Former Gov. Ed Rendell has a little advice for embattled state Attorney General Kathleen Kane: take a leave of absence.
“Let someone in her office be the one to call the shots for the attorney general’s office while she was getting ready for trial, preparing for trial with her lawyers, etcetera,” said Rendell on WITF’s Smart Talk on Wednesday.
Top state Democrats have called on Kane to resign in light of the criminal charges filed against her last month. Rendell said Kane could stop short of that while placating some of her critics.
“If the trial’s going to come up this fall, like October or November, it probably wouldn’t solve anything,” said Rendell. “If the trial’s not going to be 'til the spring of next year, it’s not too late for her to take a leave of absence.”
The outgoing chairman of the state Democratic Party, Jim Burn, made the same suggestion earlier this summer.
But Kane isn’t considering it, according to office spokesman Chuck Ardo, who also represented Rendell as governor.
“The attorney general certainly respects Gov. Rendell,” Ardo said, “but believes strongly that she can both fight to prove her innocence and serve as attorney general without conflict.”
Kane is charged with leaking secret investigative material and lying about it under oath. She says she’s innocent.
