Rep. Daryl Metcalfe has renewed his call to impeach Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane for what he called “blatant disregard and disrespect for the law.”
The Republican, who represents Butler County, had introduced a similar resolution last year after Kane refused to defend Pennsylvania’s marriage law. That law was eventually overturned in the courts.
On Monday, Metcalfe circulated a memo to his House colleagues seeking co-sponsors for a new resolution calling for Kane’s impeachment. The memo comes after a difficult week for Kathleen Kane, in which a grand jury rejected her claims that charges against Philadelphia lawmakers who allegedly took bribes to oppose a voter ID law could not be pursued because the investigation was racially motivated. That presentment spurred public criticism from Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams and U.S. Rep. Robert Brady, chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Party.
An exerpt from Rep. Metcalfe’s memo: “During the public hearing, testifier J. Christian Adams, Policy Board member of the , observed,’It is the obligation of the Attorney General to ignore the race, religion or partisan affiliation of wrongdoers in deciding whether to enforce the law.’ Because the Attorney General raised the specter of racial targeting in announcing her decision not to continue the investigation, she has not met this obligation. In contrast, the outcome of DA Williams’ efforts has, thus far, proven that such investigations can be successfully conducted without partisan or racial considerations. In recent comments on the investigation, Williams stated, ‘As an African American and as a law enforcement official, I was disgusted that the Attorney General would bring racism into this case.'”
