Try not to look so worried, Governor…
Why did it take Republican Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett—formerly the state’s attorney general—almost three years before he launched an investigation into convicted pedophile and child abuser Jerry Sandusky after the first accuser had come forward?
That’s what Kathleen Kane, Pennsylvania’s new attorney general, would like to know, too. Kane has launched a full investigation into Corbett’s rather odd handling of the case of the politically-connected former Penn State football coach—surely Sandusky should have been arrested immediately or at the very least brought in for questioning with TEN YEARS of damning evidence against him—something that’s been hanging around the unpopular Republican like the stench of a stale fart. A special prosecutor, Kane told the New York Times, would be named within a matter of days.
Via New York:
During that time, Corbett was campaigning for governor, and board members for The Second Mile, the charity founded by Sandusky, contributed more than $200,000 to his campaign. Once he was elected, Corbett’s administration approved a $3 million grant to the charity, which was later rescinded.
Corbett has been haunted by questions about the Sandusky case, and says it took 33 months to arrest Sandusky because at first there was only one accuser and investigators didn’t think they could win a conviction. Kane, who specialized in child sex abuse cases as a former county prosecutor, countered, “It’s never taken me that long” to build a case against a molester.
Kane has been careful to stress that she’ll accept whatever conclusion the special prosecutor comes to, since some see a political element in the investigation. Kane is a popular Democrat, and Corbett is a Republican with low approval ratings and an election coming up in 2014. The investigation could complicate Corbett’s reelection bid, though his involvement in the toxic abuse scandal would probably be a major issue either way.
Personally, I can’t wait to here how Corbett justifies personally approving a $3 million taxpayer-funded grant to Sandusky’s Second Mile charity, when he KNEW that Jerry Sandusky was under investigation for multiple child rapes!
Last year, Jerry Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of child abuse and sentenced to at least 30 years in prison If Gov. Corbett is shown to have “slow-walked” the matter so as not to rock the boat on his own election prospects, this guy is fucking toast politically (and as a human being). Meanwhile, the Sandusky scandal drags on with several Penn State officials still awaiting trial.
Here’s hoping that they, and Gov. Tom Corbett, get what they deserve. It’s highly probable that Jerry Sandusky continued to molest kids while Corbett and his prosecutors dawdled. Had Corbett worried more about Sandusky’s child victims than his own political future, he wouldn’t be in this mess. Good on Kathleen Kane for taking this bastard on.