Some OBCLers may recall Professor Rucker telling the story of a prosecutor, Phill Kline, who was unafraid to stand for the rule of law, paid dearly for his stand, but was blessed by God despite the best efforts of his political enemies. That story continues this week in Topeka, Kansas, where Kline is the subject of a state ethics investigation.
In a Kansas State Ethics Committee hearing that began earlier this week, state Disciplinary Administrator Stanton Hazlett has (at the direction of the Kansas Supreme Court) targeted Former Attorney General Phill Kline for potential ethical misconduct concerning his prosecution of late-term abortion providers in Kansas. It appears that Professor Rucker, formerly Kline's chief of staff, will be playing a continuing part in this story as he testifies this week at the hearing.
Here is a little background:
Phill Kline, former Kansas Attorney General (2002-2006), was the first and only prosecutor ever to succeed in obtaining abortion records from Planned Parenthood and late term abortionist George Tiller. Despite having one of the strictest late-term abortion laws in the U.S. (drafted and enacted thanks in part to Kline's previous tenure in the Kansas House of Representatives), due to a lack of prosecutions, Kansas had remained the nation’s capital for late-term abortions.
When Kline’s investigation of Planned Parenthood became public, Kansas Governor Sebelius (now head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) and the President of Planned Parenthood announced a new political initiative to spend massive amounts of money to defeat Kline. Governor Sebelius also used her authority over two Kansas agencies to thwart Kline’s investigation and used her appointment authority to pack the Kansas Supreme Court with justices who would work to block the investigation.
With this political machine in play, Phill Kline was defeated in his bid for re-election as Attorney General in 2006, but was elected as Johnson County District Attorney, which allowed him to retain jurisdiction over the Planned Parenthood investigation. As a result, a district court judge found probable cause that crimes were committed at Planned Parenthood. In October 2007 Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri was charged with 107 criminal charges, including 23 felonies.
In 2008, Kline lost his bid for reelection as Johnson County DA (some would say due to the fact that his exoneration in an ethics investigation was never reported).
The current ethics investigations could result in censure or loss of law license for Mr. Kline, and, certainly might lead to the derailing of the case against Planned Parenthood.
Among the “ethics” violations with which Kline has been charged is the accusation that Mr. Kline’s strong personal anti-abortion beliefs interfered with his judgment. (Are we to gather that if a prosecutor is adamantly opposed to rape, for instance, his prosecution of rape would present a conflict?)
How to help:
Pray for God to bring justice and vindication to a man who has faithfully and professionally fulfilled his calling to uphold and enforce the law. Pray for wisdom and protection for Professor Rucker as he engages in this ongoing controversy. Pray that other state prosecutors will be emboldened to enforce the law—that the rule of law may be strengthened throughout our land.
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Find out more at Phill Kline's web site, Planned Parenthood Corruption.
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