Former Attorney General Kathleen Kane is going to jail.
Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy handed down a prison sentence of 10 to 23 months. She will be going to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility and was also given eight years of probation.
In August Kane was found guilty on all nine counts, including two counts of perjury and seven misdemeanors.
The next day, she announced that she would step down as Attorney General.
You can read our comprehensive timeline of the Kathleen Kane saga here.
142 Responses
@ Julie:
Are you in the D.A.’s office?
If not, how would you be able to report this alleged behavior when, publicly, the prosecution was fine with jailing the perp?
And Cosby has nothing to do with KK, unless you know something we don’t know?
@ Observer 2:
When you answer your own surmise [“Consider what happens if you ask a prosecutor if they’ve ever leaked grand jury material. You’ll either get a prosecutor admitting misconduct, committing perjury, or pleading the fifth. It is awfully unfair to put just one individual under this microscope.”], it would be desirable to tether this broad assertion with FACTS.
It appears d2 has become an infectious-agent.
What’s this?!? DA Kevin Steele very hot under the collar over criticism of the Kane sentence and his presentation in court! Montco Bar sneering, and it’s getting back to him! Pressure getting to him here in the office where people see! Temper, temper, Mr. DA! 10 months in office and you’re going to develop an ulcer. What’s that old underarm wisdom? Oh yes. “Never let them see you sweat.” Well, Kevin, everyone is seeing…and laughing. No worries…you won’t bungle Cosby, right? Sure you won’t.
@ Marie [a.k.a. “d2”]:
No, she won’t; all the criteria you raise have nothing to do with the facts of the case.
@sklaroff,
I understand. At least some of the concern here, however, is not whether the law is followed or whether the law is a good law, but whether it is followed consistently.
While Kane made her own bed, it’s hard to say she wasn’t targeted unfairly.
Consider what happens if you ask a prosecutor if they’ve ever leaked grand jury material. You’ll either get a prosecutor admitting misconduct, committing perjury, or pleading the fifth. It is awfully unfair to put just one individual under this microscope.
Kane will win on appeal. Everyone knows it. This was a corrupt prosecution motivated by politics, driven by a bunch of perverts and racists. The Judge who refused to recuse herself is a friend of the Special Prosecutor who investigated/leaked and a good friend of them D.A. that brought the charges. Why did they hand-pick that Judge? Hmmmm
Also – Selective Enforcement is a form of Corruption. That makes these charges and this conviction corrupt.
Why do you think the Judge slapped cuffs on Kane and led her (symbolically) to jail? They know that will be the ONLY TIME they get to see Kane in custody.
Oh – when is the Gansler Report coming out? If we are cleaning up Harrisburg, we gotta get rid of the perverts and racists and woman-haters.
@ Observer 2:
I base my views on the law; if anyone wishes to alter it, then so-be-it.
@ d2:
Your plaintive replies don’t work any more, nor do your surmises about motives; KK was guilty-as-sin, and you rationalized everything away…now even admitting that your conceptualization of perjury is at-variance with the law.
@sklaroff,
The problem with the perjury statute is that it’s one-size-fits-all, which makes it ripe for mischief.
On the one hand, it is more severe than many of the crimes a witness may have been involved in – hence Diano’s comment about a felony for denying a misdemeanor. While that may not seem like a big deal, it becomes a tool for sour grapes prosecutions.
At the other end of the scale, it’s much less severe than crimes like murder. That disincentives a prosecutor from investigating a perjury complaint in a murder case, for example – why risk a murder conviction in order to chase a perjury conviction for a cop, for example.
Compare PA’s statute to those in other states in which perjury is graded according to the proceeding it was committed in. At least a few states even allow the death penalty for perjury in a murder case resulting in an execution. Presumably perjury in a parking ticket case is a much lesser offense.
When it’s a graded offense, there’s no lesser or greater incentive to use it in a prosecution, and prosecutors are more likely to stick to the more tangible charges.
SpongeBob-
Please stop pretending you are knowledgeable/experienced about politics, then deny the obvious nature of the GOP control of the AG’s office. The rampant nature of the porn, racist and sexually harassing emails from Fina and friends should be enough to convince (even a pervert like) you, that the Old Boy’s Club was not looking out for victims of discrimination, but rather, promoting it.
Your rhetoric seemed to switch to Hillary as you mentioned national media, and appeared to be channeling your inner Trump.
Kane, given her state-level office and relative youth, would be more Princess to Hillary being Queen.
robert sklaroff-
Please have someone teach you about sarcasm.
Wolf and his cronies know that Kane didn’t do anything to warrant removal. Wolf is a political coward who jumped on the bandwagon when he saw an opportunity to install Josh as a potential successor (and maybe cut a deal with the GOP for throwing Kane under the bus).
My concept of the way perjury is handled by the legal profession is completely wrong and should be obliterated, and relegated to a minor offense. It should never exceed the penalty for the crime being alleged. Otherwise, you can have perjury convictions for lying about jaywalking.
David,
It seems like you answered someone’s question but not mine. Where are the details other than “Everyone knows” and such? Because you met Mike Fisher you think that qualifies you to make a broad opinion of the work of the 800+ people at the office? Again other than conjecture where are your facts? As for Hillary and Trump where in the hell did you see a reference to either in my response? Did my mention of an entitled corrupt Democrat make you assume I spoke of Hillary instead of the other PA dems who have been arrested and convicted? I find it most interesting that is where you went considering I said nothing of the sort.
SpongeBob-
The AG’s office had served as a legal shill for the PA GOP for decades, instead of an independent check on power. Kane was a breath of fresh air and what she exposed proved that a house cleaning was long overdue. Now it’s known to everyone, but the Democrats had been running candidates and complaining about the abuses of the office for years.
A long time ago, I met Mike Fisher at a political fundraiser hosted at the home by a client of mine (I didn’t pay to go). He was a complete shill for the gun industry and other right-wing causes, and was unable to offer a coherent rationale for his positions. No depth at all.
As for Hillary, we are lucky to have someone so qualified and intelligent to lead our country and build on Obama’s success. No major paper (other than recent editorial from Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Review) has endorsed Trump. Even conservative papers which have not endorsed a Dem in living memory have endorsed Hillary and declared Trump unfit.
If you think there is someone more “entitled” (and undeserving) than Donald Trump, please point them out.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a woman-hating pervert like you supports someone like Trump (even if he makes fun of disabled people and called deaf actress Marlee Matlin ‘retarded’).
@ d2:
As usual, you misconstrue what I wrote, then and now; listen to [and integrate] SpongeBob’s sage observations.
I didn’t claim that politics would trump the law when I felt she’d be removed from office; rather, I felt that the political-release afforded by Wolf would permit Dems to join R’s in doing-the-right-thing.
Also, your apology is accepted; you admit your conceptualization of perjury is faux-legal [precluding you from serving on a jury that would pledge to be open-minded].
I type again because I’m determined to “leave it all on the field”; that you demonstrate the pathological behavior of perseveration is c/w your mental illness[es].
robert sklaroff-
Thanks for acknowledging that you based your viewpoint on the entire process of trying to oust her being political. I accept your apology for your previous attempts to portray it as justice.
You’re asking me to “admit” that my view on perjury aren’t shared by the profession? Haven’t you been paying attention to my condemnation of the legal profession and how they have their heads up their asses on this issue? This is a improper tool for prosecutors to trump up charges to bolster weak cases. I’ll never get on a jury, but if I did, I’d vote against any perjury charges (short of someone trying to frame someone for murder or similar crime).
David,
You say “The AG’s office, particularly under Corbett, has long been known to be a cesspool of political corruption and bias.” To whom was this known? you and your teddy bear? Where besides the selective release of emails is this known to be fact? Again when challenged for facts you just move to things you assume to be true. Your hero Kane was a trainwreck, bitter to then end and used her kids up to and including at sentencing to no avail. Kane is another in a long line of entitled corrupt democrats who feel they are owed something by the taxpayers. As for the being tired from jerking off comment, typical Diano. When challenged for fact and none can be provided go to the negative comments to deflect that you endorse a scumbag the is being denounced by the national media as a symbol for corrupt politicians on your party. All of which you predicted would never happen… So day your childish things and assuredly I could have said yo momma or some childish comeback to match but I am just going to let you marinate on the fact that your queen is getting trounced on both sides of the aisle across the US in the media.
@ d2:
You are reinventing yourself, enhancing entertainment value [“4 posts in a row? Are you off your OCD meds again?]; chalk it up to adopting a celebratory posture.
You may recall–were you to research my disclaimers–that I’d stated that I’d based my viewpoint that she’d be gone earlier on Wolf’s opposition, assuming other Dems would recognize she’d become a party-albatross.
In any case, while you never cease to amaze, it would be refreshing for you to work-against-type and admit that your legal priorities [e.g., perjury regarding a misdemanor is ok] aren’t shared by the profession.
robert sklaroff-
4 posts in a row? Are you off your OCD meds again?
Kane completed most of her term (came just a few months shy), while you were predicting she’d be out a year sooner. It was perfectly reasonable for me to suggest that she might be able to find a way to delay the trial a few more months, and completely wrong for you to claim she was going to be out in the summer of 2015.
Kane has nothing to apologize for, but the judge and prosecution do.
“and led judges and defense lawyers to subject prosecutors to sarcastic and sniggering remarks” is actually the best defense of Kane, who exposed the corruption and cozy relationship with AG office and judges.
The other remarks that “state police and the FBI to refuse to cooperate with her office” shows that they were incapable of doing their jobs and wanted to blame Kane for their own weak cases.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20161025_Kane_s_day_of_reckoning_underway.html
Aloof to the end: “Kane chose to not testify at the trial, and her defense lawyers called no witnesses, thinking they could prevail by poking holes in the government’s witnesses. But the jury deliberated only 41/2 hours before convicting her of every charge – two felony counts of perjury and seven misdemeanor counts of charges including obstruction and official oppression.”
Egotistical to the end: “In her plea to the judge, Kane did not directly apologize for her crimes but rather for the consequences of her actions, saying she never intended to hurt anyone and was sorry if Pennsylvanians had lost trust in the Attorney General’s Office.”
Untold damage to the end: A former state prosecutor, Clarke Madden, testified that Kane’s wrongdoings prompted the state police and the FBI to refuse to cooperate with her office, discouraged victims and witnesses from being helpful to their cases, and led judges and defense lawyers to subject prosecutors to sarcastic and sniggering remarks.”
This piece summarizes inter-alia the turmoil [and damage to justice] that KK created; d2 may recall why people such as myself had predicted she wouldn’t be granted a plea bargain [assuming one had ever been in the offing] because the prosecutors knew she’d be convicted.
d2 may also recall his prediction that she’d complete her term, again, against the grain of reality and public-knowledge; it’s time he start recanting/atoning for his HUNDREDS of obviously-faulty postings.
@ d2:
The below-note prompted the observation that, if nothing else, one can become bemused by your style [ignoring your consistently erroneous content, regarding R’s, and your desire to rewrite the basic perjury-law]; now, however, it seems your repetitiveness suggests you’re running out of fresh material.
*
October 24, 2016 at 7:46 pm
The Kane Haters…
I’m sure you’ll all be spending the night whacking off to some “women in prison” movie.
Better than-
“She wasted PA taxpayer time, money, integrity and resources to arrogantly defend herself.” WTF?? Everyone is entitled to a defense. In her case, the charges were trumped up by a system of criminal misconduct that she exposed and they wanted covered up.
Let’s not forget, the grand jury against her leaked like an open fire hydrant, and NO ONE was prosecuted for the leaking. (I guess prosecutors ran out of mirrors when looking for suspects.)
SpongeBob-
I don’t believe ANYONE should be sentenced to jail for perjury (unless they are doing something like falsely accusing some innocent person of murder or other big crime). It’s a bullsh*t charge, and always has been. It shouldn’t be used to turn denial of a misdemeanor into a felony.
I’m sure the entire case has made you happy, as it will lead to the AG’s office backing off of going after child predators.
Josh Shapiro took $150K (so far) from the Charter School people, so he clearly isn’t going to make looking out for children a top priority.
@ d2:
In response to your query [“What precedent?”], I note that KK tried to have the case tossed in vain [based upon multiple procedural objections] and, thus, that future defendants will be less apt to challenge @ that level.
J. Marshall-
I’ve been assuming that he cut a deal and has been a witness in a bunch of grand jury cases we haven’t heard about publicly, particularly involving any ones where he wore a wire or they recorded phone conversations (or they tried using him to entrap people into conversations).
What ever happened to Rob McCord? Never heard another thing.
Certainly, another sad day in PA among many previous “sad” days. Piling on will not make this a happy day and any length of time will not be a deterrent for the next individual who will think they cannot be caught or prosecuted. Instead of impeachment, I sincerely wish that the “R” controlled legislature would work harder on passing smoke and mirror free budgets and stop selling twaddle to the citizens of the Commonwealth. We have been fed pabulum long enough about school property tax reform by some elected individuals that there to nothing to show for it because of their all or nothing attitude. We get nothing.
SpongeBob-
The AG’s office, particularly under Corbett, has long been known to be a cesspool of political corruption and bias. That’s why the Dems were so happy to put someone in to clean it up. The porn that Kane found was the tip of the iceberg and revealed a cozy and improper relationship between judges and prosecutors that calls into the question the fairness of the entire system (and the internal sexual bias against women).
This entire bogus trial and conviction was all about shutting Kane up and covering up how deep the corruption goes. That’s why no one has bothered to investigate the leaks of the grand jury against Kane.
rsklaroff-
What precedent? Who is going after the leakers of her grand jury? The bias in this case was that her higher rank deserved an (unfair) higher penalty. The crap about how she ran the office had no place in the court and her sentencing.
The only precedent here is that political prosecutions on trump up charges are OK in Pennsylvania (as long as they cover-up the misbehavior the permeates the judicial system).
BTW, how do you two have the finger strength to type? I would have expected you guys to have been up all night jerking each other off in celebration, and your hands would be too tired today.
Y’all should also appreciate another benefit to having pursued this prosecution, for precedent was established – following multiple appellate decisions – yielding a smoother effort if anyone else requires pursuit in PA; that no one is above the law appears to be ensconced, even if the filing occurs on the county-level.
She got off to easy. The Judge was too lenient for such a ‘corrupt’individual, who ‘destroyed’ so many lives, including ‘innocent’ little children. And then she had the gall to say that she has ‘No regrets’, but now she’s whining, saying,”Past two months have been like a countdown clock to losing my boys”. Due to her self loathing and being power hungry,she refused to Help innocent people of Pennsylvania, where she put her hand on the Bible and took an Oath to uphold the PA.and the U.S.Constitution. I’ve watched my little boy being Abused for 3 years, begging for me to Help him but after she refused to Help us, it seems like everyone else I asked for Help followed her pattern of corruption and refused to Help. She should have received at least 4 years in prison. Wipe that cocky smile off her face.
You know she got bail, right? She’s not going to jail now or ever. The DA got a huge black eye here. A fraction of what they wanted on paper and Kane is walking free today with appeal issues coming out her ears. Write this down: Kane never goes to jail and this was all a high publicity stunt by a corrupt DA. Was she a bad AG? Sure. Selectively prosecuted? Absolutely. Who will prosecute the leaks from Kane’s grand jury? No one. Make no mistake: this is a FAIL of epic proportions for the DA, who is incompetent, or corrupt, or both. Embarrassing to have to bring in a DA from another county to help and hold his hand. No one good enough left in Montco to handle the case themselves. Even with a “hometown judge” face it, the DA got slaughtered here.
David how do you know the office was a cesspool before Kane got there? Based on the drips and drabs she released of emails? Are you saying no work was done or the citizens of the commonwealth were not protected? Or is this just another one of those because David says so……?
Good. Let the rich biich rot away from her million dollar home in Waverly.
Geez! What’s with this firestorm of hate and violent revenge. All we wanted to do was get her out of the way so that my cousin Stevie junior and Uncle Charlie could take over the AG office and turn it into another family bank. We ain’t never asked nobody to burn her house down and torch her pubics. We got other people for that. Chill, why don’t ya. It’s over…for us too since Shapiro won.
@ d2:
Once the reader resigns him-/herself to allow becoming “bemused” rather than “educated” to be the goal when reading your postings, it’s easier to overcome a constant sense of nausea; here, for example, it appears that there was no one left for her to “purge” by the time her downfall had become inevitable, notwithstanding your claim that she had failed to pursue this administrative posture throughout her tenure.
The prior discussion of the rationale for impeachment [so that she wouldn’t be eligible to run for public office, subsequently] is noted, but I doubt this will be viewed as carrying sufficient priority to be pursued; she would still have to stand trial in the Senate, for example, and the legislature would be subject to the charge of having wasted resources to “dance on her [political] grave” … that she’s already dug sufficiently “deep” without having needed any prodding.
Now the House can move to impeach her
rsklaroff-
BTW, being (perceived as) a bad boss should have ZERO bearing on sending her to jail.
rsklaroff-
The office was a cesspool before she got there. She didn’t do enough purging.
@ d2:
how do you defend KK against the charge that – after all of her purging – the AG’s office was in turmoil due to her behavior?
Unsanctioned R-
… the lesson being that the Montco court system is corrupt and if you expose corruption in the AG’s office and around the state, prosecutors and judges will come for your scalp.
…Tonight Kane starts to regret. Let this be a lesson to all public servants.
I’m almost getting tired of winning all the time.
I hope Trump’s not elected. I can’t take much more of this.
Forget about it-
Who are you talking about? The leaking of the material is a misdemeanor at best.
But, who leaked the Montco grand-jury against Kane (if you are really so concerned)?
Diano…… Kane entered into a conspiracy with another person to blame the Grand Jury leaks on a completely innocent person who had done nothing wrong. If this was not uncovered and this person was convicted an truly innocent man with a family including children would have been sent to jail.
This is a mantra the Democrats have been sounding for years. The imprisonment of innocent persons who are currently incarcerated. You seem to lose sight of this very fact while you quibble about a perjury charge.
Maybe she should contact COTT another convicted felon sentenced to jail to get some jail house tips. Especially on what days dresses are worn and what days skirts are worn.
sklaroff-
I’ve made it clear that I completely disagree with the statutes on perjury and it’s misuse as a tool by prosecutors to trump up charges to puff up weak cases.
I’m glad you agree that impeachment is unnecessary. I don’t think Trump’s likely conviction for his Trump University fraud would make any difference.
SpongeBob-
My position on perjury being a bogus charge has nothing to do with the party affiliation of the accused. I’d think it was bogus, even if a career criminal like Donald Trump got convicted on perjury for a misdemeanor, instead of his extensive fraud and racketeering.
This case has been a political witch-hunt with a verdict in search of prosecutorial/judicial corruption, a gullible jury and a willing/culpable press seeking headlines.
Where is YOUR outcry for the investigation, prosecution and conviction of the people that leaked from the Montco grand jury against Kane?
When you hypocrites start calling for their heads, than you can squawk about any bias you perceive I have.
@ d2:
First of all, based upon your earlier admission, I ‘fess-up that your writing style occasionally provokes a chuckle [moreso when your vocabulary is emitted from a mouth that my mother would have pre-scrubbed with Dutch Cleanser].
Second, I agree that impeachment isn’t necessary, although some of the arguments in favor of permanent disqualification would be appropriately applied to one of the POTUS-candidates.
Third, your rationalization that it’s ok to commit perjury if the basis thereof is to discount a misdemeanor is not, alas, statutorily justified.
Of course she will step down! She will be disbarred! You can’t be the AG if you’re not an Attorney! It’s very sad when a member of the bar is a criminal! Attorneys are held to a higher standard than ordinary citizens and I think that her punishment should be more severe.
David,
I ask you again if it was a republican in the same exact scenario would you have the same fervor and anger about the sentence?
Observer 2-
Excellent points.
“She would succeed only if the alternative was so bad that voters would choose a convicted criminal instead.” … which is why I’m planning to write her in over the AG candidates on the ballot next month.
@martina,
It is a bit odd to see people complain about KK wasting resources and then other people (like you) suggest that we waste more resources impeaching somebody who in all likelihood will be in jail at the time.
On the off chance that she runs again for anything, she would succeed only if the alternative was so bad that voters would choose a convicted criminal instead. If we ever find ourselves in a race so dire, best not to foreclose our options.
If you think about it, there should really never be a restriction on who can run for office. 12 million residents can decide just as well, or better, than 12 jurors.
Further, by eliminating ways for politicians to disqualify their opponents, you’d stop some of this nonsense from happening in the first place. There’d be little point in spending so much time worrying about jailing your opponent if it meant they’d be back on the campaign trail in a year or two.