13 High-Ranking Pennsylvania Officials Listed in Porn Email Investigation

An investigation into possible misconduct by members of the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General revealed that 13 judges and senior government officials sent sexually inappropriate emails. However, Attorney General Bruce Beemer concluded there was no evidence of "conspiracy" within the office that was once led by his embattled predecessor, Kathleen Kane.

A special investigation by contracted law firm BuckleySandler LLP examined millions of emails from the office in a search for evidence that members of Pennsylvania's criminal justice system, including judges and prosecutors, colluded against Kane and conspired to undermine justice. The investigation is the result of Kane's allegations that she was the victim of a cult of misogyny within Pennsylvania state government. While the investigation does tie these emails to senior officials, Beemer said there was no conspiracy targeting Kane or undermining the execution of justice in the state.

"This review leaves no doubt — there was nothing found in these emails to suggest there were inappropriate ex parte communications between members of the judiciary and OAG employees about cases or matters affecting the administration of justice," Beemer said at a press conference Tuesday.

Kane, 50, Pennsylvania's first female attorney general, was sentenced to jail in October after being convicted of obstruction of justice, perjury, and related charges.

In addition to the 13 judges and other high-ranking officials, 38 others were identified as "high volume" senders of inappropriate material, which included pornographic, sexist and racist content.

The specific names of officials were included in the original report but were later redacted by Beemer.

"Releasing the names of people identified in this review would unfairly damage their reputations and leave the Office of Attorney General and BuckleySandler vulnerable to potential lawsuits," Beemer said. "In cases where we found people exchanging a high volume of offensive content, we will make the appropriate referrals to their employers, so that those agencies can make the decision whether discipline is warranted. It would be highly inappropriate for the Attorney General's office, as a law enforcement agency that needs to maintain its impartiality to function, to make these decisions."

Of the 6.4 million emails analyzed, 11,930 were identified as inappropriate. From that group, 4,700 were connected to high-volume senders and high-ranking officials.

Beemer said that 60 employees have been disciplined, including terminations, reprimands and counseling.

BuckleySandler LLP and former Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, one of BuckleySandler's partners, were hired in December 2015 to launch the investigation.

Patch file photo