Washington ? Lawmakers asked the Justice Department on Tuesday to begin a criminal investigation into whether Martha Stewart lied to a House committee trying to determine if she received inside information before selling her ImClone stock.

“As members of Congress, we believe it is our obligation to forward specific and credible information in our possession that could suggest a federal crime has been committed,” the leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft.

Shares of Stewart’s company, Martha Stewart Omnimedia, jumped almost 10 percent on a surge in volume immediately after the lawmakers’ announcement Tuesday afternoon. The shares closed Tuesday at $9.05, up $1.30, or 16.8 percent, from Monday.

Stewart’s attorneys said they welcomed the committee’s action because the Justice Department is the appropriate authority to address questions related to her stock sale.

“I strongly disagree with the analysis of the committee and its staff but am pleased that the matter will now be exclusively in the hands of professional law enforcement authorities who are trained to conduct a responsible and thorough investigation,” said Stewart attorney Robert Morvillo.

Stewart is a friend of former ImClone chief executive Sam Waksal, the only person so far charged in the federal investigation of ImClone Systems Inc., which he founded. He pleaded innocent last month to charges of securities fraud, perjury, bank fraud and obstruction of justice.

Stewart sold nearly 4,000 shares of ImClone stock on Dec. 27, a day before the company’s application for federal review of its promising colon cancer drug, Erbitux, was denied.