Indictment and suspension of license to practice law
Beginning in 2014,a grand jury investigated the leaking of two memos which allegedly came from Kane's office:one from a 2009 grand jury investigation,and an internal memo leaked to the Philadelphia Daily News which outlined details of the 2009 investigation. [35] The leaks came at a time when Kane was under intense criticism for failure to effectively prosecute Democrats,both in a bribery sting investigation in Philadelphia,and a pay-to-play scandal involving the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Kane believed former state prosecutor Frank Fina was behind a March 2014 story in the Inquirer that disclosed that she had secretly shut down a sting investigation that had recorded Philadelphia Democrats accepting cash,money orders,or gifts from an undercover operative. Fina,for many years the head of corruption cases for the Attorney General's Office,launched the sting before Kane took office in 2013.
After the Philadelphia Daily News article,Kane orchestrated a leak of confidential grand jury information about an investigation once run by Fina,one that she believed showed he had failed to aggressively pursue corruption allegations against the onetime head of the Philadelphia NAACP.
In searching for information to discredit Fina,she discovered a trove of emails containing pornography and other offensive content that were exchanged among state prosecutors,defense lawyers,and judges,including two former Supreme Court justices. Porngate,as it came to be called,led to the retirements or resignations of more than a half-dozen high-profile public officials,including onetime Supreme Court Justices Seamus P. McCaffery and J. Michael Eakin. Kane said repeatedly that she believed her criminal case was "corruptly manufactured" by a club of "good ol' boys" bent on preventing her from making those emails public –although many of them were eventually released. [36]
On January 21,2015,it was made public that the grand jury recommended criminal charges related to these leaks against Kane for "perjury,false swearing,official oppression and obstruction of law." [35]
On August 6,Kane was charged by Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman with one count of perjury,one count of false swearing,three counts of obstructing administration of law,and four counts of official oppression in connection with the grand jury leaks. That same day,Governor Tom Wolf publicly called on Kane to resign. [1] However,Kane denied the charges and announced that she would not resign. [37]
On August 24,Kane was ordered to stand trial on charges she leaked secret grand jury information to the press,lied under oath about it and ordered aides to illegally snoop through computer files to keep tabs on an investigation into the leaks. The leak,it was stated,was done to embarrass rival prosecutors involved in the case. Prosecutors called two witnesses—a top Kane aide and the lead investigator in the case against her—whose testimony paralleled a 42-page probable cause affidavit filed against her.
On September 21,the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously suspended Kane's license to practice law,as a result of the criminal charges. [38] [39] Although the Constitution of Pennsylvania requires the attorney general to be a licensed attorney,the court said in its order that it was not removing Kane from office. [40] Subsequently,Kane appointed former Montgomery County District Attorney and County Commissioner Bruce L. Castor,Jr.,a Republican,as Solicitor General of Pennsylvania to assume her executive decision making authority,a position Castor retained until becoming acting attorney general for a period after Kane resigned,and before Democratic Governor Tom Wolf could appoint Bruce Beemer to the post. Castor remained in service to Beemer,reverting to his role as solicitor general for several weeks before resigning to return to the private sector.
On October 1,prosecutors filed an additional perjury charge against Kane. This second charge related to the alleged violation of a secrecy oath that Kane signed in January 2013,also relating to grand jury leaks. [41]
In continuing as attorney general with a suspended license,Kane delegated legal responsibilities to her top advisers. On November 1,2015,Kane announced a team of special prosecutors to lead the 'Porngate' investigation at the National Constitution Center. [42]
Trial,conviction,resignation from office,and disbarment
Kane's criminal trial began on August 8,2016. [43] One week later,on August 15,she was convicted on all nine counts. [44] [45] The next day,Kane announced her resignation as attorney general,effective August 17. State Solicitor General Bruce Castor,Kane's second-in-command,became acting Attorney General once her resignation took effect. Sentencing for her case took place on October 24,2016,where she received a term of 10–23 months in prison. [46]
A tribunal of judges on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed her conviction in May 2018. The court rejected her arguments that the special prosecutor lacked legitimacy and that she should have been allowed to present evidence of a child pornography scandal in the Attorney General's office. [47] She was ordered to report to the Montgomery County,Pennsylvania prison on November 29. [48] Four months after her imprisonment was sanctioned,Kane was disbarred by the supreme court. [14]
