They met to concoct a cover story for the grand jury, consultant Josh Morrow testified Thursday at the Montgomery County trial.
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Kane did not testify or put on any defense witnesses. Morrow, who had a grant of immunity, said he and Kane devised a cover-up story that framed King for the leak.
Kane said in an August 10, 2015, statement that a campaign of political retribution had been launched against her long before the allegations at the center of the criminal complaint.
The defense says they believe their arguments were “compromised”. “We have rules that we have to abide by and there are no exceptions to that”, said prosecutor Kevin Steele.
Text messages and phone records show frequent interactions among the three of them on key days in the prosecution’s timeline: when the documents changed hands, when the Daily News article appeared and when a grand jury started to investigate the leak. “Who would say that other than the person that is responsible for it?”
When she suspected a former office prosecutor had leaked a critical news article about her shutting down a statehouse probe, she chose to leak word that he had shut down an investigation into an NAACP official in 2009, the jury found.
She allegedly disclosed confidential grand jury documents from a 2009 investigation to a reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News in June 2014.
“Kathleen and I came up with a story, about what I was going to testify to and what she was going to testify to”, Morrow said last week.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf calls it a “sad day” for Pennsylvania after Monday night’s verdict.
Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement officer is now a convicted felon.
A jury has reached a verdict in the perjury and obstruction trial of Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane. Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane walks down a hall at the Montgomery County Courthouse, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Norristown, Pa., where closing arguments are expected during her perj.
While there is no simple procedure to remove a civil officer, the Office of Attorney General and its employees, as well as the people of Pennsylvania deserve to move on.
Attorney General First Deputy Bruce L. Castor Jr., Montgomery County’s former district attorney and now serving as Kane’s top aide, was in the courtroom when the jury rendered its decision.
Kane did not testify during the trial or call any defense witnesses. The jury began deliberations Monday afternoon.
According to recent precedent in Pennsylvania, Kane could resign quickly, or wait until she is sentenced, which trial Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy said Monday night should happen within 90 days.
Kane became Pennsylvania’s first female elected as attorney general in 2013 and was seen by many as a rising star among Pennsylvania Democrats. But an early honeymoon period in office, when she spoke out for the legalization of gay marriage, was soon marred by turmoil as she sparred with officials inside and outside the office. The case was part of a larger web of scandal and political rivalries that led to several state officials, including including two State Supreme Court justices, losing their jobs.
However, the trial judge didn’t let her lawyers wade into that argument. The governor’s office said Kane could remain in office if convicted while she appeals.
Kane faces up to seven years in prison. The misdemeanor charges include conspiracy, official oppression and false swearing.
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“It seemed that we had somebody who felt that she was above the law and that’s not the case because no one is above the law”. Taking a page from President Obama’s election strategy, Secretary Clinton is running voter registration drives in all 50 states.
