Pennsylvania official named in pornographic email scandal refuses to resign
Embattled Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has requested the resignation of a third state official accused of exchanging pornographic emails over state computers.
However, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Corbett’s request to state parole board member Randy Feathers has fallen on deaf ears. Feathers has sent a letter to Corbett and Attorney General Kathleen Kane refusing to step down and demanding an independent forensic review of his computer and email account, the Inquirer reported. Feathers, who was the lead agent in charge of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual assault investigation, said that he did not initiate any of the emails that have been released.
“This attorney general doesn’t have the best credibility with me,” Feathers said to the Inquirer. “I’m not going to resign from a position because she says I did something. This is politics, and I’m caught in the middle of it.” Feathers said that he immediately deleted many of the emails and that he would consider resigning if it were determined that he behaved unprofessionally.
The email scandal has given Corbett yet another headache as the Republican seeks re-election in November. Corbett, who is running far behind Democratic challenger Tom Wolf, the Washington Times reported, has already fired two state officials: Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Christopher Abruzzo and a top lawyer in that office, Glenn Parno. Kane identified eight individuals tin total tied to the emails in question, including Abruzzo, Parno and Feathers, KDKA-TV reported.
According to the Inquirer, only the state Senate can actually remove Feathers from his job. Erik Arneson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Del.), said Friday that if Corbett asks for the Senate get rid of Feathers, he was confident that the Senate’s leaders “will strongly recommend that the governor’s request be immediately honored” and that he would anticipate “strong bipartisan support” for such a vote.
