HARRISBURG — Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s office cited leaks concerning secret grand jury proceedings Thursday in its firing of a prosecutor who testified before a grand jury that ultimately recommended Kane be charged criminally for the same thing.

Kane issued a statement that linked James Barker’s dismissal to “supervisory accountability” amid a restructuring of the office’s criminal appeals and grand jury units he oversaw.

“Restructuring was necessary for efficiency and tighter controls amid media reports of cases allegedly before a sitting grand jury,” Kane’s office said. “While not known yet who is specifically responsible for those leaks, supervisory accountability falls to the head of the unit.”

The office did not refer to any particular leaks.

Barker said he was given no reason for his abrupt dismissal. But his firing could prompt an official inquiry into whether it was connected to his testimony because of a grand jury judge’s protective order he said was designed to shield witnesses from retaliation.

Kane’s office dismissed questions about whether Barker’s firing was related to his testimony before the grand jury, which was run by a court-appointed special prosecutor.

“The decisions on restructuring and personnel are about change to an office that desperately needed new leadership that is accountable and responsible to Pennsylvanians,” Kane’s office said. “There is not the slightest grain of truth to the notion that there is anything retaliatory about these restructuring and personnel changes.”

Barker said he had no disciplinary issues during his six years in charge of the office’s criminal appeals cases and grand juries.