NORRISTOWN (CN) — After a failed maneuver to throw out the perjury case against Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, the defense rested its case Friday without calling any witnesses.
"There is more than enough evidence for this case to move forward to the jury's decision," Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy told the court upon the parties' return from morning recess.
Kane, the first woman and first Democrat ever elected to attorney general in Pennsylvania, has been on trial all week on criminal charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and other crimes.
Prosecutors hope to show that Kane exacted revenge on former prosecutor Frank Fina in 2014 by arranging for the Philadelphia Daily News to receive secret grand jury materials intimating that Fina had fumbled a 2009 investigation of Philadelphia civil rights leader J. Whyatt Mondesire.
Before letting the defense rest, Demchick-Alloy brought the attorney general, clad in a sleek black dress, to the witness stand.
With the jury not yet present, Demchick-Alloy asked Kane to confirm that she does not need more time and does want to testify.
"I have considered all that," Kane said with a smile. "And I don't believe it's necessary for me to testify and I agree with my counsel that the defense should rest."
After calling in the jury, Demchick Alloy set closing arguments for 8:30 a.m. Monday.
Prosecutors closed their case this morning with testimony from Chris Brennan, the reporter behind that Daily News article.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele asked Brennan directly who provided him with the documents for the Daily News article about Fina.
"I'm going to respectively decline to answer," said Brennan, a former political editor the Philadelphia Daily News who now writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Brennan invoked the Philadelphia Shield law when asked to reveal his sources but did confirm that the documents from his source came "all together."
A day earlier, the prosecution had Kane's political consultant Josh Morrow admit on the stand that he retrieved a "package" from the attorney general's former first deputy, Adrian King, and delivered that package to Brennan.
Echoing Morrow's testimony, Brennan said the material he obtained from his source included a transcript, a memo and emails.
Kane's defense hinges on her knowledge that the leak came from her office.
Brennan told the court this morning that he reached out to sources whom the material implicated before filing his article.
He said Agent Michael Miletto and William Davis, former deputy attorney general to Fina, responded: "I cannot comment, that is grand jury information."
Gerald Shargel, an attorney at the head of Kane's defense, appeared calm while questioning Brennan. An attorney with Winston & Strawn, Shargel did not read from his notes and moved around the courtroom with ease.
"Wasn't this story covered by many other news outlets?" Shargel asked.
"Yes, it was actually broke by a website AccessPhilly, and the topic covered by many media outlets," Brennan confirmed.
In prior testimony, however, Brennan has said he was the only reporter, to "his knowledge," who covered the story from the "2009 perspective."
Brennan confirmed that the "the documents [from his source] spoke about grand jury investigations" of 2009.
Prosecutors also this morning called to the stand Catherine Hicks, the former fiancee of the late Philadelphia NAACP head whose 2009 grand jury investigation is at the heart of the leaked materials.
Prosecutors projected an email from Stahl to Kane on the large screens in the court. It included attachments titled "Fina Memo" and "Mondesire," both of which echo prior testimony about the "package" for Daily News reporter Brennan.
