The state’s attorney general was convicted Monday of all nine counts in a perjury and obstruction case related to a grand jury leak.
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Suspecting a former state prosecutor leaked the story to the Inquirer, Kane sought payback and ordered aides to leak secret investigative information to the Philadelphia Daily News created to show that that prosecutor had never filed charges in a 2009 probe into a Philadelphia NAACP official, prosecutors said.
“The conviction on all counts was a crushing blow”.
“We are not giving up and the fight and will continue to litigate”, said Shargel. She staunchly described the charges as payback for her efforts to take on an “old-boys network” in state government that traded offensive, mildly pornographic emails.
“We are a very honorable profession here”.
“We submit to you that there are certain things that have the ring of truth”, Steele said. Great prosecutors, great agents, great support staff, and they have had to suffer through what this defendant has done. Earlier, a lawyer for Kane in closing arguments blamed her former top aides for the leak of grand jury material, which found its way to a newspaper.
The criminal charges were filed against Kane last August. After the verdict was read, the judge said Kane could remain free but has to surrender her passport and cannot retaliate against anyone in the trial. Kane’s lawyers also complained that the judge had not allowed them to argue in court that the investigation had been propelled by former state prosecutors anxious that Kane would reveal their raunchy, pornographic interoffice emails she had discovered on the office’s services. Steele highlighted numerous texts and telephone conversations between the attorney general and Morrow that the prosecutor said pointed to Kane’s guilt.
Attorney General Kathleen Kane, the first Democrat and first woman elected to the office, showed little emotion as jurors announced their verdict Monday.
Calling it an emotional time for Kane and her family, lead defense lawyer Gerald L. Shargel said that is something her defense team will discuss with her during the next several days.
Her attorney addressed the issue with media after the verdict.
Defense lawyer Seth Farber, in closing arguments Monday, said Morrow and King would “say whatever they need to in order to protect themselves”. “The Chief Law enforcement officer for the Commonwealth of PA has been convicted of crimes involving abuse of power and lying under oath”.
June-July 2014 – The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association criticizes Kane, in part, for claiming, without proof, that she had dropped the Philadelphia lawmaker case because it was tainted by race, and for her Sandusky mistake.
Kathleen Kane now faces prison time, after being convicted on five criminal charges including perjury. Her term ends January 17, when a new attorney general picked by voters in the November election will be sworn in. I implore Attorney General Kane to do what is right: “put the commonwealth’s residents first and step down from office”. A prior vote in February narrowly failed as all but one of Kane’s fellow Democrats stood by her.
The conviction capped two years of turmoil in Kane’s office that has left her isolated in Pennsylvania’s political, legal and law enforcement community.
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Prosecutors say they believe justice has been done, saying jurors acted courageously.
