Fired State Prosecutor Says No Reason Given for Dismissal

A top criminal prosecutor in Attorney General Kathleen Kane's office says he was given no reason for his dismissal, and that he'd never heard of any restructuring in his division.

James Barker said Wednesday that he's had no disciplinary issue during his six years in charge of the office's criminal appeals cases and grand juries. A Kane spokesman says Barker was fired Tuesday in a restructuring.

Former employees of the office have confirmed that they cooperated with a special prosecutor who investigated allegations that Kane leaked secret investigative material to a newspaper last year.

Barker won't say whether he testified before the grand jury, which recommended that Kane face criminal charges. The grand jury judge, William Carpenter of Montgomery County, says he hasn't had time to look into Barker's firing.