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His co-counsel was W. Gene Sigmon, a Newton lawyer who declined to discuss the case last week.

"I just don't even want to talk about that," Sigmon said.

The U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina at the time, Robert J. Conrad Jr., filed a vigorous response, saying the claims of interference weren't true.

"The premise of the defendant's motion is simply wrong," Conrad wrote.

His response pointed out that Ferrell had no concrete information to back up his contentions.

Justice Department officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday. An assistant at Ashcroft's Washington consulting firm said he would have no comment.

Nothing came of the motion. Jones was caught in a separate embezzlement charge, and Ferrell withdrew from representing him.

In 2005, Conrad was appointed a U.S. District Court judge. He could not be reached for comment.

Republicans in office

In Washington, part of the debate revolves around whether politically appointed U.S. attorneys have been able to maintain independence once in office.

In North Carolina, U.S. attorneys -- all Republican since 2001 -- haven't been shy about tagging Democrats.

Frank Whitney, now a U.S. District Court judge in Charlotte, served in Raleigh and covered North Carolina's Eastern District. He was previously chairman of the Mecklenburg County Republican Party, and federal records show he contributed more than $10,000 to Republican candidates and committees since 1994.

Whitney sent several Democrats to prison, including former state Agriculture Secretary Meg Scott Phipps, former Transportation Secretary Garland Garrett and former U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance and his son, Garey Ballance, a state judge.

Most recently, Whitney was the lead prosecutor in the case against former state House Speaker Jim Black.

The current U.S. attorney, George E.B. Holding, is continuing the investigation. Holding, too, has given thousands to Republican candidates and committees.

But Whitney also prosecuted Republicans, notably former state Sen. John Carrington and Larry Small, head of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

In the Western District, Shappert, a former assistant to Conrad, has made headlines prosecuting drug and fraud cases.

E-mail messages disclosed last week to the U.S. House and Senate Judiciary committees show that Shappert was on a list of "USAs [U.S. attorneys] We Now Should Consider Pushing Out."

Her name was removed from the list after an official said she didn't merit removal now.

Pushed by politics?

Certainly, politics plays a role in appointments.

U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, both Republicans, routinely send up suggestions for people to serve as U.S. attorneys or District Court judges. Some, like Whitney, have political backgrounds.

Others don't.

Anna Mills Wagoner, U.S. attorney for the Middle District, was plucked by former Sen. Jesse Helms from her role as chief District Court judge in Rowan County. It was a post she had held for a decade, and she had planned to seek re-election before Helms' nomination.

Since being confirmed in October 2001, Wagoner has focused on drug and terrorism cases. Last year, she prosecuted a child pornography case against a local police chief.

Some former U.S. attorneys have themselves run afoul of the law. Former U.S. Attorney Sam Currin, who worked out of Raleigh, was a protege of Helms and the former chairman of the state Republican Party.

Currin was indicted last year on charges of tax fraud conspiracy. He pleaded guilty to three charges in November.

The prosecutor?

Shappert. Another Republican.

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