Washington ? The Justice Department’s independent watchdog says it does not have jurisdiction to open an investigation into the legality of the administration’s domestic eavesdropping program.

Justice’s Inspector General Glenn Fine forwarded the request to the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which reviews allegations of misconduct involving employees’ actions when providing legal advice.

President Bush’s decision to authorize the NSA to monitor – without warrants – people inside the United States has sparked a flurry of questions about the program’s legal justification.

Also Tuesday, the Pentagon referred a Democratic request for an internal review on the subject to the National Security Agency’s inspector general.

Congress also plans to investigate. The House and Senate intelligence committees will soon hear from former NSA officer Russell T. Tice. The whistleblower told lawmakers in a Dec. 16 letter that he had information about “probable unlawful and unconstitutional acts” involving the NSA director, the defense secretary and other officials.