew about some of the behind-the-scenes moves against Kane because of leaks in the media. Keep in mind the background of the high crimes Kane is accused of: leaks to the media. There is a name for this. Hypocrisy. But that should not surprise anyone. If money is the mother's milk of politics, hypocrisy is the bottle from which politicians often drink.

The effort to remove Kane, a Democrat, from office, appears bipartisan. The Republicans want her out now because it would allow them to say top two elected Democrats - Kane and former Treasurer Rob McCord - were forced from office for improprieties. As for her fellow Democrats, Kane, once their bright light, has become an albatross - and that's not counting the Democrats who already seem to be measuring the drapes for when they can assume her office.

Imagine if the two parties would work so closely together in Harrisburg on other issues, say passing a budget. We might have full funding for schools, reforms of a bankrupt pension system, a modernized liquor system, and a host of other actions that would move the state forward.

Granted, it is difficult to defend Kane politically. Her credentials for the top post were as slim as wafer paper but a well-funded advertising campaign made her seem experienced and ready for the job. Once in office, however, it became clear she didn't have the right stuff. She has gone through more chiefs of staff and press secretaries than Mickey Rooney had wives. Her use of prosecutorial discretion has been questionable and her ability to provide a cogent, consistent explanation two days in a row seems challenging.

Well, shame on us for electing her. It wouldn't be the first time we have made a mistake in choosing an elected official, but democracy gives us a way to rectify that. It's called the next election. Or, in cases of misbehavior, the constitution provides for impeachment.

But our pols, who see either liability or opportunity in ignoring the rules they would certainly want followed for themselves, are short-circuiting the process. It's not dissimilar to fictional Vice President Frank Underwood of House of Cards fame manipulating a way to get rid of the president so he could succeed him.

But the railroading of Kane is not a television program. And what's at stake here is not Kathleen Kane. Instead what is being threatened is our system of due process, the system that separates us from the likes of Russia, China, and too many other nations in the world.

Kane has not had her day in court. She has not had the opportunity to face her accusers, take discovery, hear the evidence against her, and mount her own defense. Each day there are more leaks that are not subject to rules of evidence. These aren't technicalities; they are constitutional protections that make up the fabric of our legal system.

Whether she is guilty as charged, I don't know. But, frankly, I wonder just how strong the case is against her given the shenanigans her opponents are using to force her out of office before her case goes to a jury. The call of the little-known, opaque Disciplinary Board to recommend she lose her license before her trial is extraordinary. And reports that Senate Republicans are considering ways to circumvent the rules of impeachment by concocting some other "legal" strategy is equally appalling.

Efforts by self-serving politicians to force Kane out of office are not surprising - after all, boys will be boys. But the silence by so many to this broad-daylight mugging of our core legal tenets of fair play is disheartening. The organized bar remains mute, as are law school deans and professors. Good government groups like the Committee of 70, Common Cause, and the American Civil Liberties Union are missing in action.

If no one has the courage to stick up for our system of due process, do we really have one?

Phil Goldsmith has been a managing director of Philadelphia and a chief executive officer of the Philadelphia School District. pgold4110@gmail.com