Updated at 3:40 p.m. with comment from Jerry Brown senior adviser Steven Glazer.
GOP gubernatorial candidates Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner have joined the third Republican candidate Tom Campbell in demanding an independent inquiry into Attorney General Jerry Brown's office taping several conversations with news reporters.
Former attorney general spokesman Scott Gerber admitted taping six conversations with five reporter this year and resigned last week. Brown's office released the results of an internal investigation Monday finding Gerber had acted without authorization but did not break a state law prohibiting the eavesdropping upon or recording of "confidential communication."
The Poizner campaign issued this statement last night:
"The Attorney General's most solemn duty is to enforce the law and demonstrate the courage to prosecute those who break the law regardless of their political party or personal relationships. There are concerns as to whether Attorney General Brown has failed to exercise those duties during this recent controversy and the best course of action would be a third party investigation determining all the facts of this matter."
Whitman press secretary Sarah Pompei sent this:
"There is no better example of the dysfunction in Sacramento than what's going on in the Attorney General's office. Simply put, Jerry Brown should not be investigating his own office for wrongdoing. This should be done by an outside party. It's no wonder Californian's have lost confidence in Sacramento politicians."
UPDATE: Steven Glazer, senior adviser to Jerry Brown's political operations, responded this afternoon to calls for an independent inquiry.
"The matter was independently investigated by the chief of the attorney general's criminal division. The findings have been made public. The employee in question was instructed not to record reporters without permission even though these were on-the-record discussions for publication in a newspaper. The employee has since resigned and acknowledged that he failed to follow office procedure. If any other investigative authority feels there are grounds to review this matter further, they are welcome to do so."
Torey Van Oot and the Bee Capitol Bureau report on the people and politics of California government. Get 
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