Attorney General spokesman Paul Murphy said the office had been "asked by the Salt Lake District Attorney to look at some aspects of the case." Kirk Torgensen, the chief deputy attorney general in charge of the criminal division, is handling the matter.

Murphy could not address specifics of the investigation since it is ongoing and Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Valerie Wilde declined to comment on any aspect of the Morgan case.

It is not unusual for a prosecutor to transfer a case to another jurisdiction or ask for a review if there is a potential for a conflict of interest.

Morgan said neither he nor his attorney has been contacted by the attorney general's office, and he is concerned that more information is leaking out about his case. He said he supports an impartial investigation, but questions if the attorney general's office can do such a review because of A.G. Mark Shurtleff's political support for District Attorney Lohra Miller.

"The attorney general, who introduced her at the [2006 Republican] convention, does not seem to be the right agency to conduct an impartial investigation," said Morgan, who ran against Miller for the district attorney's post and was beaten at convention.

Miller fired Morgan last month, alleging that he had shared "key confidential information" with Maese regarding the investigation into whether he operated a prostitution ring out of The Doll House escort service.

A letter by Miller cites phone records, which show scores calls over a span of nearly two years between Morgan and Maese, who volunteered on Morgan's campaign for district attorney.

Morgan adamantly denies that he shared anything with Maese or that he even had access to any confidential information. He has appealed his termination to the Career Services Council.

Maese was scheduled to stand trial this week on six felony counts of exploiting a prostitute, money laundering and racketeering. An additional witness tampering charge was added after he allegedly tried to intimidate his former business partner, who has pleaded guilty to the charges. His trial was postponed, however, when his lawyer withdrew from the case.