Kane arraigned on violating grand jury secrecy laws

Posted 8/21/12

NORRISTOWN, PA — Kathleen Kane, the Democratic Pennsylvania attorney general, who was once seen as a rising political star in the state, appeared before a judge via video link on August 8, and …

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Kane arraigned on violating grand jury secrecy laws

Posted

NORRISTOWN, PA — Kathleen Kane, the Democratic Pennsylvania attorney general, who was once seen as a rising political star in the state, appeared before a judge via video link on August 8, and pleaded not guilty to charges leveled by a grand jury. The charges said that Kane violated secrecy laws dealing with another grand jury case that involved the investigation of Whyatt Mondesire, the former head of the NAACP chapter in Philadelphia.

That investigation was being conducted by prosecutor Frank Fina. The grand jury considering the Kane case said she provided secret grand jury documents to a Philadelphia newspaper in March 2014, and that her purpose in doing so was to embarrass Fina and show that he had not done a good job. The grand jury also said Kane later lied about the matter.

Kane’s lawyer, Gerald Shragel, disputed the grand jury charges and said, “Attorney General Kane conspired with no one. At no time did she believe that she was asking or directing anyone to do anything improper or unlawful. In explaining her conduct to the grand jury she uttered no lie.” In her appearance before the court, Kane did not enter a plea, but her office scheduled a news conference for August 12 to address the matter.

She had said previously, “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.”

But elected officials have called for Kane to step down, including the top elected official in the state, Gov. Tom Wolf. After the charges were announced on August 6, Wolf said in a statement, “In this criminal complaint, Attorney General Kathleen Kane was charged with official oppression; she was charged with obstruction of administration of law; she was charged with perjury. These are the charges, and there are other serious charges, and they are troubling.

“I am calling on her to step aside, step down as attorney general, because I think she cannot do what she has to do as the top law enforcement officer in Pennsylvania while she’s facing these serious charges.”

Other politicians quickly joined in. Sen. Rob Teplitz, co-chair of the House-Senate Government Reform Caucus, who like Kane and Wolf is a Democrat, joined in calling for Kane to step down. He said that the issue is about the Office of the Attorney General and not the particular individual holding the office or their political party.

House Majority Leader Dave Reed, a Republican, also said she should step down. He said, “While she, like any American, is entitled to due process through our court system and remains innocent until proven guilty, the people of Pennsylvania are also entitled to an attorney general whose sole focus is on protecting their safety. With drug cartels and a heroin epidemic endangering the lives of our citizens on a daily basis, we cannot afford to have such a distraction impairing the operation of the attorney general’s office.

Senate Republicans, on the other hand, said they would not call for Kane to leave office; they said it was a decision that she would have to make.

Should she decide to step down, her replacement would be decided by Wolf with agreement from 66% of members of the Senate.

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