U.S. Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., want the Justice Department to probe charges that Republican operatives illegally suppressed voter turnout in African-American voting precincts in Jacksonville in the 2004 presidential election.

Their request targets Tim Griffin, an interim U.S. attorney in Arkansas and a protege of White House political adviser Karl Rove. While working for the Republican National Committee in August of 2004, Griffin wrote two e-mails that the senators said referred to "caging" of about 2,000 black voters in Jacksonville.

"Caging" is the practice of seeking to disqualify voters who fail to sign for registered political mail sent to their homes.

Both Democrats are on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is conducting a probe of whether partisan politics played a part in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys. Their letter is here.