Given the task definition and input, reply with output. In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.

Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that he’d recused himself from the national security leak investigation in which prosecutors obtained the phone records of Associated Press journalists – but that he’s already started a fresh inquiry into the IRS scrutiny of conservative political groups. 
  
 The comments were the first from Holder or the Justice Department on the twin Obama administration scandals that have burst through in recent days. And they come as the Justice Department, and Holder himself, find themselves under increasing pressure. 
  
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 reset Reid on IRS: 'Not the first time' AP editor: Reports distressing 
  
 That pressure is likely to grow Wednesday, when the attorney general arrives on Capitol Hill for previously scheduled hearings that have now been reoriented to address the recent inquiries. Holder got a preview of his likely Hill reception Tuesday, as both Republican and Democratic senators, including Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) were critical of the administration’s actions on both fronts. 
  
 (PHOTOS: Eric Holder’s career) 
  
 Holder called the original AP story that sparked the probe “a very, very serious leak,” but revealed Tuesday that he had recused himself from the investigation because he had been interviewed by the FBI as part of initial inquiry. 
  
 Explaining his recusal from the leak case, Holder said he took the step “out of an abundance of caution.” 
  
 “I was one of the people who had knowledge of this matter. I have frequent contact with the media,” Holder said. He said he stepped aside “to try to make sure this was independent and to avoid even the possibility of the appearance of a conflict.” 
  
 “I would have been the person leading the investigation,” Holder added. “It just seemed better to me to step out.” 
  
 (WATCH: Eric Holder's full press conference) 
  
 The decision to subpoena AP phone records was made by Deputy Attorney General James Cole, said a Justice Department official who asked not to be named. 
  
 The leak probe was launched following an AP story last May about a counter-terrorism investigation in Yemen that involved efforts to bomb an aircraft headed for the United States. 
  
 Holder said Tuesday that leak warranted an aggressive response from the federal government. 
  
 “I have to say this is among, if not the most serious, among the top two or three most serious leaks I have ever seen. It put the American people at risk. That is not hyperbole. It put the American people at risk. And trying to determine who was responsible for that I think required very aggressive action,” he said. 
  
 The attorney general said he was not aware of “all that went into the formulation of the subpoena,” but expressed confidence in the Justice Department officials who made the decisions. He also said the Obama administration remains supportive of a shield law to protect journalists. 
  
 Holder also disclosed that he’d launched the IRS investigation Friday, calling the agency’s actions targeting Tea Party-related groups “outrageous and unacceptable.” He said the FBI was coordinating with the Justice Department to see if any laws were broken. “Those (IRS actions) were, I think, as everyone can agree, if not criminal, outrageous and unacceptable and we are examining the facts to see if they are criminal violations,” he said. 
  
 In a letter to the Associated Press Monday, Cole defended the decision to seek the AP’s phone records. ||||| Attorney General Eric Holder says he's ordered a Justice Department investigation into the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny. 
  
 He said the FBI was coordinating with the Department of Justice to see if any laws were broken. 
  
 At a news conference Tuesday at the Justice Department, Holder called the practice, in his words, "Outrageous and unacceptable." 
  
 Holder's comments come a day after President Barack Obama said that, if the agency intentionally targeted such groups, "that's outrageous and there's no place for it." 
  
 Steven Miller, the IRS acting chief, has acknowledged "a lack of sensitivity" in the agency's screenings of political groups seeking tax-exempt status and insisted those mistakes won't be repeated. |||||

Eric Holder today said he has launched a criminal investigation into the IRS scandal, and he also disavowed involvement in the AP snooping scandal. On the latter, the attorney general said he'd recused himself from the related leak investigation. In a press conference at the Justice Department today, Holder explained that because he'd been interviewed by the FBI in connection with the case, he'd bowed out early in the process to "avoid the appearance of a potential conflict of interest." That means the decision to subpoena the AP would have been made by Deputy Attorney General James Cole, a Justice Department official tells Politico. Holder also said that the FBI and Justice Department would be collaborating on a probe into the IRS mess. Holder called the agency's admission that it had put more scrutiny on Tea Party groups "outrageous and unacceptable," and he promised to determine whether any laws were broken, the AP reports.