A jury convicted Kane, a former Lackawanna County prosecutor who was elected attorney general in 2012 and was considered a rising star among Democrats, of the charges late Monday after hearing five days of testimony, finding she orchestrated the illegal disclosure of secret grand jury information to the media and then engaged in acts created to hide and cover up her conduct.
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On Monday, after 4 1/2 hours of deliberation, a jury of six men and six women found Ms. Kane guilty of two counts of perjury and seven misdemeanor counts of abusing the powers of her office.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf released an official statement from the capital of Harrisburg imploring “Attorney General Kane to do what is right: put the commonwealth’s residents first and step down from office”.
In an appeal challenging a jury verdict, the court can typically only take into consideration whether evidence was properly presented to jurors or improperly kept out of the trial, said Philadelphia defense attorney Ellen Brotman.
“We have arguments to make on whether this trial was fair”.
In the meantime, First Deputy Attorney General Bruce Castor will lead the office.
The judge, cognizant of Kane’s history of seeking revenge against political foes, allowed Kane to remain free without bail but warned her that any attempt to retaliate against individuals that testified would result in Kane being “incarcerated immediately”. At least 60 people working for the attorney general were reprimanded. “And many of them she brought on herself”.
Senate Majority Whip John Gordner, R-Columbia County, called Kane’s resignation “the appropriate action”.
She was found guilty of leaking sealed court documents meant to embarrass a rival prosecutor, Frank Fina, who Kane believed had planted a news story claiming that she had ended a statehouse sting operation. In February, she announced that she would not run for reelection this fall.
Kathleen Kane after a preliminary hearing in Norristown, Pennsylvania on August 24, 2015.
Her office issued a short statement saying she would resign at the end of the workday Wednesday. Two state Supreme Court justices were caught in the scandal and lost their jobs.
After she dropped the cases, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams successfully prosecuted five of the targets.
Kane, 50, is the first Democrat elected to the office, though leaders in both parties welcomed her exit.
Because Kane is officially convicted for actions that likely stemmed from revenge, Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy, who was presiding over the case, provided Kane with a serious ultimatum while she is now free on bail.
Her political consultant described being taken by her security agents to a Philadelphia parking garage to be frisked for a wire – and stripped of his wallet, cellphone and keys – all so he could have lunch with Kane at a hotel.
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A Kane defense lawyer told the jury that key witnesses would “say whatever they need to in order to protect themselves”.
