By JUSTIN KENDALL
I take it all back, Ron Sylvester.
Yesterday, I bagged on the Wichita Eagle for Twittering the pretrial hearing of Wichita abortion provider George Tiller, who is facing 19 misdemeanor charges that he violated a law requiring two independent doctors to approve late-term abortions.
But damn! Today's Eagle story is full of the juicy stuff that makes me wish I were sitting in the Wichita courtroom.
Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline breezed through the lobby of his office about five minutes before his scheduled press conference this afternoon. He did a quick double-take when he saw a friendly face, Kansas Liberty minority owner and newly elected Kansas state Sen. Mary Pilcher Cook, and gave her a quick "Hey." Journalists had been summoned into Kline's office where Kline's attorney Caleb Stegall and chief of staff Eric Rucker waited for moral support. Then Kline called for pencils
Incoming Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe has told eight employees of the DA's office to find new jobs, The Kansas City Star reported Monday. Howe wouldn't name names, but sources tell us that the eight employees following Phill Kline out the door in January are all Kline hires. They are:Eric Rucker, Kline's chief of staff Dave Davies, attorneyJohn Christopher Pryor, attorneyGabrielle Rhodes, attorneyTom Williams, investigatorMegan Harmon, Kline's assistantBob Curtis, victim witness c
Phill KlineKansas couldn't go two days without a negative Phill Kline story. A couple days ago, we learned that Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller would go on trial for 19 misdemeanor charges for allegedly violating Kansas law by failing to get an independent second opinion for some late-term abortions that he performed. The judge found nothing wrong with Kline's conduct in the investigation. But now comes news that Kline and two top deputies -- Eric Rucker and Stephen Maxwell -- are facing a
Photo by Michael McClurePhill KlineEric 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
Phill KlineA formal ethics complaint against former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline was announced today.The complaint alleges Kline violated the state of Kansas' rules of professional conduct in his capacity as AG and later as Johnson County District Attorney in his investigation of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.The complaint alleges that after taking office, Kline met with senior deputy Eric Rucker and investigator Tom Williams and plotted a way to "target" Wichita aborti
Phill KlineA former deputy of Phill Kline is denying allegations of ethical lapses. Earlier this week, Eric Rucker, the former chief of staff for Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, filed a response denying allegations lodged by Kansas' disciplinary administrator that Rucker participated in, among other things, a scheme to identify adult patients of the late George Tiller's Wichita abortion clinic. The disciplinary administrator claimed Rucker lied to the Kansas
Supreme Court, claiming he k
