After 4 and a half hours of deliberations, a Montgomery County jury Monday evening convicted Attorney General Kathleen Kane of all nine charges, including 2 counts of perjury (felonies), 2 counts of false swearing, 2 counts of obstruction of justice and 2 counts of conspiracy and 1 count of criminal conspiracy.
Kane was ordered to surrender her passport Tuesday because the judge felt she was a flight risk.
The judge also strongly admonished her not to retaliate against any witnesses. If she does retaliate directly or indirectly, the judge said she would be jailed immediately.
Kathleen Kane’s attorney said after the reading of the verdict Kane would continue to litigate and fight the charges.
Sentencing for Kane has been scheduled for October 24.
Gov. Tom Wolf issued the following statement urging Kane to resign-- “Today is a sad day for the Commonwealth and the people of Pennsylvania. Attorney General Kane has been convicted of serious charges. These are unbecoming of the Commonwealth’s top law enforcement officer. “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. “While there is no simple procedure to remove a civil officer, the Office of Attorney General and its employees, as well as the people of Pennsylvania deserve to move on. I implore Attorney General Kane to do what is right: put the Commonwealth’s residents first and step down from office.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) and Majority Leader Jake Corman (R-Centre) issued the following statement also calling on Kane to resign immediately or they will call the Senate back into session to consider her removal— “In light of the multiple felony convictions, Kathleen Kane should resign immediately as Attorney General. If she elects not to, the Senate will work toward bringing this saga to a close, including an imminent return to session to reconsider her removal under Article VI Section 7 of the state Constitution.”
In reaction to the conviction, Democratic candidate for Attorney General Josh Shapiro said this, “This is another sad chapter for our Commonwealth and a reminder of how hard we need to work together in Pennsylvania to restore the public trust in our democracy. “Given the verdict, I believe the Attorney General should resign. "We should remember that the real victims of these scandals are the people of Pennsylvania who’ve been left behind by a government that often isn’t working for them. We need to restore integrity to our justice system so that the people's business - protecting consumers, fighting the heroin epidemic, and keeping our communities safe - comes first."
The judge also strongly admonished her not to retaliate against any witnesses. If she does retaliate directly or indirectly, the judge said she would be jailed immediately.
Kathleen Kane’s attorney said after the reading of the verdict Kane would continue to litigate and fight the charges.
Sentencing for Kane has been scheduled for October 24.
Gov. Tom Wolf issued the following statement urging Kane to resign-- “Today is a sad day for the Commonwealth and the people of Pennsylvania. Attorney General Kane has been convicted of serious charges. These are unbecoming of the Commonwealth’s top law enforcement officer. “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. “While there is no simple procedure to remove a civil officer, the Office of Attorney General and its employees, as well as the people of Pennsylvania deserve to move on. I implore Attorney General Kane to do what is right: put the Commonwealth’s residents first and step down from office.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) and Majority Leader Jake Corman (R-Centre) issued the following statement also calling on Kane to resign immediately or they will call the Senate back into session to consider her removal— “In light of the multiple felony convictions, Kathleen Kane should resign immediately as Attorney General. If she elects not to, the Senate will work toward bringing this saga to a close, including an imminent return to session to reconsider her removal under Article VI Section 7 of the state Constitution.”
House Majority Leader David Reed (R-Indiana) has also called for Kane to resign immediately-- “Pennsylvania cannot have a top law enforcement officer who is convicted of breaking the laws she was elected to enforce. Legislative leaders, both Republicans and Democrats, as well as the governor have called on Ms. Kane to step down for more than a year.
“With the heroin epidemic endangering the lives of our residents on a daily basis, and ongoing battles against organized crime and child predators, the people of this state deserve and need a functional attorney general.
“It is past time for this saga to end, and it is time Ms. Kane puts the interests of the people of Pennsylvania before her own. It is time for Ms. Kane to resign.”In reaction to the conviction, Democratic candidate for Attorney General Josh Shapiro said this, “This is another sad chapter for our Commonwealth and a reminder of how hard we need to work together in Pennsylvania to restore the public trust in our democracy. “Given the verdict, I believe the Attorney General should resign. "We should remember that the real victims of these scandals are the people of Pennsylvania who’ve been left behind by a government that often isn’t working for them. We need to restore integrity to our justice system so that the people's business - protecting consumers, fighting the heroin epidemic, and keeping our communities safe - comes first."
