Political scandals tend to always have a sordid beginning. That is the nature of the “porngate” scandal currently rocking Pennsylvania’s judicial and political systems at their core.
Sandusky Surfaces Again
Ironically enough porngate has its origins in the insidious Jerry Sandusky scandal—the former Penn State University defensive coordinator who was convicted for abusing dozens of young boys during the tenure, and without the knowledge of, legendary Coach Joe Paterno.
Tom Corbett was Pennsylvania’s attorney general when the first hint of scandal surfaced in the Sandusky case. A mother and her son reported to a local district attorney that the boy had been sexually abused by Sandusky. This allegation was turned over to Corbett who convened a grand jury to investigate the matter. It wasn’t until November 2011 that Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly indicted Sandusky on 40 counts involving the sexual abuse of young boys.
Governor Accused in Political Move in Sandusky Prosecution
By that time, Corbett had been elected governor. Legal and ethical questions immediately surfaced that the governor has stalled the Sandusky investigation because he did not want the controversy to harm his gubernatorial aspirations. One of those making the charge was a former Lackawanna County assistant district attorney Kathleen Kane.
Kathleen Kane Steps into Fray
In 2012, Kane launched her bid to become the first elected woman to the position of Attorney General of Pennsylvania. She eventually defeated a strong Democratic opponent in a tough primary and went on to defeat Republican rival David Freed, a former Cumberland County district attorney in a general election.
One of the first things Kane did after taking office in 2013 was to appoint former federal prosecutor H. Geoffrey Moulton, Jr. to investigate Gov. Corbett’s handling of the Sandusky investigation. She then charged into a state prohibition on gay marriage and aggressively pursued a corruption case involving state turnpike officials.
Philly DA Joins in
The new attorney general also drew intense media scrutiny and political criticism when she shut down a corruption investigation into members of her own Democratic Party. After calls from well-placed members of the legislature into Kane’s action to shut down that investigation, the Philadelphia district attorney’s office took up the investigation and indicted the Democratic Party officials.
In the midst of all this political corruption and wrangling, Moulton’s investigation concluded that Gov. Corbett had not engaged in any misconduct in the Sandusky case.
Racist, Sexists Emails Emerge
Interestingly enough, however, Moulton’s investigation unearthed tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of emails sent to and shared by judges (several of whom are prominent members of the state’s Supreme Court), prosecutors and other powerful state officials. The emails contained photos mocking African-Americans, jokes about rape and sexual assault, and insults against people about their weight and sexual orientation.
To understand the gravity of the content of these emails, one must only look at the media scrutiny given to them. One photo depicts a woman on her knees performing oral sex on a man with the caption “Making your boss happy is your only job.” Another photo depicts a white man fending off two African-Americans while holding a bucket of fried chicken with the caption “Bravery at its finest.”
Political Elite Shudder
Powerful people in Pennsylvania became aware of the emails and the potential political damage they could do.
Did Kane Leak Confidential Info in Different Case?
In what Kane called a political preemptive move, some of these folks prompted an investigation into whether the attorney general had leaked confidential information to a media source about a grand jury investigation. Kane apparently responded by releasing thousands of the emails that immediately got Supreme Court judges and members of her own staff into serious ethical and legal trouble.
That all occurred in 2014.
Dirty Politics Continue, Kane Indicted
Things really heated up in 2015 when, in August, Montgomery County District Attorney Resa Vetri Ferman indicted Kane on one count of perjury, one county of false swearing, three counts of obstructing the administration of law, and four counts of official oppression—all in connection with the reported 2014 grand jury leaks.
As a result of these charges, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court stripped Kane of her license to practice law in the state.
Kane now faces trial on two counts of perjury—a conviction on either would carry a significant period of incarceration.
Kane says the criminal charges leveled against her is an orchestrated political conspiracy to damage her credibility after she released the sordid emails and has vowed to release even more disgusting emails. Some reports say there may be as many of 100,000 more emails that could be released.
Porngate
This intriguing political scandal, which now has its own select name “Porngate,” mirrors the kinds of scandals lurking in every state political system.
But the thing we find most disturbing about “porngate” is this: One Pennsylvania Supreme Court judge has been suspended and another under disciplinary investigation for their roles in porngate. Attorneys in dozens of criminal cases, including one death penalty case, are asking for new appellate reviews arguing judges involved in such unethical and unscrupulous behavior could not have given their clients a fair and impartial review to which they were constitutionally entitled. These are legitimate concerns.
Judges Should be Held to Higher Standard
The very integrity of the Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system has been called into question, apparently because a “good old boy” network wanted to play teenager games with crude email trafficking. That may be acceptable behavior for bubba on a Pennsylvania dairy farm, but it boggles the mind that Supreme Court judges could be involved in trafficking in this kind of racist and sexist material while charged with the responsibility of fairly and impartially reviewing the misconduct of others. It is also curious that these officials felt at ease using government resources and email to engage in this offensive conduct.
At the moment, no one knows how this scandal will play out. It seems to us that Kane’s legal and political careers are over, but she is still in a position to take down many others in a sinking ship. It will all make interesting restroom fodder.
One thing that is clear is that individuals who demonstrate racist and sexist tendencies do not have the necessary temperament to be fair and impartial judges. They should be removed from the bench or forced to defend their unprofessional conduct publicly before the electorate.