Kane denies wrongdoing, vows to stay in office

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane spoke defiantly Wednesday about an investigation into news leaks from her office, saying she intends to serve out her term despite a report that a grand jury recommended criminal charges against her.

Kane told reporters outside a Pennsylvania Farm Show event that she has been disappointed by the process used to investigate her office, and predicted that an independent review would find that she has done nothing wrong.

"I'm very disappointed in the way that this whole process has worked, very disappointed," Kane said. "I'm a lawyer, I trust in the legal system, and my trust has been, I think, broken by it. But I'm confident that a real look, a fair look, at the facts will show there's absolutely nothing that we did wrong."

The Inquirer reported last week that a grand jury recommended charges against Kane for leaking secret material to the Philadelphia Daily News. No charges have been filed, and on Tuesday, Kane's lawyer asked for the appointment of a special prosecutor to look into how that recommendation became public, and into related leaks.

"They've constantly just been disparaging my reputation and no one's looking into those," Kane said. "I think that tells you something about this process and the way it's occurred."

The Inquirer reported Tuesday that the reporters who wrote about the grand jury recommendation had been subpoenaed to appear before the panel in Norristown, and that they intended to invoke a state law that protects journalists from being compelled to reveal confidential sources.

Kane said she expected to remain in office as the state's top prosecutor.

"I'm here to stay," she said. "In the words of Winston Churchill, if you're going through hell, keep going, and I was hired by Pennsylvania to do a job."

Kane said "certain orders" prevent her from discussing the facts regarding the Daily News leak.

"I can tell Pennsylvania that I've done absolutely nothing illegal, period," she said. "And I really hope that the justice system works the way it's supposed to. I'm very confident that it will."

A former Scranton prosecutor, Kane is halfway through a four-year term. She is the first woman and the first Democrat to be elected attorney general.