Washington (CNN) Attorney General Bill Barr has recused himself from the ongoing Justice Department probe into Boeing that's connected to the two recent crashes of its 737 Max planes, a Justice Department official said.

The recusal, which was first reported by Bloomberg , follows reports that Boeing enlisted the law firm Kirkland & Ellis as part of its defense team in the federal investigation.

Earlier this week a Justice Department official also said that Barr would not participate in any retrospective review of the 2008 plea deal offered to accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2008 by Florida federal prosecutors because of the attorney general's association with the law firm.

Barr was of counsel in Kirkland's litigation department before his nomination late last year.

Federal investigators are scrutinizing Boeing's Federal Aviation Administration certification and marketing of 737 Max planes, sources briefed on the matter have told CNN.

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