NORRISTOWN Consumed by a thirst for vengeance, state Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane released confidential grand jury information to smear a former prosecutor she blamed for embarrassing her, then tried to cover up her wrongdoing.

In a 42-page criminal complaint filed Thursday against Kane, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman detailed how Kane launched a "war" against the man she believed had hurt her reputation. When her actions came under investigation by a grand jury, she lied and used intimidation to try to derail the probe.Former Dunmore Police Chief Patrick Reese, a member of her security detail, aided in her cover-up by secretly searching emails to gather information about the grand jury that was investigating the leak, Ferman said."This is a sad day for the citizens of Pennsylvania," Ferman said at a Thursday press conference in the Montgomery County Courthouse announcing the charges against Kane and Reese. "When someone entrusted to uphold the law violates that oath … we are all victims."In 2012, Kane became Pennsylvania's first female elected attorney general. She grew up in Scranton and is a former Lackawanna County assistant district attorney.Now, she faces charges with perjury, obstructing the administration of law, official oppression, conspiracy and false swearing for releasing information from a 2009 grand jury probe to a Philadelphia newspaper in 2014. Reese, who is described as one of Kane's closest confidants, was charged with indirect criminal contempt. Both will be arraigned at a later date.Following the announcement, top Democratic officials, including Gov. Tom Wolf and Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, called for Kane's resignation.'I'm not guilty'In a prepared statement, Kane said she was disappointed by the charges and vowed to vigorously defend herself. She said she would not resign as that would be an admission of guilt "and I'm not guilty."Reese declined comment, saying he and his attorney have not seen the charging documents.Ferman said the charges are the culmination of an exhaustive investigation involving numerous veteran prosecutors."The action here today makes one thing crystal clear: no one is above the law, not even the chief law enforcement officer of Pennsylvania," Ferman said.She credited employees of the attorney general's office who provided information.'This is war'The criminal complaint against Kane largely mirrors a grand jury presentment issued in December that recommended charges against her. Ferman was tasked with reviewing the presentment to determine if charges should be filed. Her probe was stalled until March, after the state Supreme Court rejected a court challenge Kane filed.Ferman's investigation went beyond the grand jury's findings, uncovering additional information regarding the cover-up. In addition to lying to the grand jury, Kane is accused of attempting to derail their probe, ordering some employees not to cooperate.She also threatened Bruce Beemer when he was her chief deputy in charge of criminal prosecutions. Kane told him that he and other staff members better obey her directive to challenge a protective order meant to protect witnesses. Beemer now serves as first deputy attorney general.The charges stem from the investigation into the leak of a 2009 memorandum that included details of a grand jury investigation of J. Whyatt Mondesire, who headed the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP.In June 2014, a Philadelphia newspaper reported details of that probe based on that memorandum and other information. Prosecutors say the release of the information violated grand jury rules, as well as state laws that limit the release of criminal history information.Ferman contends Kane leaked the information because she wanted to embarrass Frank Fina, a former assistant attorney general who investigated the Mondesire case. She did so because she blamed Fina for leaking information to the Philadelphia Inquirer, which ran a story in March 2014 regarding Kane's decision not to file charges against several Philadelphia area legislators who were caught on tape taking bribes.Kane has admitted she authorized staff to release information regarding the Mondesire probe to the press, saying she believed it was a pattern of "selective prosecution" that should be made public. She denied directing the release of the 2009 memorandum or other information that would be considered confidential.The criminal complaint refutes her statements, citing evidence that indicates Kane knew exactly what was being released.Reese's chargesThe charges against Reese stem from queries he conducted of all inbound and outbound emails to the attorney general's office that are stored on a secure server.According to the complaint, Reese searched names and terms associated with the grand jury investigation into Kane, including the last names of Fina and Montgomery County Judge William Carpenter, who presided over the grand jury.That allowed Reese to view subpoenas of witnesses called to testify and learn the dates they were scheduled to appear. Those actions violated an order Carpenter issued that forbid employees of the attorney general's office from seeing information pertaining to the investigation.