WASHINGTON - July 20 - Today, CREW received a letter from William M. Welch II, Chief of the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice, stating that it would up to the FBI, not DOJ, to decide whether or not to investigate Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) for criminal violations of campaign finance law. In response to Mr. Welch's letter, CREW forwarded its original complaint against Sen. Ensign to Joseph Persichini, the Assistant Director in Charge for the FBI's Washington Field Office.

Melanie Sloan, CREW's executive director, said, "We can't help but wonder, did Public Integrity refuse to investigate out of fear of political fallout given how the section bungled the prosecution of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens?"

Read the DOJ's letter to CREW and our forwarded complaint to the FBI in the Related Documents section on the right.