Katie McGinty sat down with the PennLive editorial board today where she was asked about the growing controversy surrounding a 2015 email that she sent during business hours to Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Chairman asking for political advice about her Senate run. The email is in direct violation with the Wolf Administration’s rules about political activity during work hours.
McGinty then turned into a broken record when pressed on whether delaying the court-ordered release of her emails until the absolute deadline, five days after the election, was fair to voters who would like to know what she was doing while she was supposedly working for them.
WATCH Katie McGinty struggle to answer questions about the controversy:
[youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8pv05o6T00&feature=youtu.be"]
In case you missed it, read more from PennLive:
PennLive: Did Katie McGinty set up her U.S. Senate run on state time?
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On Wednesday evening, the state GOP filed an ethics complaint against Katie McGinty, alleging that Gov. Tom Wolf’s former chief of staff set up her Senate run on state time. The governor’s code of conduct bars any political activity during work hours.
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In a July 17, 2015, email with a 4:08 p.m. timestamp, McGinty asked for John Podesta’s advice on whether she should challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in his reelection bid. She cited pressure from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Emily’s List, a political action committee that promotes female Democratic candidates, to throw her name into the race.
That message, sent from McGinty’s personal email account, was swept up in a cache of hacked emails released by WikiLeaks earlier this month. They came from the account of Podesta, who serves as chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Security officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, said they believe high-ranking Russian officials were responsible for the hack.
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That code forbids executive staffers from "[engaging] in any political activity such as campaigning, fundraising, canvassing or poll watching during his or her specified working hours, or which is determined by the Secretary of Administration to conflict or interfere with the ability of the affected official or employee to effectively and efficiently carry out the duties and functions of his or her position."
Any violation could result in disciplinary action, including "reprimands, suspensions and termination."
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The GOP has also fought a long-simmering battle with the Wolf administration to access McGinty’s work emails and schedules. The Commonwealth Court recently ruled that the emails are public records that should be handed over. However, the 30 days the court gave the administration could potentially push the release past the Nov. 8 election.
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