The combination of Ashcroft's close relationship with Rove, the omission of critical information from the FBI by Rove during his initial interview with agents, that Ashcroft had been briefed about that interview in particular, and the-then recent appointment of Comey, all allowed for a forceful case being made by career Justice Department employees be made that the attorney general should step aside and a special prosecutor be named. But says one government official familiar with the process: "When Ashcroft was briefed on Rove, that ended the argument. He was going to be removed. And there was going to be a special prosecutor named."

• John Conyers issued a statement Friday calling for an investigation by the Justice Department into the Ashcroft-Rove ties with respect to the Plame leak investigation.

"The new information, that Ashcroft had not only refused to recuse himself over a period of months, but also was insisting on being personally briefed about a matter implicating his friend, Karl Rove, represents a stunning ethical breach that cries out for an immediate investigation by the Department's Office of Professional Responsibility and Inspector General."

As to why this information matters now, Waas reports:

First, they show that from the very earliest days of the criminal probe, federal investigators had a strong belief and body of evidence that Rove and perhaps other officials might be misleading them.

Second, the new information underscores that career Justice Department staffers had concerns that the continued role of Ashcroft and other political aides might tarnish the investigation.

Finally, the new information once again highlights the importance of the testimony of journalists in uncovering whether anyone might have broken the law by disclosing classified information regarding Plame. That is because both Rove and I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney—who are at the center of the Plame investigation—have said that they did not learn of Plame's employment with the CIA from classified government information, but rather journalists; without the testimony of journalists, prosecutors have been unable to get to the bottom of the matter.

TalkLeft has previously reported on the Justice Department's refusal to explain the reasons for Ashcroft's recusal and on Ashcroft's close ties to Rove. What Murray Waas adds today is that it was Ashcroft's close ties to Rove, Ashcroft's receiving briefings on the investigation, and the federal investigators' belief that Rove lied to them in October, 2003 that led to the actual recusal and appointment of Fitzgerald as special prosecutor - and to Rep. Conyer's call for an investigation.

Where will it go from here? One possibility is that there will be a new Justice Department investigation into Ashcroft's conduct by the Office of Professional Responsibility or the Inspector General. One unresolved issue: Did Ashcroft tell Rove or anyone else about the investigators' belief that Rove lied?

Update: Eriposte at Left Coaster was also tipped to the new Waas article.