Kansas AG Resigns After Admitting Affair

[Ghost in the Machine]

Kansas AG Resigns After Admitting Affair
Published: 12/14/07, 4:46 PM EDT
By CARL MANNING

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Attorney General Paul Morrison announced his resignation Friday, less than a week after he acknowledged having an extramarital affair with a former employee who has accused him of sexual harassment, and of professional misconduct aimed at his predecessor.

"I have held others accountable for their actions, and now I must be held accountable for my mistakes," Morrison said in a statement read to reporters. At one point, he paused to gather himself. "Many people feel betrayed by my actions, and they have every right to feel that way."

Morrison's resignation is effective Jan. 31, 2008. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a fellow Democrat, will appoint his replacement.

The former employee, Linda Carter, has said she and Morrison had a two-year affair starting in September 2005 - meaning it continued while Morrison ran for attorney general last year and after he took office. Both are married.

Carter filed a civil rights claim against 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 Phill Kline, whom Morrison ousted from the attorney general's office in last year's election.

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