After Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane resigned following her conviction on perjury and obstruction charges, the Rev. Franklin Graham lamented that "our political system is corrupt, and our nation is in trouble."
According to CNN, Kane, a Democrat who was elected in 2012, announced her resignation on Tuesday, effective at the close of business on Wednesday.
"I have been honored to serve the people of Pennsylvania and I wish them health and safety in all their days," she said.
Criminal charges were filed against Kane last August, with investigators alleging she leaked confidential grand jury documents to hurt the reputations of her predecessors. Detectives also accused Kane of lying under oath, according to NBC News, and she faces possible jail time when she's sentenced next month.
However, Kane had previously ignored calls to step down, saying resigning would be an admission of guilt "and I'm not guilty." She had also denied leaking confidential information about grand jury deliberations to the media, according to The New York Times.
In a Facebook post shared on Thursday, Graham, the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse, said the incident is just one more example of how corrupt the U.S. political system has become - and how desperately the country needs divine intervention.
"There seems to be more corruption in the news every day," he wrote. "Our leaders in both parties are flawed, our political system is corrupt, and our nation is in trouble."
To drive his point home, the 64-year-old evangelist quoted 2nd Peter 2:19, which reads "They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved".
Graham continued :We need to pray for the future of America. Join me in praying for leaders with integrity who fear God and look to Him for wisdom."
CNN reports that Kane's New York-based defense attorney, Gerald Shargel, called the verdict "a crushing blow" outside the courthouse Monday evening, and vowed to "continue this litigation we will continue this fight because we believe that our client has been wrongfully accused of misconduct."
On Monday evening, Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason said it was "a terrible day for the Commonwealth."
"It is time to bring honor and respect back to the Office of the Attorney General," Gleason said.
Graham has previously warned that the country is going on a downward spiral because of deceit and corruption in government. Last month, he expressed disappointment that the corruption is "almost synonymous" with politics nowadays, and said that the justice system tends to prosecute all the wrong people. Oftentimes, the guilty get a free ride because of their connections in the government, while the innocent are forced to endure harsh circumstances.
However, while these people manage to get away with their misdeeds now, Graham says they will eventually face God's justice. "God warns us in His Word, 'Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.' (Isaiah 1:4). Turning our back on God as a nation won't always go unpunished," he said.
