“The people of Pennsylvania are experiencing a crisis of confidence in our elections, and I take my newfound responsibility to conduct an election integrity investigation very seriously.
“There have been stories that Senate Pro Tempore Corman has moved this investigation to me for the purpose of killing it. The opposite is true. We should have been having hearings and moving toward a more formalized plan to conduct an investigation weeks ago. My team and I are in the process of getting things organized and will work with Senate Leadership to get it done.
“The purpose of this investigation is to uncover information which is necessary for the legislature to potentially take future legislative action. I have collected evidence and conducted numerous criminal and civil investigations during my career in the military and as an insurance investigator. While a legislative investigation has differences from these types of investigations, many of the same skills apply. I look forward to putting my years of experience with legal cases, court proceedings and evidence collection to good use in restoring faith in our elections.
“I want to make it clear to the public that I will be treating evidence as evidence and not as a means of obtaining publicity. You may be frustrated with not hearing updates as quickly as you would like, but there is an investigative need to hold that evidence close until the review is completed.
“To the Attorney General, Governor Wolf and the Secretary of State I want to convey this message; I will not stand idly by if you threaten county and other officials and stand in the way of transparency and legislative oversight of our elections. The Senate has the authority to conduct this investigation and we will do so in a responsible manner.”