Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last week revealed that he had ordered an internal probe into the handling of the U.S. Attorney firing matter. But that order led to something of a turf war between the Justice Department’s two internal investigatory agencies.
Gonzales had initially requested that the Office of Professional Responsibility probe the matter. But when Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine learned of that request, his office objected, arguing it was the proper entity to handle the investigation. OPR disagreed, according to a letter Fine and OPR Director H. Marshall Jarrett sent to members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees last week. Charles Rosenberg, Gonzales’ new interim chief of staff, stepped in and ordered OPR and the Inspector General’s Office to conduct a joint investigation.
