HARRISBURG, Pa. � Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday nominated a former top state prosecutor to serve as attorney general to fill out the remaining months of Kathleen Kane's term.
The governor's selection of Bruce Beemer, if approved by the state Senate, as expected, would end the brief tenure of Kane appointee Bruce L. Castor Jr. as the top commander of the Attorney General's Office.
"Bruce Beemer has a depth of experience. He has the respect of the employees of the Office of the Attorney General, and I have no doubt that he will make this transition seamless and smooth," Wolf said in a statement.
Beemer, a veteran prosecutor, was a major witness in the trial that led to Kane's conviction Monday on two felony counts of perjury and seven misdemeanor charges of abusing the power of her office.
Beemer, 47, who is from the Pittsburgh area where he once served as a county prosecutor, was Kane's first deputy until Wolf named him inspector general last summer. He will serve as attorney general until January, when the next elected attorney general will take office.
Voters will elect a new attorney general in November.
Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro, chairman of the Montgomery County commissioners, is on the ballot, opposing Republican nominee John Rafferty, a state senator from Montgomery County.
Earlier Thursday, Castor, a Republican, issued a news release in which the office referred to him as "attorney general," dropping the acting or interim prefix. The website of the Attorney General's Office also identified him Thursday as attorney general and carried his photograph with that title.
Castor could not immediately be reached for comment.
The choice of Beemer was immediately hailed among prosecutors and agents in the office, many of whom viewed him as a stabilizing force during Kane's tumultuous tenure.
Though Beemer was Kane's hand-picked top deputy, their relationship turned icy after it was made public that he would be testifying against her at her trial.
When Beemer left her agency several months ago, Kane appointed Castor to a new post as the office's solicitor general. She then named him her top deputy upon Beemer's departure.
Under state law, Castor was sworn in as interim attorney general on Wednesday afternoon as Kane's resignation became effective.
Beemer's appointment will have to be approved by a two-thirds majority of the GOP-controlled state Senate. Wolf said he had spoken with both Republican and Democratic legislative leaders and they had endorsed his choice.
Beemer will return to his post as inspector general in January, Wolf said.
Beemer had been lead prosecutor in the case against three former Pennsylvania State University administrators accused of covering up child sexual abuse by Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant football coach at the university. Another prosecutor picked up that role after Beemer left the office this summer.
