Three members of the House Judiciary Committee have recently written a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking him to begin a probe of alleged leaks from law enforcement officials to the news media on the federal corruption probe of state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata.

In a July 31 letter to Mukasey, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mi.) and California House members Linda Sanchez (D-Cerritos) and Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) complained about alleged leaks from the Perata investigation appearing recently in newspapers around California and in particular, the San Francisco Chronicle.

Their letter to Mukasey sums up this way:

"The timing of these leaks is particularly curious, given that Senator Perata is serving his final, and most critical, year in Senate and is one of the most prominent elected officials in state office. Senator Perata is playing a key role in negotiating a solution to one of the largest budget crises in California's history.

"We ask that the Department of Justice take this matter seriously and open an investigation. In so doing, we do not take a position on the underlying investigation of Senator Perata, but we strongly urge that you take steps to ensure that whatever actions the Department of Justice feels it should take based on the facts are untainted by illegal leaks or whispering campaigns. We look forward to your response."

For his part, Perata (D-Oakland), has consistently denied any wrongdoing over the course of the now years-long FBI investigation.