AG Kane Releases More Emails In Growing "Porngate" Scandal
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - In a growing scandal dubbed "Porngate," late Friday Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane released more emails containing often juvenile sexual humor and sometimes derogatory remarks based on gender, age, religion and sexual orientation.
The heavily edited emails were shared by employees in the AG's office while Tom Corbett was attorney general.
Corbett has consistently denied knowledge of the emails at the time.
KDKA-TV has seen some of the emails, but cannot display them on TV because of their content.
The emails also contained sexually explicit photos that Kane's office has shared with the media in her office, but has not released to the public.
Corbett's policy at the time prohibited the use of AG computers for the distribution of "any sexually suggestive, pornographic, or obscene material," and further prohibited material that reflected discriminatory attitudes based on race, gender, age, nationality, or religion.
With right-to-know requests from the media and at Corbett's urging, Kane has released emails of eight employees who worked for Corbett when he was attorney general, including four still with him -- until now.
Late Thursday, Chris Abruzzo, secretary of Environmental Protection, and Glenn Parno, an attorney in that office, resigned.
A third person on the email list -- state police commissioner Frank Noonan -- remains on the job with the governor saying he did not open, reply, or forward the questionable emails.
On Friday, Kane released emails involving five additional former AG employees, of whom only one still has a state position: Randy Feathers, a member of the state's parole and probation board.
Despite calls from the governor and others, Kane says she will not release the names of long-time employees in her office who were on the email distribution list back when Corbett was AG.
In a statement on Friday, she said, "Confidentiality regarding personnel information is a cardinal principal of human relations management."
She said both collective bargaining agreements and her own internal investigation of the matter prevented that, but that such employees would be subject to disciplinary action.
You May Also Be Interested In These Latest News Stories
2 Pa. Top Officials Resign In Porn Office Emails Case (10/2/14)
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
