The former acting U.S. attorney in the nation's capital likely violated Justice Department rules when he gave an interview to CBS' "60 Minutes" about the investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, and has been referred to an internal office for review, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

The chief of the criminal division for the U.S. attorney's office in the District of Columbia made the comments after a federal judge scolded the Justice Department over the TV interview along with another recent news report and warned that further press statements could lead to a gag order or sanctions.

"These type...