Justice official under scrutiny, resigns

WASHINGTON, April 27 (UPI) -- A U.S. Justice Department official has resigned after coming under scrutiny in a federal investigation into lobbyist Jack Abramoff, it was reported Friday.

Citing a Justice Department official with knowledge of the case, McClatchy Newspapers said Robert E. Coughlin II resigned April 6 as deputy chief of staff for the Justice Department's criminal division -- which is overseeing the investigation of Abramoff.

Abramoff in November began serving a 6-year federal prison term for fraud, and has reportedly been cooperating with investigators looking into corruption involving public officials.

Coughlin resigned as investigators in his own division stepped up their scrutiny of lobbyist Kevin Ring -- a longtime friend of Coughlin and a key associate of Abramoff, McClatchy said. It was unclear whether Coughlin is a target of the investigation.

Coughlin told McClatchy he resigned voluntarily because he was relocating to Texas.

"I was not asked to resign," he said. "It's important to me that it's made clear that I left voluntarily."

He referred questions to a friend, Michael Horowitz, a criminal defense attorney and former Justice Department official and public corruption prosecutor. Horowitz did not respond to questions, McClatchy said.