Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

"Though he has pursued his own case, Morrison,
an abortion rights supporter, criticized a case Kline filed against a
Wichita abortion provider"

This is the case against Tiller, the late term abortion provider..it is interesting that they do not mention that…

Sex Scandal Rocks Kansas AG’s Office

Kansas’
attorney general has admitted to having an extramarital affair with a
former staffer, and the governor said Monday he should resign if
allegations including workplace sexual harassment are proven.

The
former staffer filed a civil rights claim against Attorney General Paul
Morrison last month with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission. According to her account, the affair began in September
2005 and lasted about two years. Linda Carter also accused him of
attempting to influence a federal lawsuit involving a political
opponent.

Morrison, who is married and has three children,
said Sunday that many of Carter’s claims are "patently false," but he
confirmed they had a relationship.

Morrison, 53, was Johnson
County’s district attorney for 18 years before switching to the
Democratic Party last year to challenge GOP conservative Phill Kline
for attorney general. Republicans then picked Kline to take over
Morrison’s old job.

Carter, former director of administration
for the district attorney’s office, accuses Morrison of trying to
pressure her to write letters on behalf of eight former employees who
were dismissed by Kline. In August, a federal magistrate dismissed all
but one count in a wrongful termination lawsuit they filed.

Carter,
who is also married, also claims Morrison sought sensitive information
about Kline’s activities as district attorney. She detailed her
allegations in a signed statement obtained by The Topeka
Capital-Journal.

"Unfortunately, it is true, however, that I
once had a consensual relationship with Mrs. Carter. And I profoundly
regret that I did," Morrison’s office said in a statement Sunday. "Many
of the details Mrs. Carter dished to the newspaper regarding the nature
of our relationship are absolutely false."

On Monday, Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Morrison should resign if the allegations are proven.

"Certainly,
if any of the allegations turn out to be accurate, I think yes,"
Sebelius said in a brief interview with reporters. "One deals with his
conduct as an attorney in the DA’s office. The other is as an employer.
I think either one should trigger a resignation."

The
Associated Press left messages Sunday at a telephone number listed for
Carter, whose age was not available. Morrison, through a spokeswoman,
declined further comment, and asked in his statement for privacy as "I
work through these painful issues."

Kline spokesman Brian
Burgess also declined comment, except to say that the situation was
still developing and the district attorney’s office was assessing it.

Carter’s
allegations and Morrison’s acknowledgment of the affair stunned
legislative leaders and cast a cloud over the Democrat’s political
future.

"I think most people are probably still in shock.
These are some astonishing allegations," Senate Majority Leader Derek
Schmidt said. "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."

The
governor said she didn’t want to "prejudge the situation," but that it
was a shock and disappointment to her to learn of the allegations.

"I
think it’s a huge setback for Kansans. This I don’t see as a partisan
issue," said Sebelius. "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."

Before the affair became
public, even some Republicans assumed Morrison wouldn’t face a serious
challenge if he sought re-election in 2010. He won the attorney
general’s race last year with 59 percent of the vote.

During
the campaign, Morrison faced allegations that he had drunkenly
propositioned another female employee in a bar in 1990. But two federal
lawsuits arising from those claims were dismissed, and when Kline
raised the claims as an issue during the campaign’s final weeks, the
tactic backfired.

As Kline was failing to gain ground,
Morrison and Carter were having their affair, according to her account.
She said they had sexual encounters in the Johnson County Courthouse
and in hotels in several Kansas cities and three other states.

Mary
Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life, the state’s largest
anti-abortion group and a frequent Morrison critic, said the attorney
general should resign because his actions show such a "profound lack of
judgment and honesty."

Her group has been following
Morrison’s activities closely because abortion was an important issue
in the attorney general’s race. The candidates argued about Kline’s
pursuit of records from abortion clinics as part of a criminal
investigation.

Though he has pursued his own case, Morrison,
an abortion rights supporter, criticized a case Kline filed against a
Wichita abortion provider. As district attorney, Kline has filed
criminal charges against a Planned Parenthood clinic in Overland Park.

Those
disputes spilled into Morrison’s affair with Carter, according to her
statement. Carter said Morrison also was upset that she continued to
work for Kline until she left the district attorney’s office in late
November.

———

Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Mo., contributed to this report.

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