The latest on the Pennsylvania high court's order to temporarily suspend the law license of state Attorney General Kathleen Kane (all times local):
2:50 p.m.
A spokesman for Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane says she'll continue doing all the duties not prohibited by the state high court's temporary suspension of her law license.
Monday's order by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court comes barely a month after Montgomery County authorities arrested Kane on charges she leaked secret investigative information and then lied about it under oath.
Kane says she's innocent and the court is giving her the ability to appeal the order.
The state constitution requires the attorney general to be a licensed lawyer. But the court says its order doesn't remove Kane from office.
Her spokesman says that the first deputy attorney general, Bruce Beemer, will likely assume the duties she can no longer perform now that she can't act as a lawyer.
Otherwise, her spokesman says Kane isn't going to resign and will continue setting the office's priorities and making administrative decisions.
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2:20 p.m.
Attorney General Kathleen Kane says she's disappointed that Pennsylvania's highest court ordered the temporary suspension her law license, but says she'll continue to do the work of the office.
Monday's order by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court comes barely a month after Montgomery County authorities arrested Kane on charges she leaked secret investigative information and then lied about it under oath.
The state constitution requires the attorney general to be a licensed lawyer. But the court says its order doesn't remove Kane from office, raising legal questions about her capacity to do the office's full range of duties.
Kane's statement, however, doesn't address the question of how she will handle duties that require her to handle as a lawyer.
Her lawyers say she's innocent of leaking secret information. They have argued that suspending her license while she is contesting the charges would violate her right to due process of law.
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1: 45 p.m.
Lawyers for Attorney General Kathleen Kane say they're disappointed that Pennsylvania's highest court ordered the temporary suspension her law license, and that they're confident she'll be exonerated when her side of the story comes out.
Monday's order by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court comes barely a month after Montgomery County authorities arrested Kane on charges she leaked secret investigative information and then lied about it under oath.
The court says its order doesn't remove Kane from office, raising legal questions about her capacity to do the office's full range of duties. Kane's office says it's reviewing the decision.
Her lawyers say she's innocent of leaking secret information.
They have argued that suspending her license while she is contesting the charges would circumvent constitutional provisions for removing her from office and violate her right to due process of law.
Meanwhile, Senate lawyers are researching senators' power to remove Kane from office.
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12:50 p.m.
Pennsylvania's highest court is ordering the suspension of Attorney General Kathleen Kane's law license, a step that could trigger a Senate vote to remove her as she faces criminal charges.
Monday's order by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court comes barely a month after Montgomery County authorities arrested her on charges she leaked secret investigative information and then lied under oath.
In the order, the court says it shouldn't be construed as removing her from office, raising legal questions. Kane's office says it's reviewing the decision.
The court's disciplinary lawyers have argued that Kane admitted that she authorized the release of secret investigative information.
Kane's current lawyers say she never admitted it and that she's innocent. They also say the court is violating Kane's constitutional rights.
