NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Closing arguments have begun in the perjury trial against state attorney general Kathleen Kane.
Kane, 50, is Pennsylvania’s first female and Democrat elected Attorney General. In addition to perjury, she is facing charges of obstruction, official oppression, and false swearing in regards to grand jury documents leaked in 2014 from a 2009 investigation. Prosecutors argue the confidential information was leaked by Kane to the Philadelphia Daily News in order to embarrass a political rival.
Defense attorney Seth Farber spoke for over 90 minutes in making Kane’s closing remarks Monday morning inside a Montgomery County courtroom. His arguments focused on how it was not Kane obsessed with seeking revenge on former Philadelphia deputy district attorney Frank Fina, but instead her former political consultant Josh Morrow. It was Morrow, defense attorneys argued, who was “hell-bent” on getting back at Fina after a March 2014 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer gave Kane negative press.
Morrow testified last week he was “angry” after reading the article about his one-time friend, Kane.
Farber pointed out how, in the series of text messages sent back and forth, Kane never mentioned Frank Fina’s name.
Farber also focused on the testimony of Morrow, who was prosecutors’ key witness. Morrow turned over months of text messages sent in 2014 between he and Kane. Morrow said he lied twice under oath, when testifying to the grand jury in regards to the grand jury investigation in November 2014. It was only then, he says, the burden of lying became too much that he decided to come forward.
However, Morrow is under the protection of immunity, and his testimony was in contrast to one of the state’s other top witnesses, Kane’s former first deputy Adrian King.
Morrow said he was told by Kane in April 2014 to call King to pick up the documents to give to the Daily News. King, however, said he was being framed by Morrow and Kane.
“King and Morrow are two witnesses who will say whatever they need to do to protect themselves,” Farber told the Montgomery County jury. “You would not even buy a used car from either of them.”
Farber then called into question Adrian King’s character, accusing him of lying in his testimony last week when he said he thought the documents Kane told him to take to Philadelphia to give to Morrow were campaign materials.
“Adrian King knew exactly what was in those documents,” Farber said. “His testimony that it was campaign material is a flat out lie.”
Farber then read excerpts of Kane’s 2014 grand jury testimony, so, as he said, the jury could receive the full context of her testimony where she is accused of perjuring herself.
At the end of his remarks, Farber walked over to Kane, sitting with her defense team, and said, “Kathleen Kane sits here, not as Attorney General, but as a citizen of Scranton just like everybody else. To look at evidence, the value of evidence, and return the only verdict the evidence in this case suggests: Not guilty.”
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele will deliver closing arguments for the Commonwealth.
