Kane’s conviction in the case that has riveted Pennsylvania for a year was confirmed by Kate Delano, spokeswoman for Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele.
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Attorney General Kathleen Kane, the first Democrat and first woman elected to the office, showed little emotion as jurors announced their verdict Monday. Kane did not testify in her own defense.
During the recording, Morrow said Kane wanted him to plant the story with a news reporter, telling the friend she was “unhinged” over the Inquirer story.
They contended she made “honest mistakes” when testifying to the grand jury, but did not intentionally lie.
Kane believed that the story, which appeared in the March 15, 2014, edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, had been initiated by former state prosecutor Frank Fina, with whom Kane had always been at odds, according to Steele.
However, the trial judge didn’t let her lawyers wade into that argument.
Defense lawyers for Kane argued that she meant to legally leak the information; she was allegedly unaware grand jury material was included. Kane suspected that Fina had been responsible for a March 2014 report in the Inquirer that she had scuttled an investigation of six Philadelphia Democrats who’d been caught accepting bribes in a sting operation. Kane decided on Friday not to testify at her trial or put on any defense witnesses.
February 2016 – Kane survives state Senate vote on her ouster; state House starts inquiry that could lead to impeachment proceedings.
After the conviction, the judge overseeing the trial said she would jail Kane if she saw any sign of witness retaliation and ordered Kane to surrender her passport.
The state constitution says public officials convicted of certain offenses, including perjury and other “infamous crimes”, must step down.
If convicted of felony perjury, Kane could be sent to prison for up to seven years. The misdemeanor charges included conspiracy, official oppression and false swearing.
“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”.
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Steele claimed that Kane was irate over a news story that criticized Kane and her office for dropping a political corruption case against Philadelphia area lawmakers.
