HARRISBURG, Pa. - Republican Gov. Tom Corbett called on one of his political appointees to resign Friday because of his role in the scandal over pornography exchanges in the state attorney general's office, but the appointee refused. In a letter to Corbett, Randy Feathers said he wants Democratic Attorney General Kathleen Kane to appoint an independent forensic expert to review what Kane described as inappropriate emails linked to Feathers that were provided to the governor's office at his request.
Feathers said he would consider stepping down from his $116,000-a-year seat on the state Board of Probation and Parole if the expert concludes he did not fulfill his professional responsibilities. Corbett could remove Feathers from the board for cause, but that would require the consent of the state Senate. Republicans who control the chamber signaled support for Corbett, but the GOP caucus is several votes shy of the two-thirds majority that state law requires. Feathers is one of four men who followed Corbett from the attorney general's office nearly four years ago to new jobs in his administration that they still held as of Wednesday. Two top state officials resigned Thursday, and Corbett said he decided that the fourth man, state police Commissioner Frank Noonan, did not actively participate in the exchanges. Corbett's request came as his office wrapped up two days of reviewing emails that are at the center of the scandal, including what Kane's office says are more than 400 emails Feathers received and dozens he sent while working for then-Attorney General Corbett. Heavily redacted copies revealed sexually tinged jokes and at least one insensitive remark about people of Arab descent.
