Eric Rucker, the former chief of staff for Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, faces a complaint from Kansas' disciplinary administrator for his involvement in an alleged scheme to identify clients who sought services at a Wichita abortion clinic run by the late George Tiller.
A similar ethics complaint is pending against Steven D. Maxwell, another former Kline deputy.
A 15-page complaint alleges that Rucker claimed, before the Kansas Supreme Court, that he knew nothing about efforts to identify clients of Tiller's now-closed Women's Health Care Services by cross-referencing redacted records against a guest list from a nearby La Quinta Inn where Tiller's patients often stayed.
The allegation is that he tried to create a list of
women who had received abortions, and that the names of 221 potential
adult patients reportedly came out of the effort.
The allegations further claim that Rucker made three false claims in front of the Kansas Supreme Court in 2005:
claimed the Attorney General's Office had investigated, but not
subpoenaed, records of live births by girls under 16, when it allegedly
was the other way around.
wasn't seeking "the identity of any adult woman who had obtained
services by either of the clinics, nor will we ask for that identity,"
when Rucker allegedly knew of the attempt to cross-reference the hotel
records against the redacted abortion records obtained from the Kansas
Department of Health and Environment.
the Attorney General's office did not know the names of any children
who had received abortions, when those names were known.
between an agent and Rucker, in which the agent questioned Rucker on
the tactics being used and offered that perhaps other methods were
called for:
The Respondent replied that "sometimes theRuckerpersonal losses -- or the benefit or gain of a larger cause outweighs that
of a personal impact and that the personal or individual careers are
worth sacrificing for a greater cause, including the killing of babies."
is scheduled to go before the Kansas Board for the Discipline of
Attorneys on April 27 and 28, 2010. If the board finds that Rucker violated
his ethical obligations as an attorney, it will recommend
disciplinary actions.
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