Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor, Kathleen Kane, was found guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice on Monday evening. A jury found Kane guilty of a total of 9 criminal charges. Kane, who once was a rising star in Democratic party, is facing mounting calls to resign as Pennsylvania Attorney General.
“We will continue this litigation we will continue this fight because we believe that our client has been wrongfully accused of misconduct,” her defense attorney Gerald Shargel told media outside the court, according to CNN.
Unprecedented, State’s top prosecutor found guilty of perjury. #KaneTrial Steele: “no one is above the law” @6abcpic.twitter.com/lPwthzfzwS
— Christie Ileto (@Christie_Ileto) August 16, 2016
Kathleen Kane, Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor and once a rising political star, is now a criminal defendant https://t.co/S5uVnlnsDb
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 16, 2016
Here is the verdict sheet. Important to note the felony perjury charges are what carries 3.5-7 years in prison @6abc pic.twitter.com/x8jwHmmkUO
— Christie Ileto (@Christie_Ileto) August 16, 2016
Kane had been charged with perjury, obstruction, official oppression, and other offenses, for allegedly revealing secret grand jury information to embarrass a political opponent, and then lying about it under oath, according to Philly.com.
Kane has reportedly portrayed the prosecution as revenge for uncovering the sharing of pornography among prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys over state servers. According to Fox News, that revelation led to the dismissal of two state Supreme Court justices and others, but a judge said that Kane’s defense can’t use that information during her trial.
Since Monday’s conviction, the calls for Kane to resign have only intensified.
“As I have made clear, I do not believe Kathleen Kane should be Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I believed this when she was charged, and today, after conviction, there should be no question that she should resign immediately,” Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said in a statement, obtained by CNN.