Feb. 10, 2016
HARRISBURG—Rep. Todd Stephens (R-Montgomery), a former prosecutor, is the Majority Chairman of the House subcommittee investigating whether Attorney General Kathleen Kane should face Articles of Impeachment. The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly (170-12) to authorize an impeachment investigation into General Kane’s conduct. Rep. Tim Briggs (D-Montgomery) is the minority chairman of the subcommittee.
“I’m humbled to be asked to take on this tremendous responsibility,” Stephens said. “This investigation will reflect the seriousness of the issue. Working together with Chairman Briggs and the members of the subcommittee will ensure a fair, impartial and thorough investigation.”
The state Constitution provides that an elected official who commits “any misbehavior in office” “shall be liable for impeachment” and ineligible to hold elected office in Pennsylvania. It vests the House of Representative with the exclusive authority to impeach.
“Pursuant to the mandate of the House Resolution our committee will conduct a comprehensive investigation into General Kane’s conduct,” Stephens said. “There is no predetermined outcome - we will go wherever the investigation leads us.”
In 1993, the House of Representatives authorized the same committee to investigate whether then-Supreme Court Justice Rolf Larsen should be liable for impeachment. Ultimately the House voted for articles of impeachment and successfully tried Justice Larsen in the Senate where he was impeached. Stephens has been reviewing the House and Senate journals from the Larsen impeachment and expects to follow the same general procedure employed then.
“It is obvious to me that the same deliberate process used to investigate Justice Larsen should now be used with regard to the allegations against Attorney General Kathleen Kane,” Stephens said.
Stephens said the subcommittee will begin work immediately and expects to hold the first hearing within the next few weeks.
Representative Todd Stephens
151st District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
RepToddStephens.com/ Facebook.com/RepToddStephens