Justice Department reopens probe of domestic spying program

The Justice Department has reopened a long-dormant inquiry into the government's warrantless wiretapping program, a major policy shift only days into the tenure of new Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

The investigation by the department's Office of Professional Responsibility was shut down after the previous attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, refused to grant security clearances to investigators.

"We recently received the necessary security clearances and are now able to proceed with our investigation," H. Marshall Jarrett, counsel for the OPR, wrote to New York Rep. Maurice Hinchey. A copy of the letter, dated Tuesday, was obtained by The Associated Press.

Hinchey and other Democrats have long sought an investigation into the spying program, to see if it complies with the law. Efforts to investigate the program have been rebuffed by the Bush administration.

The OPR investigation was begun in February 2006, but was shut down a few months later when the National Security Agency refused to grant Justice Department lawyers the security clearances to ask questions about the program.

The Office of Professional Responsibility was created to ensure that Justice Department lawyers do not violate any ethical rules. It is not authorized to investigate activities of the National Security Agency.