Under federal law, New York's large counterterrorism unit must request wiretapping authorization through the FBI and Justice Department. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has asked the federal agencies to expedite his department's requests to no avail, The New York Times reported Thursday.

In a letter to Kelly, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said that some of the New York City requests did not include enough information on why a wiretap was requested. Officials told the Times that some of the requests were for public telephones, not for lines used only by an individual target.

Kelly, in a letter in late October, said that the FBI was "constraining" at least two important investigations.

The dispute is likely to remain unresolved until after President George W. Bush and Mukasey leave office in January.