Category Archives: Pennsylvania Attorney General

Democratic State AGs Want Greater Power to Supervise Banking, Doubt Federal Efforts

In the last week of December 2017, Democratic senators introduced the “Accountability for Wall Street Executives Act of 2017,” which would amend the National Banking Act to allow state AGs to request a wide variety of information from nationally-chartered banks.  As the Supreme Court explained in Cuomo v. Clearing House Ass’n, L.L.C., 557 U.S. 519 (2009), the National Banking Act distinguishes between “visitorial powers” – such as examination of a bank’s accounts or inspection of its records – and law enforcement,… More

Attorneys General Continue to Battle the Trump Administration Over Environmental Regulations

Democratic Attorneys General have continued their efforts to combat the Trump administration’s attempts to roll back environmental regulations developed under the Obama administration in two recent actions. Thirteen AGs, including Massachusetts AG Maura Healey, sent a letter last week to Scott Pruitt, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, threatening legal action if the agency takes steps to weaken or delay the greenhouse gas emissions standards that were established in 2012 for cars and light-duty trucks for model years 2022-2025.… More

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rejects Embattled Attorney General’s Eleventh Hour Request to Postpone Perjury Trial

In a two-sentence per curiam order, Pennsylvania’s high court has denied Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s emergency application to postpone her impending criminal trial on charges of perjury, false swearing, obstruction and official oppression.  On August 1st, Kane petitioned the court to dismiss the charges against her, arguing that the judge supervising the grand jury from Montgomery County had no authority to appoint a special prosecutor.  Although Kane may ask the Court to reconsider its decision,… More