State prosecutor says he was given no reason for his firing

A criminal prosecutor who testified before a grand jury investigating allegations that Attorney General Kathleen Kane leaked secret information says he was given no reason for his abrupt dismissal from her office.

James Barker said Thursday that he’s had no disciplinary issues during his six years in charge of the office’s criminal appeals cases and grand juries. A Kane spokeswoman says Barker was fired Wednesday in a restructuring, but Barker says he’ never heard of any restructuring.

Barker wouldn’t say exactly what he told the grand jury, which recommended in January that Kane face criminal charges stemming from allegations that her office gave secret investigative material to a newspaper last year.

The grand jury judge, William Carpenter of Montgomery County, says he hasn’t had time to look into Barker’s firing.