Holder appoints two U.S. attorneys to lead leak investigations

— -- Attorney General Eric Holder has appointed two U.S. attorneys to lead investigations into the possible unauthorized disclosure of classified information.

A statement from the Justice Department says the prosecutors assigned to direct criminal probes already being conducted by the FBI are Ronald C. Machen Jr., the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.

"U.S. Attorneys Machen and Rosenstein are fully authorized to prosecute criminal violations discovered as a result of their investigations and matters related to those violations," Holder said in the statement.

The announcement comes after an outcry from both parties in Congress in response to news reports that detail sensitive national security operations. Both the Senate and House Intelligence Committees have said they'll look into the disclosures. It's not clear which leaks the criminal investigations are focusing on.

Yahoo News White House correspondent Olivier Knox contributed reporting.