Attorney General Isaías Rodríguez Wednesday announced his decision to open a "criminal investigation into an editorial of El Universal daily dated July 25, 2005 in which the Venezuelan newspaper offends and exposes the Public Prosecutor Office and the Judicial Power to public disdain."

Rodríguez explained that according to the editorial, the Public Prosecutor Office and the Judicial Power "are knelt down allegedly before the Executive Power, to take political and not judicial decisions."

"We are neither knelt before the Executive Power nor will we kneel down before the media power," he said

The Attorney General claimed that 36th judge Mercedes Prieto will conduct the probe into the editorial. In his opinion, the case will be clarified in compliance with truth and the rule of law.

In this regard, he said that the probe will determine whether the Venezuelan newspaper actually incurred in a criminal offense, and that they will define the kind of offense accordingly.