AG Kathleen Kane: ‘Very Disappointed DA Made Decision To Pursue This Case’

By the time she was elected attorney general, Kane’s feud with state prosecutor Frank Fina had long been brewing. “This investigation and the charges filed today show, beyond all doubt, that no one is above the law, not even the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth”. Stay with WTAE.com for updates and a livestream of the news conference via our sister station in WGAL-TV in Harrisburg.

It investigated Kane’s actions in connection with a story in the Philadelphia Daily News last year about a 2009 grand jury investigation.

In a statement emailed out to reporters after the charges were announced, Kane said she is disappointed Ferman decided to bring the case forward.

“I have no way of knowing what the Montgomery County district attorney plans to do or when she plans to do it”, he said.

Should Ferman win the election in November, she would get a 10-year term and likely be insulated from any political fallout from the outcome of Kane’s case.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf called for Kane to resign, saying the charges would interfere with her ability to perform her duties.

In a move that was a shock to no one, Kathleen Kane the first female Attorney General in Pennsylvania was indicted today, August 6, 2015 stemming from her alleged involvement in leaking grand jury material and then trying to cover that up. She’s also the second Pennsylvania attorney general charged in the last 20 years.

The grand jury ended in December.

Kane’s driver and “special agent on executive protection detail”, as described by Ferman, will also be charged.

“There is a greater public interest here which is to make sure there is a fair and impartial administration of justice carries on and that goes to that very issue and to me”. She was charged with perjury, false swearing, obstruction, official oppression and criminal conspiracy. After her overwhelming victory in 2012, could a run for the presidency be in her future? The alleged incidents happened before he became attorney general in January. The attorney general will surrender herself to authorities sometime over the next two days, when she will be arraigned by District Judge Kathleen Kelly Rebar, Ferman said. The story focused on a 2009 investigation, also involving a grand jury, that dealt with the handling of state job-training grants by the then-president of the Philadelphia NAACP.

“Kane authorized the release of the documents in order to retaliate against someone she believed had made her look bad in the press”, the affidavit said.

The statewide investigating grand jury learned that the Office of Attorney General uses a system called “Evault” which archives all emails sent or received by employees of the Office of Attorney General. She should resign to focus on her own defense and to put the Office of Attorney General on a steadier, more professional course. The files she reportedly leaked contained secret info, prosecutors allege. Instead, she locked into a personal and political struggle with longtime staffers and decision-makers who had left the office upon her arrival or after she dismissed them.

With statements such as this, it’s no wonder Pennsylvanians don’t trust their government.