Warrant issued for ex-PA Attorney General following DUI crash in Scranton

A former Pennsylvania Attorney General convicted of leaking grand jury information could face additional prison time, following a DUI-related crash in Scranton that violated the terms of her probation.

Scranton police said Kathleen Kane sprayed herself with perfume before she stepped out of the car, but it didn't mask the smell of alcohol. The driver of the Honda she'd just collided with asked if she was was drunk.

"No," Kane responded slowly. "Are you drunk?"

Her eyes were bloodshot and watery. An officer asked Kane the same question, and she denied it again: "It's totally not me," she said. She called herself the designated driver, stumbling over the word "designated." Scranton Police charged Kane with drunk and careless driving on March 12 after she failed three field sobriety tests and refused to submit to a blood test.

Of interestKane, once Pennsylvania attorney general, released from jail

The charges violate the terms of Kane's probation and prompted a Montgomery County judge to issue a bench warrant seeking her return to court. The former attorney general was convicted of perjury there in 2016 for leaking information to The Philadelphia Inquirer and lying about it under oath. The conviction stained Kane's image as a rising star in the Democratic party, following her election in 2012 as the first woman and first Democrat to win the office.

She was sentenced to 10 to 23 months in prison, but served only eight. Kelly Cofrancisco, a spokesperson for Montgomery County, said the bench warrant has been not yet served. Kane will be notified of the probation violation, Cofrancisco said, then brought back before a judge in Montgomery County. Depending on the outcome of that hearing, Kane could be sent back to prison to finish the remainder of her sentence.

The contents of the warrant were not yet public as of Thursday afternoon. Stacey Witalec, a spokesperson with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, said it is under review to determine what should remain confidential. Attempts to reach Kane were unsuccessful.

Hannah Phillips is the public safety reporter at Pocono Record. Reach her at hphillips@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Ex-PA Attorney General convicted of perjury now charged with DUI