CLICK HERE TO READ SEN. SCHWANK’S FULL COMMENTS
HARRISBURG, Jan. 27, 2016 – State Sen. Judy Schwank, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Address, issued the following statement today after voting against the report the committee submitted to the full Senate by a 5-2 vote.
“I voted against the report because, despite the majority’s reliance on unproved or unprovable and disputed claims, the evidence throughout has been clear and consistent that the attorney general remains constitutionally qualified within both the letter and the intent of the state Constitution to hold her office.
“It also was consistent and clear that there are no duties of a legal nature that the attorney general personally must perform, and that all duties of her office are being fulfilled and are not likely to go unfilled as a result of the suspension of her law license. No incompetency is apparent on a fair reading of the record, and the root of the suspension itself is a pending criminal proceeding, which Senate precedent makes grounds for removal by impeachment only and not for removal in this manner.
“The proceedings also revealed a lack of clear standards for the proof that should be required to remove an elected official and for a process properly transparent from start to finish. Instead, it also leaves other members of the Senate, who might be called to vote on removal, without a credible opportunity to gauge the weight and credibility of the evidence themselves.
“Not only was the attorney general denied the opportunity to question any of the witnesses in our hearings, but the irregularity of the proceedings was highlighted even today by the admission of apparent testimony into the Senate record without the opportunity for members of the committee to inquire into them.”
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