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Prosecutors File Charges Against Kane

NORRISTOWN — Investigators  announced Thursday that charges are being filed against Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane. “We are here today ...

NORRISTOWN -- Investigators  announced Thursday that charges are being filed against Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

"We are here today to announce the filing of criminal charges against Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane," Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman said at a news conference Thursday morning.

The charges stem from Kane allegedly leaking confidential grand jury information and then lying about it.

The charges come eight months after a special grand jury recommended Kane be prosecuted for four criminal charges including perjury and obstruction of law.

On Thursday, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman took the grand jury's recommendation and announced she will prosecute the attorney general on all four of those charges, adding a charge of conspiracy, as Ferman claimed the attorney general used others to carry out what she called an illegal scheme.

"The charges include the obstruction of administration of the law and other offenses that relate to a scheme that we allege she orchestrated to leak confidential investigative information and secret grand jury materials," said Ferman. "We allege that after illegally leaking the confidential information, the defendant then set on a path to conceal her actions."

Ferman says Scranton native Kathleen Kane failed the people of Pennsylvania.

"This investigation and the charges make me profoundly sad," Ferman added. "When someone is entrusted to upholding the law violates that oath, and violates the law that he or she is bound to uphold, we are all victims."

For the last eight months, Kathleen Kane maintained she didn't break the law, and did not leak confidential court information to a Philadelphia newspaper.

A special grand jury found she should be hit with a series of charges that included perjury and official obstruction.

On Thursday, Ferman added conspiracy, and made it clear what she thought Kane's motives were in leaking confidential information.

"In the hopes of embarrassing and harming former state prosecutors whom she believed -- she believed without evidence -- made her look bad," Ferman explained.

Kane spent much of the day working out of her satellite office in downtown Scranton. She did not answer our phone calls seeking comment, but a source close to the attorney general says she had seen the specifics of the charges and that it would not be proper to comment, but released the following statement:

"I am very disappointed the district attorney has made the decision to pursue this case. I have maintained my innocence from the day these allegations surfaced and I continue to do so today.

"I intend to defend myself vigorously against these charges. I look forward to the opportunity to present my case in a public courtroom and move beyond the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that has defined the process to this point.

"Meanwhile, I remain committed to leading the Office of Attorney General and doing the job the citizens of this Commonwealth elected me to do. A resignation would be an admission of guilt and I'm not guilty.

"I assure everyone the Office of Attorney General will continue to fulfill its mission to protect and serve the citizens of Pennsylvania."

Also charged is Kane's security head and former Dunmore Police Chief Pat Reese with contempt, as Ferman claimed Reese secretly accessed private grand jury material.

Ferman said leaks of confidential grand jury testimony must be prosecuted because the reputation of people who testify, and those who are investigated but never charged can cause damage to individuals.

The next step for Kathleen Kane will be to turn herself over to authorities in Montgomery County. According to sources, that will take place either Friday or Saturday.

On Thursday, at a speech in East Stroudsburg on the budget and education, Governor Tom Wolf called for Kane to resign.

In December, a grand jury recommended Kane, a Scranton native, be charged with obstruction of justice and perjury.

The grand jury documents were unsealed in April.

 

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