From Peter Stone at National Journal (sub. req'd):

The Justice Department has asked the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland to handle one aspect of the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling probe -- ex-Abramoff colleague Kevin Ring's lobbying of Justice officials.

According to lawyers familiar with the case, U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein has recently sought documents and information relating to Ring's lobbying of members of former Attorney General John Ashcroft's staff. They include David Ayres, Ashcroft's former chief of staff, and Robert Coughlin II, who worked on Justice's legislative affairs team and later became deputy chief of staff in the Criminal Division (which oversees the Abramoff investigation). Coughlin, who recused himself from the probe of his friend Ring, resigned abruptly from Justice in early April, citing personal reasons. Later that month, Ring announced that he was leaving his law firm of Barnes & Thornburg.