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WASHINGTON — An internal Justice Department inquiry found that a former Arizona federal prosecutor improperly disclosed information to a reporter related to a botched Mexican gun-trafficking investigation in an attempt to “undermine” a Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives agent who went public with his criticisms of the gun case.

Dennis Burke, who resigned as the top federal prosecutor in Arizona in the midst of a 2011 inquiry into the trafficking investigation known as “Operation Fast and Furious,” acknowledged providing an internal ATF memorandum to a Fox News reporter in June 2011, a Justice Inspector General’s Office report found.

The document had been drafted by ATF agent John Dodson, whose criticisms helped expose how the agency allowed an estimated 2,000 firearms to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartel enforcers and other criminals.

“Although Burke denied to congressional investigators that he had any retaliatory motive for his actions, we found substantial evidence to the contrary,” the report concluded. “We found the timing of the disclosure coupled with Burke’s apparent frustration regarding Dodson’s testimony to Congress to be strong indicators of his state of mind and motivation.”

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WASHINGTON — New identities created for known terrorists or terror suspects in the government Witness Security Program were not passed on for inclusion on national terrorist watch lists, an internal Justice Department report has found.

The lapse, according to a report issued Thursday by Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, allowed an undisclosed number of witnesses — banned from air travel under their original identities — to fly on commercial flights.

The audit of the highly secretive witness protection program, which for more than four decades has offered cover for thousands of criminals and innocents who have agreed to cooperate with authorities in a range of prosecutions, did not disclose the number of flights involved.

Until the matter was brought to the attention of senior Justice officials last year, according to the report, “it was possible for known or suspected terrorists to fly on commercial airplanes in or over the United States and evade one of the government’s primary means of identifying and tracking terrorists’ movements and actions.”

Last July, according to the report, the U.S. Marshals Service stated that it was “unable to locate two former witness protection members, classified as known or suspected terrorists.”

It is now believed that both may be living outside the U.S.

Responding to the report, Justice officials said Thursday that the two former witnesses have since been located and that they had fulfilled their obligations to the U.S. government before leaving the program “several years ago.”

The two are not classified as fugitives, and they were not considered threats, though authorities declined to elaborate on their previous criminal associations.

“The (Justice) Department has identified, located and minimized the threat of all former known or suspected terrorists admitted to the WitSec program during its 40-year history,” Armando Bonilla, senior counsel to the deputy attorney general, said in a written response to the inspector general’s report.

“Through the coordinated investigative efforts of the (U.S. Marshals Service) and the FBI, the location of all identified former known or suspected terrorists has been resolved.”

In addition, Bonilla’s response said, new protocols were adopted last year that provide for the sharing of new witness profiles. New policy also was adopted last year that “prohibits without exception” witnesses — previously included on no-fly watch lists under their original names — from traveling on commercial flights.

Of the 18,000 witnesses and family members admitted to the program since 1971, fewer than 1% were classified as having terrorist ties.

The inspector general’s findings drew immediate criticism from some Republican lawmakers who said that some of the vulnerabilities identified in the report matched critiques issued after the 9/11 attacks, which highlighted the lack of cooperation among government law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

“This is especially problematic since the … report found that terrorists admitted to the program include persons who have been trained in aviation and explosives and individuals who have been involved in bombing attacks,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. “The report also found that crucial information pertaining to national security was not shared with the FBI.”

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was “disappointed” with the program’s management.

“These people may be in a witness protection program, but they were still known or suspected terrorists,” Grassley said. “It’s only logical that the federal government know where they are.”

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While hiding in a boat before his capture last month, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man later charged in the Boston Marathon bombings, allegedly scrawled a message on an inside wall of the vessel in which he claimed responsibility for the attacks, a law enforcement official said Thursday.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, said the message suggested the attacks were mounted in response to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Written while the suspect lay seriously wounded, the note appeared to resemble a deathbed declaration, possibly prepared should he not survive the intense manhunt, the official said.

In the note, the 19-year-old suspect allegedly referred to his brother, Tamerlan, as a martyr and wrote that he hoped for the same recognition for himself.

“There is an apparent allusion to his own death,” the official said.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed in an encounter with police three days after the bombings April 15 that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, bleeding from the neck and other wounds, was captured April 19 by authorities while hiding in the boat parked in the driveway of a Watertown, Mass., home near Boston.

The owner alerted police to the location after finding blood on the outside of the boat.

The contents of the note track with information Tsarnaev allegedly provided to investigators in interviews shortly after his capture.

Tsarnaev is being held at a prison medical center outside Boston where he is recovering from injuries he suffered before his capture. He has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and if convicted could face the death penalty.

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WASHINGTON — In the first congressional review of the Boston Marathon bombings, the chairman of a House panel said Thursday he feared the attack succeeded because the elaborate counterterrorism system put in place after the Sept. 11 assaults failed.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, questioned the handling of information about one of the suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, whose identity was brought to the attention of the FBI and CIA more than two years ago.

“He was on our radar screen, and then he was off,” said McCaul, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee.

The Russian government, concerned about Tsarnaev’s activities, first alerted the FBI to the suspect in March 2011. The bureau found nothing to support a further investigation. A similar request went to the CIA later that year. His name was added to government watch lists, but because the FBI review found nothing derogatory in his background, authorities were not alerted to monitor him after Tsarnaev returned from a trip to Russia last summer.

Tsarnaev was killed in a confrontation with police in the days after the bombings. His brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was captured and has been charged in the attacks.

Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the panel’s ranking Democrat, said more work needed to be done to ensure national watch lists are properly managed.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, among four witnesses to testify Thursday, told the panel reviewing law enforcement’s response to the marathon bombings that although “everything we did has to be reviewed,” authorities will not be able to thwart every plot.

“The truth of the matter is, nobody bats a thousand, and we have to come to terms with it,” Davis said.

Davis said FBI and Department of Homeland Security officials did not share information about Tsarnaev that was received more than two years before the attacks.

Davis said he would have “absolutely” wanted the information about the Russian government’s suspicions related to Tsarnaev. He told the panel he was not aware Russian authorities had alerted the FBI and CIA to Tsarnaev in 2011 until the suspect was killed in a confrontation with police.

“We were not informed of that particular development,” Davis said, responding to questions from McCaul.

Davis said he could not say whether the information would have prompted a different action.

“I can’t say I would have come to a different conclusion,” Davis said.

The commissioner urged an aggressive outreach to communities to enlist citizens’ help in alerting authorities to people who might seek to do the country harm.

“We certainly need to enlist the community better,” Davis said. “We need to explain to the community and to the nation that they have a responsibility. … It’s the community being involved in the conversation that really needs to happen.”

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Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told investigators in the days after the attack that his brother’s widow, Katherine Russell, was not involved in the plot, a federal law enforcement official said Wednesday.

Russell, married to Tamerlan Tsarnaev who was killed in a confrontation with police three days after the bombings, has drawn the scrutiny of federal investigators, who have sought to question her more closely about contacts with her husband — including a telephone conversation between the two just hours after photographs of the Tsarnaev brothers were circulated as suspects by the FBI on April 18.

The official, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said investigators are still seeking more information from Russell. In a written statement Wednesday, Russell’s attorney, Amato DeLuca, said his client plans to “continue to meet with investigators, part of a series of meetings over many hours where she has answered questions.”

DeLuca also said he was adding another lawyer to Russell’s defense team, criminal defense attorney Joshua Dratel, to assist in the inquiry.

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The suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing had originally planned to strike on July 4, but chose the race because it coincided with the time they had finished assembling the explosives, a law enforcement official said Thursday.

According to hospital interviews with surviving suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev shortly after he was captured, the suspects apparently finished constructing the explosives well before they had originally planned and chose to act sooner rather than wait, said the official who is not authorized to comment publicly.

It was not immediately clear, however, whether the suspects had identified a specific July 4 target that corresponded with a later completion time, the official said. But the suspects allegedly settled on the marathon after noticing preparations for the race shortly before the event.

Boston hosts one of the premiere July 4 celebrations in the U.S., featuring the Boston Pops and a spectacular fireworks display on the banks of the Charles River.

Tsarnaev has been charged with detonating one of the pressure-cooker devices, while brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a confrontation with police in the days after the attacks.

Meanwhile, investigators in the Boston bombing case want to find out what Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his wife discussed when he phoned her a few hours after the FBI released photos of him and his brother as suspects in the deadly attack, a separate law enforcement official said Thursday.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died not long after the conversation during a shootout with police that left his 19-year-old brother, Dzhokhar, seriously injured.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured a few hours later while hiding in a boat in a backyard in Watertown, Mass. He is currently being held at a prison medical center.

That same evening, police say, three classmates of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth allegedly concluded that he was one of the suspects, went to his dorm room and removed his backpack and laptop. A federal complaint charges that they took the items to try to keep Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from getting into trouble over the bombings.

The content of the phone conversation between Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his wife, Katherine Russell, has not been disclosed, but authorities want to discuss it with her, the law enforcement official said.

The official said investigators are seeking Russell’s cooperation in learning more about Tsarnaev’s activities and communications leading up to the attacks.

Russell, a physician’s daughter, met Tamerlan at Suffolk University, according to her lawyer. She converted to Islam and married him in 2010.

Russell’s attorney, Amato DeLuca, said in a written statement Wednesday that his client “will continue to meet with law enforcement, as she has done for many hours over the past week, and provide as much assistance to the investigation as she can.”

Earlier this week, federal investigators took a DNA sample from Russell as part of the inquiry that also involves analysis of remains of a pressure-cooker device detonated at the Boston Marathon finish line.

Authorities believe the pieces contain DNA and fingerprints that could assist in tracking the origin of the components or possible accomplices.

On Monday, FBI agents also visited the North Kingstown, R.I., home of Russell’s parents, where she has been staying, and carried away several bags, according to FBI spokesman Jason Pack. Russell did not speak to reporters as she left her attorneys’ office in Providence later in the day.

Attorneys have previously said Russell and her family were in shock when they learned of the allegations against her husband and brother-in-law.

In his written statement, DeLuca also noted that his client had been informed that the Massachusetts Medical Examiner’s Office was prepared to release Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s remains, but that she wanted them to be released to the Tsarnaev family.

“Katherine and her family continue to be deeply saddened by the harm that has been caused,” DeLuca said in the statement. “They mourn for the loss of life and the terrible consequences these events have had for those who have been injured and for their families.”

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The deadly Boston Marathon attacks were launched without a rehearsal before the coordinated bombs were detonated seconds apart, the surviving suspect has told federal investigators.

A federal law enforcement official, who has been briefed on the matter, said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told a special interrogation team that he and his brother did not attempt a test fire of the powerful pressure-cooker devices before planting them near the crowded finish line of the race. The twin bombs killed three and wounded 264. Several remain hospitalized.

Tsarnaev, 19, remains hospitalized in Boston under heavy guard after his arrest Friday evening in Watertown. Tamerlan, 26, died following a police shootout early Friday morning.

Meanwhile, a review of Russia’s contacts with the U.S. authorities, shows that six months after the Russians asked the FBI to review the activities of Tsarnaev’s brother, Tamerlan, Russian authorities made an identical request to the CIA.

The official, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the CIA was aware of the FBI’s prior review— which turned up nothing improper — and referred the Russian request back to the FBI.

The CIA is prohibited from conducting intelligence operations on U.S. soil.

The FBI, which had closed its review on Tsarnaev in June 2011 after sharing its results with Russian officials, again contacted their Russian counterparts, asking if they had developed additional information on him.

But the federal official said Russian authorities never responded.

“It wasn’t like the request they made to the FBI contained new information,” the official said. “It was exactly the same document.”

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Hours after the capture of the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, law enforcement authorities Saturday were questioning associates of Russian refugees Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev and combing through their personal communications as part of an inquiry that is stretching from New England to Russia.

Key to that investigation is Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 19-year-old suspect who was captured late Friday night hiding in the back of boat that was parked in the driveway of a Watertown, Mass., residence. His apprehension ended one of the most intense manhunts in recent law enforcement history.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed during a confrontation with police early Friday, prompting the search for his younger brother, who was listed in serious condition Saturday at a Boston hospital where authorities expect to question him when hiscondition stabilizes.

“The best part of this is that the kid is alive,” a federal law enforcement official said, adding that investigators hope the surviving suspect will provide information about a motive, how the bombing materials were acquired, how the purchases were funded and whether others were involved in the operation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because because officials were not authorized to speak publicly.

Authorities also are eager to learn whether other now-unknown threats remain, including additional devices and accomplices. As part of that effort, investigators are likely to invoke the so-called public safety exception that allows officials to interrogate suspects who may have knowledge of existing threats before suspects are informed of their rights to legal counsel.

A special group of interrogators, part of what is known as the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, is expected to conduct the questioning. The group is a mix of investigators, drawn from the FBI, CIA, State Department and other agencies, created in 2009 to quickly question terror suspects to thwart any additional threats.

Separately, investigators have been reviewing a number of detonated and un-exploded devices, the official said. All of the explosives recovered so far, about a handful, appear to be homemade devices that were assembled with commonly available components, much in the style of the pressure-cooker bombs that were detonated at the marathon site.

The suspects also had a cache of firearms, a mix of handguns and long guns. It was not immediately clear how the weapons were acquired, the official said.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was believed to be unarmed and holding no explosives when he was arrested Friday night.

Another aspect of the investigation involves examining Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s extended travel to Russia last year.

Another law enforcement official said FBI agents conducted a review of Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s activities and possible links to radical Islam and Chechen extremists for about two months prior to the suspect’s six-month trip to Russia in 2012.

The official, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the Russian government requested the FBI’s assistance as part of the foreign police cooperation program.

Under the program, the FBI provides investigative assistance to other governments when they have concerns about the activities of U.S. citizens related to travel, communications or associations in those countries. The FBI, the official said, responds to “thousands” of such requests each year. And other governments provide the same service to the FBI.

The program represents the “underpinnings of international law enforcement communications,” the official said.

In the Tsarnaev case, the official said agents, on behalf of the Russian government, checked U.S. databases, communications records, contacts with Internet websites and other activities.

Tsarnaev and his parents also submitted to voluntary interviews, which the official described as “very cooperative.”

“Nothing emerged that concerned us,” the official said. “There just wasn’t anything there. We ask that the government get back with us if they develop new information, but they did not. The Russians seemed satisfied, so we closed it.

“We didn’t find anything at all that came back interesting. There was no evidence of any mischief,” the official said.

The interviews with Tsarnaev, prior to his Jan. 12, 2012, departure, indicated that he was “contemplating” a trip. Nothing in the discussion indicated a suspicious motive, the official said.

Tasarnaev returned on July 7, 2012, according to travel records, but Russian authorities never asked for additional assistance, nor did they share information about his travels there.

The official said investigators are pursuing more information about the Russian government’s initial interest in Tsarnaev’s travels.

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WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that the Justice Department’s investigation into the Internal Revenue Service’s practice of singling out conservative groups for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status would be national in scope.

He also pledged to launch an “after-action analysis” of the department’s decision to secretly seize phone records from the Associated Press.

Holder made the statements at a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee during which he is facing questions on a variety of controversies shadowing the Obama administration.

The hearing is ongoing; keep up with our live blog:

2:54 p.m.

The hearing became contentious during an exchange in which Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., accused the Justice Department of withholding information related to separate congressional hearing involving Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, the Obama administration’s current nominee to head the Department of Labor.

Holder called Issa’s characterizations “unacceptable and shameful.”

2:40 p.m.

“The facts will take us wherever they take us,” Holder said of the IRS criminal inquiry.

2:35 p.m.

Holder pledged that he would launch an “after-action analysis” of the Justice Department’s decision to seize communication records from the AP. But he said that action would be taken only when the inquiry is completed.

“It seems to me that the damage to a free press has been substantial,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., referring to the department’s action.

Responding to questions from Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., Holder said there was no notification to President Obama of the department’s decision to seek the AP’s records.

2:26 p.m.

Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, whose congressional district includes Cincinnati where the IRS’ questionable activities are believed to have initiated, asked whether the agency’s actions were confined only to that office.

“I simply don’t know,” Holder said. “We’ve only begun our investigation.”

2:11 p.m.

Holder said the IRS investigation would be national in scope, responding to questions by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who called the IRS’ activities a “threat to our democracy.”

“There are potential civil rights law (violations), false statement violations,” Holder said, outlining the likely avenues of investigative review.

2:03 p.m.

In the FBI’s investigation into the Benghazi attacks, Holder said federal authorities have “taken steps that are definitive and concrete.”

“We are prepared to reveal shortly what we have done,” Holder said without elaborating.

1:50 p.m.

Holder said he was recused because he had access to the underlying information that is the subject of the leak investigation.

“I am a fact witness,” Holder said, adding that other members of the Justice Department’s National Security Division also have been recused from the inquiry.

“I was a possessor of the information.”

Holder said Deputy Attorney General Jim Cole authorized the subpoena for the AP records, but the attorney general said he did not know why there were no negotiations to obtain the information before the decision was made to seize them secretly by subpoena.

1:40 p.m.

Noting that he had recused himself from the AP leak inquiry, Holder said that he was “not familiar” with the way the Justice Department’s subpoena was constructed for telephone records involving 20 reporters and editors over a two-month period.

1:27 p.m.

In opening statements, Republican and Democrat panel leaders expressed deep concerns about recent disclosures that the IRS was targeting conservative groups for increased scrutiny and the department’s seizure of communications from the AP in the government’s ongoing inquiry into how information about a foiled terror plot against the U.S. was leaked to the news organization.

“I am deeply troubled by the notion that our government would secretly pursue such a broad array of media phone records over such a long period of time,” said Rep. John Conyers, the Judiciary Committee’s ranking Democrat.

1:14 p.m.

As Holder walked into the packed hearing room, he passed by a protester from the group known as Code Pink who called on the attorney general to appoint a “special envoy” to address the operations of the Guantanamo Bay prison, where a number of inmates held as prisoners in terror investigations are engaged in a hunger strike.

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