The two men vying to replace Kathleen Kane as attorney general are weighing in on her resignation.
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“I have been honored to serve the people of Pennsylvania and I wish them health and safety in all their days”, said Kane, a Democrat.
Kane’s exit completes a spectacular fall for the former county prosecutor who soared to victory four years ago as an outsider who promised to break up an “old-boys’ network” in state government.
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 grand jury sent the case to then-Montgomery County DA Risa Vetri Ferman with a recommendation that she charge Kane with perjury and official oppression.
A spokesman would say only that Kane was “spending time today conferring with senior staff”.
The trial has pitted Kane against two former confidants who testified that she leaked grand jury evidence and lied about it under oath. “We have rules that we have to abide by and there are no exceptions to that”, said prosecutor Kevin Steele. It covered 32 past grand juries, including the one that looked into the NAACP official’s finances.
In a statement Monday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said the charges were “unbecoming of the Commonwealth’s top law enforcement officer”.
Assistant District Attorney Michelle Henry joined the chorus of those denouncing Kane’s actions.
Kane showed little emotion as the verdict was announced.
Kane’s attorney, Shargel, indicated the jury’s decision would be appealed. The judge will use those evaluations to assist her in fashioning a sentence against Kane.
Kathleen Kane’s first deputy, Bruce L. Castor Jr., will speak out Tuesday about the operations of the Attorney General’s Office in the wake of Kane’s resignation.
If Kane is a victim of anything, it is her own misguided understanding of her role as a public official.
She called for the release of the emails, but the move was blocked by state court Judge William Carpenter under what Kane called “a tortured interpretation of our state’s grand jury secrecy law”. “Obviously we thought that it would work, but I’ll be the first person to say we were wrong”.
Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy ordered Kane to surrender her passport and threatened to jail her if she retaliated against the once-trusted aides who testified against her. In a state that has yet to elect a woman governor or U.S. Senator, many once viewed either office as being within Ms. Kane’s reach.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, left, walks down a hall at the Montgomery County Courthouse, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in Norristown, Pa., where closing arguments are expected during h.
Voters will be able to elect a new AG in November.
Kathleen Kane is escorted out of the courtroom by a security agent.
“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”, he said.
As The Washington Post’s Juliet Eilperin reported in 2013, Kane beat establishment figures in both her own party and the GOP to become the state’s highest-ranking law enforcement officer.
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She defeated Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) in the party primary, despite his endorsements from union officials and numerous state’s elected Democrats. President Bill Clinton did a fundraiser for Kane, who she had worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid; Murphy responded by securing the endorsement of Obama adviser David Axelrod.
