Lawyer for convicted AG: Investigator had too much power

PHILADELPHIA – A lawyer for the former Pennsylvania attorney general convicted of leaking secret information then lying about it says the special prosecutor who investigated her had too much power.

Kathleen Kane’s attorney told a panel of appeals judges in Philadelphia on Wednesday that the decision to give the special prosecutor grand jury authority violated rules about separation of powers.

A prosecutor countered by calling Kane’s argument “window dressing” and says important evidence in the case didn’t come from the grand jury.

Kane, a Democrat, resigned in 2016 after being convicted of two counts of felony perjury and seven misdemeanour counts, including obstruction and conspiracy.

Her lawyers are seeking dismissal of the charges or a retrial.

While the appeal is pending, she’s free on bail and hasn’t begun serving her 10-to-23-month sentence.