Pennsylvania – Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane was ordered to stand trial on criminal charges on Monday for leaking secret grand jury information to the press with the intention to discredit a political rival. When she was asked to declare under oath, she lied about it.
Kane, a Democrat who is the state’s top law enforcement officer, has charges that include perjury and obstruction of justice for leaking details of grand jury proceedings in 2009, a case led by Frank Fina, to a Philadelphia Daily News’ reporter.
The Democrat is accused to make these actions in an attempt to damage the reputation of Jerome Mondesire, head of the Philadelphia NAACP and a subject of the grand jury investigation.
With the intentions to prove their side of the story, prosecutors called David Peifer, a special agent in the Attorney General’s Office, who was very close to Kane. Peifer, the first witness to take the stand during Monday’s preliminary hearing, described meeting with Kane in March 2014 when he gave her information she is charged with leaking to the press.
Judge Cathleen Kelly Rebar ended the four-hour hearing by ordering Kane to stand trial on all charges, with her arraignment scheduled for October 14th. If Kane is found guilty, she will have to spend 7 years in jail.
Although Kane plans to run for re-elections next year, statistics showed she has lost some support. A new poll, made by Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University on August 18th, showed that fifty four percent of Pennsylvania voters disapprove of Kathleen Kane’s performance, while twenty percent approved.