Pa. Attorney General Kane: 'I Did Nothing Illegal'
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane said Friday she did "nothing illegal" in her first remarks about a report that she could face charges over a grand jury leak.
The Philadelphia Inquirer cited anonymous sources in reporting Thursday that a grand jury has recommended that Kane face criminal charges in the matter. Neither Kane nor her lawyer has confirmed knowledge of any such finding.
However, in a statement Friday, Kane said: "I did nothing illegal. Period."
"This seems to me to be another political attack on my attempt to clean up Harrisburg and its political culture. They have fought me all the way, including an effort to impeach me," Kane said.
Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman must decide whether to adopt the grand jury recommendations and file charges. Ferman has declined comment this week. A special prosecutor who directed the probe, Montgomery County lawyer Thomas Carluccio, has also not commented.
Kane's statement Friday was brief, but pointed.
"Since taking office, I have torn up their questionable contracts, cleaned up their investigations, broke their pornography ring and prosecuted corrupt officials," she said, referring to high-profile investigations she has pursued since taking office in 2013.
Her probe of pornography on state computers ultimately brought down a Supreme Court justice, a cabinet secretary and dozens of other state employees, including several members of her own office.
Kane acknowledged that she was called to testify in November before a grand jury investigating the suspected leak of grand jury material. The Inquirer has reported that the probe involves a Philadelphia Daily News story about a 2009 investigation of a former NAACP chapter president in Philadelphia.
Kane's lawyer, Washington crisis counselor Lanny Davis, has said the information was disclosed with Kane's knowledge but that it was not bound by grand jury secrecy laws.
Davis would not say exactly what information was given to the newspaper, but said the public had a right to know "why decisions are made to prosecute and not to prosecute."
In a statement Thursday, he questioned whether this week's leak of the reported grand jury recommendation to charge Kane should itself be investigated.
"This anonymous leak to the Inquirer about this alleged presentment could be, in and of itself, a possible violation of the state Grand Jury Secrecy Act," Davis said.
Kane is the first woman and the first Democrat to be elected attorney general since it became an elective post in 1980.
She has endured a difficult year both professionally and personally.
In addition to the grand jury problem, she took heat for quashing a probe — later revived by the Philadelphia district attorney — of lawmakers who allegedly took inappropriate gifts.
And she announced after Christmas that she had filed for divorce from her husband of 14 years. They have two children and have lived in Clarks Summit, near Scranton.
Kane has said she is using personal funds to pay for Davis' legal work. Davis worked as special counsel to President Bill Clinton.
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