NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Kathleen G. Kane, the attorney general of Pennsylvania, was convicted Monday night of nine criminal charges, including perjury and criminal conspiracy.
It was a stunning end to the political career of Ms. Kane, once an ascendant Democratic star, whose fall came when prosecutors here accused her of leaking grand jury information, and then lying about it, in an effort to discredit a political rival.[…]
Ms. Kane, who faced nine charges, including perjury and criminal conspiracy, was accused of leaking secret grand jury documents to the news media in an effort to discredit a political rival, the prosecutor Frank Fina, and then lying to cover it up.
“‘This is war,’ the defendant’s words,” said the lead prosecutor, Kevin Steele, in reference to an email written by Ms. Kane. “Wars have casualties. Wars leave scars.”In a nearly two-hour closing statement, wrought with text messages, newspaper front pages and grand jury testimony, Mr. Steele painted a picture of Ms. Kane trying to “go on the offensive” after a newspaper article that criticized her for shutting down an undercover investigation into possible corruption by Democratic state representatives. Prosecutors say she believed Mr. Fina was behind the story.
Ms. Kane, he said, sought to leak details from a 2009 grand jury investigation into the financial affairs of J. Whyatt Mondesire, a former leader of the N.A.A.C.P., because she wanted residents to know that Mr. Fina had chosen not to prosecute. She then lied about it when a grand jury investigated, Mr. Steele said.
PA AG Convicted of Perjury and Criminal Conspiracy
I seem to recall a secret investigation in Wisconsin that targeted the political enemies of the prosecutor and the details of which were illegally leaked to the press for years – particularly before elections. What was that again?
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