Kathleen Kane

Kathleen Kane

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Deputy District Attorney for Lackawanna County

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Attorney General of Pennsylvania

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Report an officeholder change

Education

Bachelor's

University of Scranton, 1988

Law

Temple University School of Law, 1993

Personal

Profession

Prosecutor

Contact

Personal Facebook

Kathleen Granahan Kane is a former Democratic attorney general of Pennsylvania. Kane won the 2012 election for attorney general of Pennsylvania on November 6, 2012, and was sworn into office on January 15, 2013. Kane resigned August 17, 2016, after being convicted for several criminal offenses. Click here for more information.

In August 2016, Kane was found guilty on 12 charges, including perjury and obstruction. She had been charged with several different criminal offenses in August 2015. In November 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected Kane's appeal, requiring her to serve out her sentence of 10 to 23 months in jail and eight years probation.

Read more about the criminal case against Kane here.

Biography

Kane was born and raised in Scranton, Penn., where she attended public grade-school and received her bachelor's degree. After graduating from the University of Scranton, Kane moved to Philadelphia to earn her J.D. at the Temple University School of Law. She remained in Philadelphia to launch her legal career at the firm of Post & Schell, P.C., starting off in the field of civil litigation before returning home to take a position as an assistant district attorney for Lackawanna County. It was in this role that Kane established her specialties in the courtroom, prosecuting over 3,000 cases related to child sexual assault, elder abuse and public corruption.

In a move that won her the crucial endorsement of former President Bill Clinton (D) years later, Kane left her post at the district attorney's office in 2007 to coordinate Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential primary campaign in Northeast Pennsylvania. Although Clinton lost the 2008 Democratic nomination to current President Barack Obama, she carried Pennsylvania in the primary.

Kane made her first run for statewide office in 2012 as a Democratic candidate for attorney general of Pennsylvania. During the race, she adopted the mantra "a prosecutor, not a politician" to highlight the difference between herself, a career prosecutor in Pennsylvania, and her primary opponent, Patrick Murphy; at the time, Murphy had not tried any cases in the state, and Kane suggested his close ties to Washington foreshadowed ambitions—in the tradition of Pennsylvania attorneys general—to use the position as a springboard toward higher office.

A major focus of her 2012 campaign revolved around former Attorney General Tom Corbett's (R) three-year long investigation into Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky. Corbett was criticized for taking so much time to arrest and charge Sandusky, and his handling of the matter appeared to hurt Republicans; Kane was able to use this to her advantage. After being in office for less than a month, Kane appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the Sandusky case.

In 2012, Kane benefited from increased turnout due to the re-election of President Barack Obama (D), she outpolled him in some areas of the state and also won some traditionally Republican areas.

Education

• Bachelor's degree, University of Scranton
• J.D., Temple University School of Law, Philadelphia

Political career

Pennsylvania Attorney General (2013-2016)

Kane was elected Pennsylvania's first Democratic, female attorney general on November 6, 2012. She officially succeeded Linda Kelly (R) on January 15, 2013. Following her conviction on criminal charges including two felony counts of perjury, Kane announced her resignation on August 16, 2016, effective the following day.

A January 2013 article in Governing named Kane as one of the top state Democratic officials to watch in 2013. A Huffington Post article published November 17, 2014, also identified Kane as one of seven Democratic state executive officials who could gain national prominence. She also attracted support from progressive groups for her refusal to defend the state's ban on same-sex marriage and the state's lawsuit against a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil.

Grand jury investigation and criminal charges

See also Charges against Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, 2015-2016

In May 2014, a special prosecutor was appointed to investigate an allegation that someone in Kane's office leaked secret grand jury information to the Philadelphia Daily News for a June 6, 2014, article. The article concluded that former state prosecutor Frank G. Fina had mishandled the 2009 investigation of J. Whyatt Mondesire, then head of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), based on information supplied by Kane's office.

Kane acknowledged that her office supplied information to the Daily News, but said she did not approve the release of any material protected by grand jury secrecy laws. She also argued the investigation was based on partisanship.

In December 2014, a grand jury issued a presentment to the supervising judge finding reasonable grounds to believe violations of criminal law had occurred. The judge accepted the presentment, finding probable cause to support the grand jury’s determination and to establish a case against Kane. In response, Kane challenged the legality of appointing the special prosecutor.

In August 2015, the Montgomery County district attorney filed criminal charges against Kane, including perjury, obstruction of justice and contempt of court. Kane was ordered to stand trial. On October 14, 2015, Kane waived her arraignment and pleaded not guilty to all charges. On August 15, 2016, a jury found her guilty on all 12 charges.

In October 2016, Montgomery County Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy sentenced Kane to 10 to 23 months in jail and eight years probation. She was allowed to postpone jail time until the state supreme court decided her case, which was on appeal.

On November 26, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected Kane's appeal, requiring Kane to serve out her sentence.

Kane joined Ernest Preate Jr. as the only attorneys general in Pennsylvania history to face criminal charges.

The disciplinary board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court disbarred Kane on March 22, 2019, effective in April 2019.

Tensions with Gov. Corbett

After being in office for less than a month, Kane appointed a special prosecutor to investigate Gov. Tom Corbett's (R) handling of the high-profile Jerry Sandusky child sexual assault case. Also among her first acts in the position, Kane blocked Corbett's controversial bid to privatize the state lottery. In July 2013, Kane refused to enforce or defend Pennsylvania's ban on same-sex marriage. After Kane's decision, Corbett and many members of the Republican-controlled state legislature accused her of prioritizing her own ideological code instead of state law, leading some legislators to call for her impeachment. Kane ceded the duty of representing the state in Whitewood vs. Corbett, a legal challenge seeking to overturn the 1996 statute defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, to Corbett's office.

Corbett indicated through press statements that he believed her judgment on the statute lacked the substance worthy of the theoretically apolitical office, and he called her sincerity into question. Corbett told reporters he had never seen or heard of an attorney general refusing to participate in the defense of a statute's constitutionality. He implied Kane's decision was a violation of unwritten rules. "It is merely her opinion," stated Corbett, to underline a popular notion among Kane critics that the she was only posturing to climb the political ladder.

Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act

On March 11, 2013, Kane, with 12 other state attorneys general, sent a letter to Congress in support of the Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act, a bill that sought to ban for-profit colleges from using federal funds for marketing and recruiting techniques. Senators Kay R. Hagan (D-N.C.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who chaired the chamber's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, sponsored the bill. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) stated that the proposed law aimed to "ensure that scarce federal education dollars will be used to serve and educate students rather than to finance advertising campaigns, recruitment operations, and aggressive marketing."

In the letter, the attorneys general wrote, "Federal taxpayers should not be asked to foot the bill for aggressive recruiting and deceptive sales tactics of colleges that have placed profits ahead of ensuring student success." At the time, there were an estimated 3,000 for-profit schools nationwide.

On March 12, 2013, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, but no subsequent action was taken and the bill died in committee.

On April 23, 2013, a related bill — HR 340 — was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce's subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, but it also died in committee.

Florida Gun Loophole

The attorney general of Pennsylvania was authorized by the General Assembly in 1995 to enter into reciprocity agreements with other states. Kane announced on February 8, 2013, that a loophole within Pennsylvania's concealed-carry reciprocity agreement with Florida had been closed. Commonly referred to as the "Florida Gun Loophole," this technicality allowed a Pennsylvanian who was denied a concealed-carry permit or had his or her in-state permit revoked to obtain an equally valid license from Florida. This agreement was first established in 2001. Kane closed the loophole by negotiating with Florida officials on a new version of the agreement, under which Pennsylvania residents holding Florida-issued permits were required to apply for a Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearm (LCTF). The modified agreement retained "all the same rights and recognition" of licensed Florida residents to carry a firearm in Pennsylvania, but they also had to be able to produce immediate verification of their Florida residency.

As of February 2013, Pennsylvania held agreements with 28 states. This included Florida, where beyond the updated agreement's implementation, Pennsylvania-issued concealed-carry permits continued to be honored.

Gun control

Kane won election as attorney general on a series of campaign promises that included greater focus on enforcement of Pennsylvania's public safety laws. Before she was sworn into office, she collaborated with sitting attorneys general including New York's Eric Schneiderman (D) and California's Kamala D. Harris (D) on a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R). The letter urged them to oppose two bills—The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act and The Respecting States’ Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act—which would require states to recognize concealed carry permits issued by any other state. "These bills would create a lowest common denominator approach to public safety that would endanger police and make it more difficult to prosecute gun traffickers," the letter warned. According to Kane, a former Lackawanna prosecutor, closing the "Florida Gun Loophole"—thereby nullifying Florida-issued gun permits for Pennsylvania residents and requiring them to apply for Pennsylvania-issued permits—"shows that it is possible to swiftly implement common sense gun safety measures that protect our streets."

Marijuana

At a conference of the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors in May 2013, Kane said she opposed legalizing marijuana because she believed it leads to harder drug use. “When you don’t get your high from marijuana you’re going to turn to something else. It’s going to be oxycodone and then it’s going to be heroin. It doesn’t stop just at marijuana. I oppose it for criminal justice reasons,” she stated.

Elections

2016

See also: Pennsylvania Attorney General election, 2016

Though Kane had indicated she may run for re-election in 2016 despite facing criminal charges, she announced on February 16, 2016—Pennsylvania's deadline to file candidacy—that she had decided not to run.

2012

See also: Pennsylvania attorney general election, 2012

Kane ran successfully on the 2012 Democratic ticket for attorney general of Pennsylvania. She defeated Patrick J. Murphy in the Democratic primary election on April 24, 2012, and two challengers—David Freed (R) and Marakay Rogers (L)—in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Attorney General of Pennsylvania General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kathleen Kane	56.1%	3,125,557
	Republican	David Freed	41.6%	2,313,506
	Libertarian	Marakay Rogers	2.3%	128,140
Total Votes				5,567,203
Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State

• Primary

Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kathleen Kane	52.8%	371,862
Patrick Murphy	47.2%	331,778
Total Votes		703,640
Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State (accessed April 25, 2012).

Campaign issues

• Photo ID bill

Kane stood firmly on the side of the Democratic Party on the issue of voter ID legislation that would have required voters to present photo identification to have their votes counted. She agreed with fellow candidates Murphy and Bailey that the bill, versions of which had already been passed in 15 states, violated the constitutional rights of elderly, minority and poor voters, those most unlikely to possess the relevant documents. Devised as an impediment to voter fraud, Kane called the bill "a solution in search of a problem." Along with her Democratic cohorts, she pledged her support of others' efforts to challenge the law's constitutionality in the courts; however, she also said she would enforce the law indiscriminately of her personal feelings.

• Easing restrictions on wiretapping

Both Kane and her opponent David Freed (R) criticized the state's laws on wiretapping, which dictated the admission requirements of incriminating recordings as evidence in the courtroom. At the time, audio or video proof of criminal activity was legally immaterial if captured without the advance knowledge and permission of the parties being recorded. The growing prevalence of smart phones and other easy-recording technologies resulted in a corresponding increase in incriminating recordings. Freed and Kane agreed that the laws were out of date and supported a bill to overhaul the laws after 14 years of stagnancy. Kane registered her support of the House bill, which would have allowed "conversations to be recorded anywhere so long as a notice about the possibility of being recorded is posted." She said that she wanted to see updated laws regulating audio recordings and noted that "video recordings are ubiquitous nowadays."

• Political corruption cases

Kane said she would use the attorney general's office to cultivate partnerships with district attorneys and the U.S. attorney general to ensure against jurisdictional constraints and conflicts of interest in the investigation and prosecution of corrupt public officials. “Political corruption cases are no place for a prosecutorial ‘turf-war’ to be waged,” Kane said in response to a questionnaire distributed by The Legal Intelligencer in April.

• Amending law on prosecuting sex predators

Having served as prosecutor on hundreds of sexual abuse cases, Kane emphasized her concern for victims' rights and the proper legal handling of sexual predators. She called upon the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Governor Corbett to amend the state law that included a statute of limitations against prosecuting sexual predators. This law became a central issue in her campaign, and Kane spoke out against it, calling it arbitrary. "I believe law enforcement must be provided the legal means to arrest and prosecute sexual offenders, regardless if the crime occurred a week ago or decades ago," she said in December 2011.

• Ultrasound bill

A mandatory ultrasound proposal was stalled in the House during the election season, but the issue remained a topic of debate for the 2012 attorney general candidates in the race. Democratic candidate Patrick Murphy made the bill a focus of his campaign, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional,” and prompted both Kane and Republican candidate David Freed to engage in the discussion. Kane took umbrage with the implication Murphy made during a campaign event about his primary opponent not being militant enough in the fight against the bill. She said, “I don’t understand why Democrats, two Democrats who, by his own words, who oppose this bill are even arguing about it; We both oppose the bill; We both agree that it is unconstitutional. Neither one of us will enforce it.” Speaking to a crowd of women at a campaign event in Philadelphia on April 14, Kane referred to the proposal as "little more than an illegal search and seizure” that would give drug dealers greater rights than women.

• Healthcare reform

Responding to a questionnaire issued by The Legal Intelligencer in April 2012, Kane pledged to withdraw Pennsylvania from the multi-state lawsuit brought by state attorneys general against the Affordable Care Act the moment she took office. She stated, "Health care in this country is broken. Our Constitution affords a criminal the right to an attorney but doesn't afford a sick child a doctor. That is unconscionable."

Endorsements

Though a relative newcomer, Kane received a high-profile endorsement from former President Bill Clinton (D) in March 2012 before the primary election. A Kane campaign press release featured Clinton's words of support for the attorney general candidate: "She is a great Democrat who understands that an Attorney General’s job is to stand up for consumers and people...I’m proud to endorse my friend Kathleen Kane and I hope she’ll become the first woman ever elected Attorney General by the people of Pennsylvania.” Clinton went on to stump for Kane at campaign events leading up to the April 24 primary, which she won.

• Bill Clinton
• The Philadelphia Inquirer
• Patrick Murphy officially endorsed his former primary election opponent on May 15, acknowledging the competitive nature of the contest, which led him to that point. He called the race "a family fight" and urged Democrats to rally behind Kane in the general election.

Noteworthy events

Republican PAC ad opposing Kane

In late September 2012, the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) in Washington, D.C., the PAC backing David Freed (R), paid $558,700 to air a television advertisement on select Philadelphia stations containing what turned out to be false claims about Kane. The RSLC ad cited an example of a plea bargain that had been made in a rape case during Kane's tenure at the Lackawanna district attorney's office. The ad portrayed Kane's involvement in the deal to make her look soft on rape.

Soon after its release, the father of one of the two rape victims whose cases were mentioned refuted the ad's content. “I’d like to ask the people who made this outrageous advertisement if they would like their daughter’s tragic story all over television...if they can't convince people to vote for [Freed] without lying, he should not even be running,” the father wrote in a letter first published in the Philadelphia Daily News. Documentation provided by the DA's office confirmed the father's claim that Kane's involvement in the case was purely administrative and ended after the preliminary filing stage, leading the PAC to pull the ad and publicly acknowledge the error.

The RSLC removed any reference to the rape case and promptly re-released the edited version, but continued airing the original ad on their website, angering the campaign more. “Freed needs to tell his people to take their ad down immediately and take their special interest money and their dirty tricks and get out of Pennsylvania. The people of Pennsylvania deserve better,” said a campaign spokesman. Freed's campaign manager commented on the controversy, saying, "It’s our sincere hope that our opponent, as well as any outside groups that are supporting our campaign or our opponent’s campaign, conduct themselves in an honest and ethical manner.”

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Kathleen Kane campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2012	Pennsylvania Attorney General	Won	$5,722,825	N/A**
Grand total			$5,722,825	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
An 2014, Kane resided in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. In December 2014, Kane filed for a divorce from her husband of 14 years, Chris Kane. At that time, they had two sons.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Kathleen Kane Pennsylvania Attorney. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Kathleen Kane - Google News

Contact

Committee to Elect Kathleen Kane
P.O. Box 20182
Scranton, PA 18503

Tel: (570) 580-0860
E-mail: info@kathleenkane.com

See also

• Attorney General of Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania attorney general election, 2012
• Pennsylvania candidate keeps us guessing

External links

Suggest a link

• Pennsylvania Attorney General's office
• Official Campaign Website
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• PSU commentary opportunity, risk for Kane
• Kane on Facebook
• Kane on Twitter
• Kane on YouTube
• Campaign contributions: 2012

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Linda Kelly (R)	Attorney General of Pennsylvania 2013-present	Succeeded by Bruce Castor