Potential Vote on Corbett's Handling of Sandusky Investigation Brings House to a Halt

A group of state House representatives on Thursday attempted to force a vote on a resolution that would urge the U.S. Attorney to investigate then-Attorney General Tom Corbett’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky investigation.

State Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, posted on his Facebook page that the Republican majority “immediately stopped proceedings” and that many representatives on that side of the aisle had “fled the floor” despite the House still being in session.

“This is shocking and outrageous—what depths won't they go to in order to learn the truth?” the lawmaker wrote on his Facebook page.

To read HR 520, click here.

A procedural move was attempted by state Rep. Timothy Briggs, a Democrat, to force a vote on the resolution.

State Rep. Brandon Neuman who had attempted a similar move this past June said, "The majority party then decided that, instead of recognizing Rep. Briggs, they put us in recess. We don’t know if we are coming back today or not.”

Neuman added: “I think it’s important that we debate and talk about what everybody else is talking about. I believe if this resolution is brought to the House floor it will pass and the majority of people believe that an investigation into the Sandusky matter is in order.”

Lawmakers also noted that a session scheduled for tomorrow was also cancelled Wednesday. On the agenda for Thursday were changes to the controversial small games of chance legislation.

Insiders said there was speculation that Republican leadership would not rule out canceling every scheduled session date between now and the Nov. 6 election date—which means that the House would not come back into session until January.

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