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Kansas Attorney General Accused of Interfering with Investigation of Late-Term Abortionist

Tiller also accused of using sexual harassment to obtain information on District Attorney's investigation of Tiller

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

TOPEKA, December 10, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison has been accused of interference with an ongoing investigation of late term abortionist George Tiller, a major contributor to his campaign. Morrison has also been accused of sexual harassment against a former female subordinate, according to reports in the Topeka Capital-Journal and numerous other state media outlets.

Morrison has reportedly admitted that he had an affair with Linda Carter, a staffer in the Johnson County District Attorney's office, one that Carter claims took place both during and after his tenure there as district attorney, lasting approximately two years and ending in September. During that time, Morrison ran for the office of State Attorney General, backed by late-term abortionist George Tiller, who was under investigation by then-Attorney General Philip Kline.

After defeating Kline, Morrision immediately fired the special prosecutor investigating Tiller, and ultimately no criminal charges were filed against Tiller. However, Kline was appointed to Morrison's previous position as Johnson County District Attorney, and reinitiated his investigation of Tiller, ultimately filing numerous charges against him. The case is pending.

According to media reports, Carter states in a civil rights claim filed last month with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that Morrison sexually harassed her and attempted to use her to gain information about Philip Kline's investigation of Tiller. Morrison vehemently denies the claim.   Carter also claims that Morrison urged her to write letters supporting eight staffers fired by Kline who were suing for wrongful termination, according to the Capital-Journal. The accusations have rocked the Kansas political establishment.

"I think it's a huge setback for Kansans," said Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, a fellow Democrat. "This I don't see as a partisan issue. I think when people put their faith in a public official and feel that faith to be violated, it's a huge disappointment and a shock for a lot of people."  Although she did not call for the resignation of Morrison, she acknowledged that if the charges were proven he should resign.

"I think most people are probably still in shock," Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt told the Associated Press. "These are some astonishing allegations. Clearly, this will consume a great deal of time in the coming weeks and months, and it's likely to impede the attorney general's ability to advance an agenda in the Legislature."

"Impeachment will be talked about," Republican Senator Tim Huelskamp, a long-time opponent of Morrison and his pro-abortion position, told the Kansas City Star. "I think resignation would be the noble thing to do now."

Mary Kay Culp, Executive Director of Kansans for Life released a public statement observing that "personal and professional errors this serious, especially when committed while presenting himself as the ethically superior candidate for attorney general, reflect such a profound lack of judgment and honesty that Morrison should resign."

"For me, this illustration of his flawed and desperate thinking goes a long way toward explaining his actions last June when he dropped serious criminal charges against Tiller, tried to silence Dr. Paul McHugh, pre-emptively declared the innocence of Planned Parenthood, and misinterpreted the plain language of our Kansas late-term abortion law," wrote Culp.

The current accusation against Morrison is not the first of its kind.  A suit was reportedly filed against him in 1990 by a subordinate named Kelly Summerlin, who claimed he had propositioned her in a bar, although the suit was dropped by mutual consent, with no publicly known settlement. 

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