from an investigation into who leaked the name of a CIA operative, Justice Department sources said Tuesday.
The investigation will be headed by the U.S. attorney in Chicago, Patrick Fitzgerald, who will report to Ashcroft's new deputy, James Comey, the officials said.
It was not immediately clear why Ashcroft made the decision.
Investigators want to know who leaked the name of Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA officer, to syndicated columnist Robert Novak in July. Plame is married to former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, who has said he believes his wife's identity was disclosed to discredit his assertions that the Bush administration exaggerated Iraq's nuclear capabilities to build the case for war.
The leaker could be charged with a felony if identified.
The FBI has interviewed more than three dozen Bush administration officials, including political adviser Karl Rove and press secretary Scott McClellan.
The interviews have extended beyond the White House to other government agencies. The Defense and State departments and the CIA itself also are part of the probe.
The focus, however, remains on the White House, two law enforcement officials said on condition of anonymity. While the initial, informal interviews have yielded no major breaks, the FBI is satisfied that the dozen agents assigned to the probe are making progress and have not encountered any stalling tactics, the officials said Thursday.
So far, no grand jury subpoenas have been issued, they said.
Boxloads of documents have been forwarded to the FBI team, including White House phone logs and e-mails. More documents are being produced, as the contents of individual items sometimes lead agents to request additional materials, one official said.
Wilson said he had no idea why Ashcroft chose to recuse himself now. He speculated that Ashcroft, who has long ties to members of the president's staff, simply wanted to make sure that any findings at the end of the investigation are not tainted by even the suspicion of conflict of interest.
"I would have no idea whether a report has emerged that led him to recuse himself," Wilson said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "I have always said, as some senators have argued, that the administration needed to take a good hard look at this."
He declined to express satisfaction over Ashcroft's recusal.
"It's not a question of whether I'm happy about it," he said. "The crime that was committed was not committed against me or my wife, but against my country. It's the country that's the victim in this."Of course, it can certainly be deduced that this action is preparatory to an eventual white-wash that would not be sullied by having Ashcroft's name on it.
