Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post and Warren Strobel of McClatchy unearth a gem I missed from Wednesday's Cookie Krongard hearing. Apparently, the Justice Department has a criminal probe open into the construction of the Baghdad embassy. That would explain Rep. Henry Waxman's (D-CA) focus on Krongard's alleged non-cooperation with Justice on the embassy contracting issue. Kessler:

The probe came to light Wednesday during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing into the actions of State Department Inspector General Howard J. Krongard. Though lawmakers appeared careful not to mention names of people under investigation, Krongard mentioned two people during his testimony, both of whom are key figures in the building of the embassy, as he defended his practice of meeting with people under investigation.

"I would like to tell you exactly what I was doing, both with Mr. Golden and Ms. French," Krongard told lawmakers.

James L. Golden is a Washington-based contract employee of the State Department who oversees the project, though earlier this year the U.S. ambassador to Iraq barred him from returning to that country after he was suspected of altering evidence after a mortar attack. Mary French is the embassy project coordinator based in Baghdad.

Justice isn't commenting. But perhaps this probe is why the FBI paid Krongard a recent visit?