NORRISTOWN — Kathleen Kane faces trial on two felony perjury charges, a district judge determined Tuesday after hearing evidence that the attorney general swore she never signed a secrecy oath detectives later found.
But in making her ruling, the Montgomery County district judge hinted that Kane's defense lawyers had laid the groundwork for a legal defense that could make it difficult for jurors or a judge to convict Kane in county court.
Even if Kane might have wrongly told a grand jury she'd never signed the oath, she's not liable, defense attorney Gerald Shargel argued Tuesday. Perhaps Kane simply forgot that, two days after taking office, she had signed it, he said.
Plus, Shargel said, it's immaterial. The grand jury judge told jurors that Kane as attorney general is bound to certain secrecy rules whether or not she signed the oath, Shargel said, making moot the question of whether she falsely claimed not to have signed it.
"This is no deliberate act," Shargel said.
The oath issue arose months ago, as Kane defended herself against allegations she had helped leak 2009 grand jury material in an attempt to discredit a critic, and then lied about it. In August, prosecutors filed perjury and other charges against her over that. They filed the second perjury charge in September, after the signed oath was found. Kane will be tried in Montgomery County, where the grand jury was located.
But in making her ruling, the Montgomery County district judge hinted that Kane's defense lawyers had laid the groundwork for a legal defense that could make it difficult for jurors or a judge to convict Kane in county court.
Even if Kane might have wrongly told a grand jury she'd never signed the oath, she's not liable, defense attorney Gerald Shargel argued Tuesday. Perhaps Kane simply forgot that, two days after taking office, she had signed it, he said.
Plus, Shargel said, it's immaterial. The grand jury judge told jurors that Kane as attorney general is bound to certain secrecy rules whether or not she signed the oath, Shargel said, making moot the question of whether she falsely claimed not to have signed it.
"This is no deliberate act," Shargel said.
The oath issue arose months ago, as Kane defended herself against allegations she had helped leak 2009 grand jury material in an attempt to discredit a critic, and then lied about it. In August, prosecutors filed perjury and other charges against her over that. They filed the second perjury charge in September, after the signed oath was found. Kane will be tried in Montgomery County, where the grand jury was located.
