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Criminal Probe Of AG Kane May Expand To Include Staff Firing

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A criminal investigation of Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane may expand to include the firing of a staff prosecutor following his grand jury testimony.

A three-judge panel Monday has referred the matter to Montgomery County's district attorney to determine if Kane should be charged with retaliation and official oppression.

District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman is already reviewing grand jury findings that Kane unlawfully leaked secret material from a 2009 investigation.

The judges are leaving it up to Ferman to decide whether to investigate this month's firing of staff prosecutor James Barker.

The judges had initially weighed whether to try Kane for contempt of court for firing Barker, who had testified in the leak investigation.

Kane's lawyer says Barker's firing wasn't retaliatory, but part of a staff reorganization.

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