Justice Department subpoenas The Gap in debate tape probe

From CNN Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas and CNN Producer Jack Date

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Justice Department investigators have subpoenaed clothing retailer The Gap in connection with their probe into how debate preparation materials from Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush wound up in the hands of a supporter of his Democratic rival, Vice President Al Gore.

Sources familiar with the investigation say Yvette Lozano, an employee of Maverick Media, was seen by a Post Office surveillance camera mailing a package at around the same time of day the materials Gore adviser Tom Downey received would have been sent. Maverick Media is a consulting firm run by Bush media consultant Mark McKinnon.

Lozano has told reporters the package she was seen with contained a pair of pants she was sending back to The Gap for her boss, Mark McKinnon.

Law enforcement officials subpoenaed The Gap, Inc. for records related to the pants. A spokesman for The Gap tells CNN the company is cooperating with the subpoena.

The move is part of the FBI's attempt to establish a clear timeline and to assess Lozano's veracity as she remains the primary focus of the investigation. Several employees of Maverick Media and officials in the Bush campaign have been interviewed and fingerprinted by the FBI.

Downey received the debate preparation material, sent from an Austin post office, and turned it over to authorities. The package included a tape of Bush's debate preparations and written materials.