Ja Rule and two of his bodyguards are facing possible federal charges

Ja Rule and two of his bodyguards are facing possible federal charges, including "conspiracy to commit murder," over an incident that occurred last Christmas outside a NYC club. According to the NY Post, federal prosecutors are investigating Ja Rule for his involvement with the shooting of Troy Moore and Willie "Willie Bang Bang" Clark outside Club LQ on December 27th 2004. The shootout, which killed Clark and wounded Moore, was caught on tape. Moore recently agreed to reveal details to the feds about the incident, spawning the investigation.

The shooting allegedly stems from an earlier incident where Foxy Brown's brother got robbed. Moore and partner Clark -both well known ex-cons from Ja Rule's Hollis, Queens neighborhood, were suspected of the robbery. Sources say Ja was heated to find out that the two showed up to his party because of the controversy surrounding them.

Around 3:30 a.m., Ja and his entourage left the party. Videotapes show his vehicle pulling away from the club as Clark and Moore walk by. Suddenly Ja's car stops when a bodyguard runs up and taps on the window saying, "Come with me, it's coming down." One of the bodyguards gets out, joining the other. Meanwhile Ja's car pulls away, while the bodyguards open fire, killing Clark and injuring Moore.

The investigation is part of larger federal probe on Ja's friend and label head Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo. Lorenzo was recently indicted by the same prosecutors for laundering $1 million through his company for drug kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff.

Ja Rule's lawyer, Murray Richman, denied his client's involvement with the shooting. Christopher Renfroe, who represents Moore, declined to comment. Moore, who was carrying a gun during the incident, is currently facing jail time for gun charges.