Senator Art Haywood issued the following statement in response to a hearing held on 12 January by the Senate Special Committee on Address, of which he is a member:
HARRISBURG, 13 January 2016: “The question before our Committee is whether or not the Attorney General can serve in her role with a suspended law license. Yesterday, Governor Ed Rendell said that the real concerns regarding the Attorney General’s conduct are outside of the scope of the Committee. For that reason, Governor Rendell urged our Committee to discontinue proceedings. He further stated that the vast majority of his duties as a former Philadelphia district attorney were managerial and policy matters that did not require a law license. Governor Rendell additionally raised a concern that ‘chaos’ could ensue if the Attorney General’s law license were reinstated by the Supreme Court following a decision to remove her from office by the Senate.
Governor Rendell’s recommendation to discontinue removal proceedings follows a recent decision by the Armstrong County Court of Common Pleas. The Court decided that the Office of the Attorney General is authorized to prosecute while the Attorney General’s law license is suspended. This decision addressed my only remaining concern from prior Special Committee hearings. We cannot ignore Governor Rendell’s judgement, nor can we ignore the recent court decision confirming the authority of the Attorney General’s office. What additional questions remain to be answered before our Committee?”
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Contact: Melissa Ostroff
215-242-8171
mostroff@pasenate.com