By Craig R. McCoy and Angela Couloumbis
Philadelphia Inquirer Staff
A Montgomery County judge on Monday ordered Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane to stand trial on criminal charges after a hearing in which one of Kane’s most trusted aides testified against her, and the judge repeatedly rejected her legal arguments.
Prosecutors say Kane, a Democrat who is the state’s top law enforcement officer, broke the law by orchestrating a leak to a newspaper reporter in a bid to embarrass a foe, and then lied about it under oath. Using Kane’s testimony before the grand jury that investigated the leak, prosecutors attempted to show that she repeatedly lied in an effort to cover up her actions.
They called David Peifer, a special agent in the Attorney General’s Office, who was a member of Kane’s inner circle. Peifer, the first witness to take the stand, described meeting with Kane in March 2014 and giving her information she is charged with leaking to the press.
