The Pennsylvania House Subcommittee that’s launched an investigation into possible impeachment of Schuylkill County Commissioner George Halcovage has subpoenaed numerous County government records.
According to Rep. Paul Schemel (Franklin County), the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Courts (part of the House Judiciary Committee), an “extensive” list of items have been subpoenaed from Schuylkill County government.
Schemel doesn’t detail what those “items” are, specifically, but expects it may take time for the County to respond.
“We’ve issued one subpoena to the Schuylkill County government,” Schemel said in an email to The Canary on Tuesday. “Because the list of items we requested is extensive, we anticipate it may take the County time to respond. The investigation is ongoing.”
PA House Subpoenas Schuylkill County Records in Halcovage Impeachment Investigation
Because the Subcommittee is unsure how long it’ll take for the County to respond to the subpoena, it’s difficult to put a timeline on the entire impeachment investigation in the House.
Back on Jan. 12, Schemel’s Subcommittee on Courts formally launched an investigation into the potential impeachment of Halcovage.
Halcovage has been sued by 4 Schuylkill County government employees alleging he sexually harassed them, and more in one case, over a period of years. And the lawsuit further contends that several other Courthouse officials have been complicit in the Commissioner’s alleged behavior.
That lawsuit could come to a trial later this year.
Halcovage has denied all accusations against him and has repeatedly ignored calls for him to resign from office. Most recently, that included a call from his fellow Republican Commissioner Boots Hetherington, who suggested Halcovage couldn’t fulfill his duties because he refused to vote to fire 2 of those 4 plaintiffs in the lawsuit against him on a separate-ish issue.
As he’s refused to resign from office, the State House of Representatives has launched an investigation into the allegations against Halcovage. That investigation could eventually lead to his impeachment and conviction in the State Senate to remove him from office.
Photo: Coal Region Canary
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