MONTGOMERY — Former employees of Alabama Attorney General Troy King have been called to testify before a federal grand jury, two newspapers report.

The Montgomery Independent newspaper reported Tuesday that seven witnesses were called last week to testify before the grand jury in Montgomery. The Independent cited sign-in logs at the courthouse and observation of people entering and leaving the grand jury room, and identified the witnesses as former employees of the attorney general’s office.

An aide to King, Chris Bence, said Tuesday that King has not been notified about the investigation.

“Evidently the Montgomery rumor mill and the news media knew about it and we didn’t. That’s not the way it’s supposed to work,” Bence said. “We have not had any communication with anybody who might be involved in this investigation.”

The Birmingham News reported that U.S. Attorney Alice Martin of Birmingham attended all three grand jury sessions in Montgomery last week, along with members of her staff, indicating the U.S. attorney’s office in Montgomery is not overseeing it.

Martin declined to comment when contacted Tuesday by The Associated Press.