Justice Department Is Asked to Widen Inquiry of Lobbyist

By PHILIP SHENON
WASHINGTON, July 5 - Criminal investigators at the Justice Department have been asked by a House committee to consider broadening their corruption investigation of a Washington lobbyist whose ties to Tom DeLay, the House Republican leader, and other prominent lawmakers are the subject of inquiries throughout the government, Congressional officials disclosed on Tuesday.

The request about the investigation of the lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, was made in a letter last week to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales from the Republican chairman and the senior Democrat on the House Resources Committee.

The letter, dated June 30, cited a flurry of accusations of wrongdoing involving Mr. Abramoff's multimillion-dollar lobbying on behalf of the Northern Mariana Islands, a small American commonwealth in the Pacific, and said that "any allegations of criminal matters of this sort are best addressed to the Department of Justice."

The Justice Department has refused to discuss details of its investigation of Mr. Abramoff, which began more than a year ago. Congressional officials who are trying to monitor the investigation say that it has focused until now on accusations that Mr. Abramoff defrauded Indian tribes who paid him millions of dollars in lobbying fees on behalf of their gambling operations.

The Resources Committee request could suggest new scrutiny for Mr. DeLay, because he worked closely with Mr. Abramoff for years to block Washington from imposing the federal minimum wage on large clothing factories in the Northern Marianas. Human rights groups have long criticized the factories, which employ mostly migrant Asian workers.

On a trip to the islands with Mr. Abramoff in 1997, Mr. DeLay told a meeting of local officials that the lobbyist was among "my closest and dearest friends" and promised to continue to defend the islands' interests in Congress. Mr. Abramoff's billing records show that he frequently met with Mr. DeLay and his top aides to discuss the Northern Marianas. In a 2001 e-mail message to the islands' general counsel, Mr. Abramoff described Mr. DeLay as "our biggest supporter on Capitol Hill."

Mr. DeLay is facing other ethics accusations involving ties to Mr. Abramoff and has asked the House ethics committee to review the propriety of lavish trips to Britain and Russia that Mr. Abramoff organized for Mr. DeLay, his wife and his aides.

The letter, from Richard W. Pombo, the California Republican who is chairman of the Resources Committee, and Nick J. Rahall II of West Virginia, the panel's ranking Democrat, is the first known request by a Congressional committee for prosecutors to review accusations of criminal conduct in the lobbying activities of Mr. Abramoff, who was one of the most powerful and best-paid Republican lobbyists in Washington.

A copy of the letter was provided to The New York Times by the office of Representative George Miller, a California Democrat who is a member of the Resources Committee and who has led efforts in Congress to try to improve labor conditions in the Northern Marianas.

Mr. Miller, who has been calling for months for the committee to investigate Mr. Abramoff and his lobbying for the islands, said in an interview that Mr. DeLay should be worried by the possibility of a criminal investigation of Mr. Abramoff's activities on behalf of the Northern Marianas.

"I wouldn't be comfortable if I were him," Mr. Miller said of Mr. DeLay. "Clearly we're talking about a close relationship with Abramoff." He said Mr. DeLay had been instrumental in blocking Congressional efforts to end labor abuses in the islands.

A spokesman for the Justice Department, Bryan Sierra, said Tuesday that he was unaware of the committee's request but said that "whenever we receive a letter like this, it is forwarded to the appropriate entity at Justice." Lawyers for Mr. Abramoff said through a spokesman that they had no comment. A spokeswoman for Mr. DeLay had no immediate comment.