State AG Perjury Trial Gets Underway

Kathleen G. Kane, Pennsylvania’s first elected female attorney general, is the subject of a perjury trial that began this week. Kane is accused of illegally releasing details of a secret grand jury investigation to the news media, and faces charges that include perjury and obstruction. Kane has denied the allegations, and her defense lawyer this week argued that she would not have risked her career by leaking information. In 2012, Kane became embroiled in a scandal involving lewd and bigoted emails exchanged among Pennsylvania state government officials. Since being charged, Kane has continued to work as attorney general despite being stripped of her law license by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and urging from Gov. Tom Wolf to step down. She has decided not to seek re-election, however.