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Longtime political activist Gene Stilp is calling for some members of a legal disciplinary body to recuse themselves from action related to the state’s embattled attorney general.
“We have to have a totally unencumbered decision-making process,” Stilp, a Wikes-Barre native, said Friday. “They have to have a clean ship.”
Stilp, who now lives in Dauphin County, names several attorneys with potential connections to state Attorney General Kathleen Kane in his letter he says he filed Friday with the state Supreme Court Disciplinary Board.
Kane faces criminal charges of perjury, false swearing, obstructing administration of law and official oppression.
The charges stem from allegations she leaked grand jury information to a newspaper and then lied about it under oath. Investigators say she leaked the information in an attempt to embarrass a former state prosecutor.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 24.
Wilkes-Barre-based attorney David E. Schwager is among those board members Stilp says may be connected with Kane, as he practices law in several counties in the region.
Messages left with Schwager were not immediately returned.
Stilp, a non-practicing lawyer, said he does not question the integrity of the attorneys he named, but simply wants to prevent undue influence in any potential disciplinary action directed toward the attorney general.
“No undue influence in any way should be tolerated,” he said.
The letter also names Lackawanna County-based attorney Brian Cali, and says both he and Schwager “clearly” should recuse themselves.
He also says any board member who donated to Kane’s campaign must stay out of disciplinary action as well.
Stilp said he could not specifically name any cases in which disciplinary board members have recused themselves, but said it “seems like common practice.”
The activist recently came out of retirement to announce the filing of a pair of complaints calling for the disciplinary board to investigate Kane and her alleged use of state resources in her criminal matter.
Stilp said Friday he had just received word the board has received his complaint and a complaint file has been opened.
Stilp is known for taking his pink pig school bus to news conferences throughout the state. In 2012, he lost to U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta in a bid for the 11th Congressional District seat.
