Embattled DE State Auditor Kathleen McGuiness sentenced
DOVER, Del. – Wednesday morning, Delaware State Auditor Kathleen McGuiness learned her fate in a Dover courtroom. McGuiness will serve two years of probation concurrently, must pay a $10,000 fine, and complete 500 hours of community service. Governor John Carney’s office made her resignation effective at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
This comes after McGuinness’ conviction on both official misconduct and conflict of interest. She was charged in relation to hiring her own college-age daughter as an intern in the State Auditor’s office.
Setting A Precedent
Prosecutors hope a new precedent has been set with McGuinness’ sentencing. “We’re happy with the results,” said Prosecutor Mark Denney. “We just simply do not stand for betrayal of the public’s trust. We do not stand for abuse of public office in this state.”
Denney says the prosecutions’ sentencing recommendation was in line with the facts of the case, and Delaware’s Sentencing Accountability Commission. Part of that recommendation centered around what prosecutors call a “lack of remorse” on McGuiness’ part.
“She made many statements to the media and the public about the nature of her prosecution that we flatly disagree with, which I think gave us good cause to say that there was a lack of remorse,” said Denney. “We hope it’s a deterring factor, and we hope it does convey to the public officials, the Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust, and indeed the Delaware Department of Justice that we will not be shy about confronting misconduct in office.”
A Difficult Case
The prosecution’s sentencing guidelines were also designed to allow McGuiness a chance to appeal, says Denney. “I want to be very clear that there was nothing about our recommendation that was designed to circumvent an appeal, and that’s what I shared with counsel during the sentencing,” he said.
Denney says prosecuting McGuiness’ case was a challenge. But, he believes her guilty verdicts, and Wednesday’s sentencing, spell out success.
“We take it seriously. These cases are difficult, these cases are controversial, they’re usually high profile, and they’re against powerful, connected people. So, they’re never easy,” said Denney. “We took on a lot of heat for doing things that were above and beyond; a very detailed indictment that we didn’t have to do, a search warrant except for the probable cause and transparent evidence that we had at the time that we did not have to do. [We did] a filter procedure to protect the defendants own potential privileged communications that we did not have to do.”
Defense’s Response
During and after the sentencing, McGuiness’ legal team asserted that they plan to appeal the case in Delaware’s Supreme Court.
“The state’s Supreme Court has yet to tell us whether, and how, it’s illegal to hire a close relative. That’s one of the issues we’ll be exploring in our appeal,” said defense attorney Steve Wood. “There have been a lot of claims made by the state, from the beginning of this prosecution, about what Kathy McGuiness did and didn’t do. Nearly every one of those claims has been shown to be false by the jury’s verdict or by Judge Carpenter’s decisions.”
For months leading up to Judge William Carpenter’s sentencing decision, McGuiness maintained her innocence. Wednesday morning, before the Judge entered the courtroom, McGuiness appeared relaxed, and smiled as she chatted with family members. But later on, McGuiness took the stand, tearfully making a statement to the court, expressing both remorse and guilt. McGuiness said if she had known what she did was illegal, she never would have done it in the first place.
“There is no one in this state that has ever been prosecuted for hiring a relative. So, it’s understandable that Ms. McGuiness didn’t understand that the law said that’s prohibited conduct,” said Wood.
After accepting McGuiness’ sentence, Wood praised Judge Carpenter for not imposing jail time. “She was convicted of hiring her daughter. That’s all. Hard stop. To recommend a jail sentence for someone who committed the offense of hiring their daughter as a part-time college intern, as the state just did, is unconscionable,” said Wood.
Out Of A Job
The embattled State Auditor submitted her resignation to the Governor’s office Tuesday night, with an effective date of November 4th. However, McGuiness was out of a job before Wednesday could turn into Thursday.
Before that, McGuiness told reporters on courthouse steps that she still had work to do at the Auditor’s Office. “We’re going to tie up some loose ends. There are a couple of engagements to finish. I want to make sure that there is a seamless transition for the next administration, so they are left in great shape,” said McGuiness.
In a statement to 47 ABC, the Governor’s Office confirmed McGuiness’ express removal. The statement went on to read, “There’s important work that has to be done in the Auditor’s Office over the next couple of months, including the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The Governor plans to name a replacement to continue this work.”
The Governor’s Office did not reveal when the interim appointment will be named. The new State Auditor will be chosen by voters on November 8th.
