"Each senator has an expectation of receiving confidential, candid advise from his or her staff members. There is no excuse that can justify these improper actions."

He said the investigation will also be used "to make sure we design a more secure system for the computer."

The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times had reported that Democratic memos they obtained showed Democrats were working closely with liberal groups to decide which judicial nominees to block. Democrats focused, for example, on Miguel Estrada because he is Hispanic and they didn't want Republicans to make political gains with Hispanics.

Estrada, the first Hispanic nominated to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, later withdrew after Republicans for months could not break the Democratic filibuster against him.

Also, the Washington Times said a separate memo showed that staffers for Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., sought to delay two nominees to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to ensure it would still have a liberal majority when it heard a key Michigan affirmative action case.

Last week, Hatch had taken some delight in the disclosures from the memos.

He told the Deseret Morning News then, "If what is reported in the media is true about the memoranda . . . then it proves everything I've been saying. That is that Democratic senators are completely under the thumb of these inside-the-beltway vicious groups that have been libeling and slandering our judicial nominees."

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E-mail: lee@desnews.com