Mukasey Recuses Himself in Madoff Probe

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey won’t participate in an investigation of Bernard Madoff, accused of defrauding investors of $50 billion in a huge Ponzi scheme.

Mukasey did not give a reason for his recusal, report FOX News and ABC News. But his son, Marc Mukasey, a lawyer with Bracewell & Giuliani in New York, represents a senior official at Madoff’s investment advisory firm, according to Bloomberg News and the Associated Press, and Bloomberg reported that a Justice Department official said that was the reason for Mukasey's recusal.

Officials refused to say whether Mukasey personally knew Madoff, ABC News says.

Updated at 4:55 p.m. to include Bloomberg's Justice Department response.