Former Pa. attorney general sentenced to jail

Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has been sentenced to 10 to 23 months in prison for perjury, obstruction of justice and abuse of office charges.

{mosads}Kane, the first Democrat to be elected to Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement position, resigned in August after being convicted on all nine counts.

Kane had asked to be sentenced to house arrest, but prosecutors argued her misuse of office was worthy of jail time.

The swift downfall of the once-rising star, seen as a potential candidate for governor or a U.S. Senate seat, began after she leaked secret grand jury material in hopes of embarrassing a political rival. Kane later lied about her role in the leak while under oath.

Kane was convicted of leaking grand jury information meant to undermine a former top prosecutor who had begun a sting investigation into six Philadelphia-area officials, including five state legislators. Kane did not prosecute the six officials, and she blamed a leak to the Philadelphia Inquirer on the former prosecutor.

She then handed older grand jury information to another paper, the Philadelphia Daily News, in a bid to undermine that former prosecutor.

A jury in August took just over four hours to convict Kane on all nine counts against her.