Request made for investigation of Ashcroft

Congressmen John Conyers and Maurice Hinchey are requesting that the U.S. Inspector General's office investigate former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft because of an alleged conflict of interest. This conflict, say Conyers and Hinchey, occurred when Ashcroft failed to recuse himself during the initial investigation of the outing of Valerie Plame.

Ashcroft, you'll recall, was appointed upon the suggestion of Karl Rove, and Rove was paid $750,000 to handle Ashcroft's 2000 Senate campaign.