By Tim Starks, CQ Staff

After a two-month pause requested by the Justice Department, the House Intelligence Committee has resumed its investigation into the CIA’s destruction of interrogation videotapes, but the Senate Intelligence panel is still holding off on its own probe.

Both panels announced their investigations in December, when the destruction of the tapes was revealed.

Since then, the twin probes have encountered delays because of feuding with the Justice Department, uncooperative witnesses, or agreements to temporarily stand aside while Justice conducts its own investigation.

Despite the delays, the House panel still intends to finish its investigation by June. The Senate panel has not yet set a date for wrapping up its work.

The focus of the probes is why the CIA destroyed videotapes of 2002 interrogations that reportedly showed the use of water­boarding, a form of simulated drowning, and other abusive techniques. The probes also ask whether Congress was properly informed.

The Justice Department’s investigation is “ongoing,” with no set date for conclusion, said Tom Carson, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Connecticut, which is leading the probe.

Meanwhile, both Intelligence panels have been consumed with reviewing documents, according to congressional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. One of these officials said the House has been examining 600 pages of e-mails, memos and cables. Both panels have filed requests for additional documents.

The time-consuming document reviews and requests are one reason the Senate panel has not made any moves to interview officials in recent months, a Senate committee aide said. The panel has no immediate plans to begin interviewing witnesses, the aide added.

“We’ve got enough work to do on the document side, and we’re cognizant of the ongoing DOJ investigation,” the aide said.

House Interviews

The House committee, however, has resumed interviews. The panel interviewed two “current, high-level government officials” in April, according to a congressional official, who declined to name the officials.

Both panels have interviewed CIA Director Michael V. Hayden .

In January, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey announced that the Justice Department was launching a criminal investigation into the destruction of the tapes. A month later, the House panel received a letter from Justice requesting a 60-day halt to interviews while the department conducted its own inquiry.