Lawyer: Seth Williams plans to stay in DA office, despite law license suspension
Embattled Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams intends to remain in office but agreed Friday to a temporary suspension of his law license while he fights federal bribery and corruption charges, his new lawyer said.
Defense attorney Thomas F. Burke, in his first public statements since taking Williams’ case, said the city’s top prosecutor plans to limit himself to an administrative role and leave decisions on legal matters, including the hundreds of criminal cases under his office’s purview, to others. He will continue to collect his $175,572 annual salary.
“Since District Attorney Williams assumed office in January 2010, his office has prosecuted more than 500,000 cases,” Burke said. “The indictment does not contain a single allegation that the outcome of a single case was affected.”
The decision to not step down put Williams on a path first blazed two years ago by one of his most bitter political enemies: former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane, who also refused to leave office while under indictment.
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