Attorney General Kathleen Kane speaking to reporters in 2014.
Credit: State of PA
A day after Kathleen Kane was convicted crimes including perjury and obstruction of the administration of law, the one-term Pennsylvania Attorney General announced she will step down.
Kane, according to information issued to the Philadelphia Business Journal Tuesday afternoon, will step down at the close of business Wednesday. BillyPenn.com reported former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, who is Kane’s first deputy, will lead the office following the disgraced attorney general’s resignation.
“I have been honored to serve the people of Pennsylvania and I wish them health and safety in all their days,” Kane, a Democrat, said in a statement to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Kane’s resignation comes after Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday night once again called for her to resign. Along with Wolf, congressional candidates Democrat Steve Santarsiero and Republican Brian Fitzpatrick have both called Kane to resign, with Santarsiero’s statement coming last year when her law license was revoked.
“What has transpired with Attorney General Kane is unfortunate. Her decision to resign is the right one, and will allow the people of Pennsylvania to finally move on from this situation,” Wolf said in a statement issued minutes after Kane’s resignation was announced.
According to prosecutors, Kane was involved in leaking grand jury documents in hopes of a Philadelphia Daily news reporter publishing an article that would paint her political enemies in a bad light. Kane then lied about her actions under oath.
The Associated Press reported that the perjury charge alone could send Kane to prison for seven years.
Kane was elected in 2012 to become attorney general and was the first woman to hold the post. She worked her way from an attorney to a Lackawanna County prosecutor. Kane’s law license was taken away last year after charges were filed against her and she did not seek re-election this year.
Castor is set to hold a press conference in Harrisburg Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Whispers spread throughout the state Tuesday that Kane would resign in the wake of her conviction and before her sentencing in the coming months.
Castor, a Republican, is a controversial figure and has obtained national attention after Bill Cosby was charged late last year in relation to the investigation into an alleged 2005 sexual assault. Castor declined to prosecute Cosby during his time in office.
