The Latest: Philly DA reviews employees' role in porn emails


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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The latest on grand jury documents being unsealed related to the investigation against Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane (all times local):

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6:15 p.m.

The Philadelphia district attorney's office says it is reviewing newly unsealed court documents showing current employees sent or received pornographic emails while working for the state prosecutor's office.

The release of the court filings was sought by Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane as part of her strategy to fight charges for allegedly leaking grand jury material and lying about it.

Kane says she didn't do anything illegal.

She's accusing two former state prosecutors of manufacturing the investigation into her to protect themselves after she discovered they had sent or received sexually explicit emails at work.

The two men, Frank Fina and Marc Costanzo, now work for Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams.

They're declining comment. Williams says his office has "clear human relations policies" and he's reviewing the email chains.

Another prosecutor on Williams' staff, Patrick Blessington, was identified last year as having received pornographic emails while working as a state prosecutor.

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12:10 p.m.

Lawyers for Pennsylvania's attorney general say two former staffers "corruptly manufactured" a grand jury investigation that led to charges against her to protect themselves after she found they had been sending or receiving pornographic emails.

Kathleen Kane's lawyers wrote in a court filing in November 2014 trying to stop the investigation that Frank Fina and Marc Costanzo "triggered" it and then misled a judge about the emails to prevent Kane from releasing them.

Kane faces charges including obstruction and conspiracy for allegedly leaking grand jury material and lying about it. She has vigorously denied the accusations.

The special prosecutor said in a response that it was part of an effort by Kane to avoid testifying.

Information unsealed Wednesday include scores of emailed images of nude or scantily clad women, some involving sexual acts, sent by former attorney general's office employees.

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11:15 a.m.

Pennsylvania court officials are releasing about a thousand pages of records from an investigation that recently produced criminal charges against the state's attorney general.

The documents made public Wednesday include scores of emailed images of nude or scantily clad women, some involving sexual acts, sent by former employees of the attorney general's office.

Attorney General Kathleen Kane has sought to make the emails public.

Other records detail a battle over a protective order issued last year by a grand jury judge. The filings were unsealed at the judge's request.

Kane faces charges that include obstruction and conspiracy for allegedly leaking grand jury material and then lying about it.

She has vigorously denied the accusations. A district judge this week ruled there was sufficient evidence to send the case to court for trial.

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