Kathleen Kane's Illegal Actions: What Broke The Law?

Kathleen Kane, the first woman and Democrat to be elected attorney general in Pennsylvania, was convicted in 2016 of leaking secret grand jury material to embarrass a rival prosecutor and then lying about it. She was sentenced to two months to a year of jail on the probation violation, serving eight months of a 10-to-23-month sentence before being released in 2019. Kane's actions were deemed a retaliation scheme by a judge, who also linked it to her all-consuming ego.

Kathleen Kane leaked secret grand jury information to the press

Kathleen Kane, the first woman and first Democrat to be elected attorney general in Pennsylvania, was charged with leaking secret grand jury information to the press. The Montgomery County District Attorney, Risa Vetri Ferman, stated that Kane leaked information to a political operative to pass to the news media "in hopes of embarrassing and harming former state prosecutors she believed, without evidence, made her look bad".

Kane's motive for leaking the information was reportedly to embarrass a rival prosecutor, Frank Fina, with whom she had a feud. Fina had previously helped run the Penn State child sex abuse probe and other sensitive investigations. Kane, taking aim at Fina, had a campaign consultant pass confidential files to a reporter about a corruption case he had declined to charge before he left office.

Kane was also accused of trying to frame someone else for the leak, with aides testifying against her. She was found guilty of perjury, criminal conspiracy, and other charges in relation to the leak. She was sentenced to a prison term of 10 to 23 months and was released in 2019 after serving eight months.

In addition to the leak charges, Kane was also disbarred by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and was investigated for driving under the influence, which violated her probation.

She lied under oath about leaking the information

Kathleen Kane, the former attorney general of Pennsylvania, was convicted of leaking secret grand jury information to the press and lying under oath about it. In August 2016, she was convicted on all nine charges, including two felony perjury charges, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. She was sentenced to a term of 10 to 23 months in prison and began serving her sentence in November 2018.

The case against Kane began in 2014 when she was accused of leaking confidential information to the Philadelphia Daily News to smear two former state prosecutors. The information leaked pertained to a grand jury investigation handled by her Republican predecessors. Kane was found to have unlawfully released confidential documents from a 2009 investigation, which she shared with a prominent Philadelphia law firm and a veteran political operative from Philadelphia, who then passed them to the Daily News.

Kane's motive for the leak was reportedly to embarrass and retaliate against Frank Fina, a former top prosecutor in the Attorney General's Office with whom she had been feuding. Fina had overseen a sting operation that caught Democratic officials from Philadelphia accepting cash or jewellery, and Kane was criticised for her decision not to prosecute. In her testimony, Kane denied leaking the information and tried to blame her deputy, Adrian R. King Jr., claiming that he had endorsed sharing the investigative material. However, King denied this and produced an email he had sent to Kane before the newspaper story was published, warning her against disclosing any confidential information.

In addition to the perjury charges, Kane was also found guilty of obstruction and conspiracy. She resigned as attorney general after being convicted and served eight months of her sentence before being released in 2019. The case marked a fall from grace for Kane, who was once a rising star in Pennsylvania politics and the first woman and Democrat to be elected as the state's top prosecutor.

She was convicted of two felony counts of perjury

Kathleen Kane, the former Pennsylvania Attorney General, was convicted of two felony counts of perjury and seven misdemeanour charges. The perjury charges were related to her leaking of grand jury material and lying about it under oath.

Kane was accused of leaking secret investigative files to a Philadelphia newspaper to embarrass a rival prosecutor, Frank Fina. In March 2014, Kane's top aide warned her that divulging information about a secret criminal investigation could be illegal. However, she went ahead and did so anyway, and then lied about it under oath, even stating that her aide had endorsed the leak. The grand jury found that she had provided false testimony and recommended criminal charges.

The specific perjury charges against Kane included one count of perjury and one count of false swearing. She was also charged with three counts of obstructing the administration of law and four counts of official oppression in connection with the grand jury leaks.

Kane denied the charges and initially refused to resign, arguing that she had done nothing wrong. However, she was ultimately convicted of all nine charges, including the two felony counts of perjury, and she resigned from her position as Attorney General.

She was convicted of seven misdemeanour charges

Kathleen Kane was convicted of seven misdemeanour charges, which included official oppression, obstruction, and related conspiracy charges. The charges were related to her position as attorney general.

Kane was accused of leaking secret investigative files to embarrass a rival prosecutor. She was also accused of lying under oath about the leaks and ordering aides to illegally snoop through computer files to keep tabs on the investigation.

The leaks were done in retaliation against former state prosecutor Frank Fina, who Kane believed had provided information for an Inquirer story that revealed her decision not to prosecute a separate corruption case.

Kane's actions were found to be in violation of secrecy laws that protect grand jury investigations. She was warned by her top aide that divulging information about a secret criminal investigation could break the law, but she did so anyway.

As a result of her conviction, Kane was sentenced to a 10- to 23-month prison term and eight years of probation. She resigned from her position as attorney general and was disbarred, losing her license to practice law.

She was sentenced to 10-23 months in prison

Kathleen Kane was sentenced to 10-23 months in prison for leaking secret investigative files to embarrass a rival prosecutor, perjury, and obstruction. She was convicted of two felony counts of perjury and seven misdemeanour charges.

Kane was accused of leaking confidential files to a reporter to embarrass a rival prosecutor, Frank Fina. She then tried to frame someone else for the leak. Aides testified that she had a take no prisoners attitude and that she had an “off with their heads” mentality.

Kane was the first woman and first Democrat to be elected attorney general in Pennsylvania. She was a rising star in state politics, but her legal team argued that the loss of her career, law license, and reputation was punishment enough. They asked the judge to sentence her to probation or house arrest so she could be home to raise her sons.

Kane's legal team appealed her conviction, and she was released on $75,000 cash bail. She was taken back into custody in April 2022 for an alleged violation of probation by driving under the influence. She was arrested for drunken driving in March 2022 and was sentenced to two months to a year of jail on the probation violation. She was given credit for time already served and was scheduled to be paroled to a residential alcohol treatment center.

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