Why anonymous?
Name reporters with air or column space are not sitting aound the justice department with live feeds just in case there might be a press conference.
When they announce the press conference they have to tell them what is is about or they may not cover it.
If the annoucement and what the conference is about and what they will say is on the record, then the conference it's self will not be covered.
The source of this story was likely Ashcroft. But he can't let the lower level reporters who cover the DOJ get the story or the Name Reporters who only show up for the BIG stories would trash him a lot worse than usual. So most of what he tells the low level reporters today is in the form of an annoucement about a news conferency and is off the record and not to be sourced.
Handling the media is a lot about handling giant egos.
Maybe "anonymous" because the idiot/Lib/Democrat-type was supposed to keep his/her mouth shut OR maybe this is an un-official, sanctioned leak from the White House.