4 senators seeking answers on hacking

WASHINGTON -- Four Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are pressing the Bush administration to disclose any role government officials may have had in secret snooping by Republican aides on the computer files of Democratic committee members.

In the latest escalation of bitter fights over nominations to federal courts, four of the nine committee Democrats sent letters to the White House and the Justice Department last week asking if administration officials were "involved in or aware of" the intrusion on Democrats' files, or had received any information about them.

The letters were signed by Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the committee's top Democrat, and by Senators Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, Charles E. Schumer of New York, and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois.

"We believe," the senators wrote, "that the administration's `by whatever means necessary' approach to judicial nominations . . . greatly contributed to the atmosphere in which Republicans committed these acts."

The Democrats said that the "theft by Republican staff of internal Democratic computer files" involved thousands of files, retrieved "from at least 2001 into 2003." They noted that the Senate sergeant-at-arms is investigating.

In a letter to Albert R. Gonzales, counsel to President Bush, the senators said "questions arise as to whether anyone at the White House was involved or aware of these activities or made privy to information obtained through this course of conduct."

"We have yet to hear you or the president condemn this activity," the letter said.

The lawmakers asked for a "candid and thorough response" to specific questions, ranging from any direct role or information about the incident, to possible contacts with groups that are supporting President Bush's judicial nominees -- groups the senators said had apparently received information from the pilfered files.

Gonzales, replying yesterday in a letter to Leahy, said he was aware of no "credible allegation" of White House involvement in the incident, so no investigation has been made. He said he "respectfully, but categorically, reject the statement in your letter" that administration actions contributed to the atmosphere around the files controversy.

The president's lawyer also said that the White House had not commented on the controversy up to now because "we view this as a Senate matter." In the separate letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, asking the same questions put to the White House. A Justice Department spokesman, John Nowacki, said "we will review the letter."

Wayne Washington and Charlie Savage of the Globe staff contributed to this report.