Though House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes has pledged to hold an investigation into the various partisan leaks targeting members of Trump’s administration, House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz is likely to draw first blood

House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz requested Wednesday that the Department of Justice launch an investigation into the leaks surrounding the ouster of Michael Flynn. In a letter addressed to inspector general Michael Horowitz released Wednesday, Chaffetz expressed concern over “potentially classified national security information” circulated in recent news reports leading up to the resignation of the former national security adviser. “We have serious concerns about the potential inadequate protection of classified information here,” he said. “In light of this, we request that your office begin an immediate investigation into whether classified information was mishandled here.”

Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte co-signed the letter.

As I noted yesterday, this kind of leaking to settle political scores and to target a specific individual for career destruction is ultimately going to backfire on the people who did it. No one in the political branch is going to give aid or comfort to these leakers because they know, ‘there but for the grace of God go I.’ Moreover, once the bureaucracy gets a taste of blood it is going to be unable to restrain itself to one particular target. It is going to be open season on anyone who opposes their preferred policies and procedures.

The choice of the Justice IG rather than the Intelligence Community IG is telling. It signals that the source of the leak is somewhere within Justice and, my guess, within the FBI operation charged with monitoring FISA taps of foreign diplomats. With Jeff Sessions at Justice the likelihood of this investigation being forgotten are slim.