RALEIGH - Four years ago in Asheville, a lawyer filed a document containing a scandalous accusation: The U.S. attorney general had intervened in a local bank fraud case and prevented investigators from questioning one of Congress' most powerful members, then-U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor.

As Washington swirls with allegations that the Justice Department and White House intervened in federal prosecutions across the country, a review shows that U.S. attorneys in North Carolina have gone after a lot of Democrats, and a few Republicans too, during the Bush administration.

But many in the west recall a particular case handled quietly in the North Carolina mountains a few years back, when a pair of lawyers thought Taylor ought to be questioned over a loan fraud case involving the bank he owns.

"Essentially the question is, 'Why was he not interrogated? Why was he not interviewed?' " asked Forrest A. Ferrell, the Hickory lawyer who leveled the charges in 2003. "He knew about it all and should've at least been interrogated about it."

Ferrell said he still thinks that then-Attorney General John Ashcroft or other top officials prevented the interrogation of Taylor. But he wouldn't go into further details last week.

The scandal in Washington reflects the reality about U.S. attorneys. They are political appointments, but once in office they are supposed to conduct independent investigations into wrongdoing. New revelations illustrate the pressures some U.S. attorneys have faced.

The Justice Department fired eight U.S. attorneys late last year. The agency initially said the attorneys had poor performance reviews, but interviews and testimony before Congress show some of them felt pushed to step up investigations into Democrats or go lightly on Republican targets.

"What's most troubling is the pressure to bring prosecutions or not bring prosecutions," said Erwin Chemerinsky, a Duke University professor of law and political science. "When they're on the job, they're not supposed to act as political officials."

The brouhaha has touched North Carolina. E-mail messages disclosed last week show that U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert of Charlotte was among those on the list to be fired. She was later removed and said last week she had no idea why she was targeted.

The bank case

In the case involving Taylor, Ferrell was representing a local lawyer caught up in a bank fraud scandal earlier in the decade.

The man, Thomas Jones, was convicted of trying to defraud the Blue Ridge Savings Bank of Asheville with bad loans. Taylor, then the Republican congressman for the region -- he lost re-election in November -- owned the bank.

Testimony in the trial, along with interviews by the FBI that were introduced as evidence, raised questions about Taylor as well. Jones and other defendants testified that Taylor knew about and even encouraged the fraudulent loans.

At the time, Taylor held one of the most powerful posts in Congress, serving as chairman of an Appropriations subcommittee. Although his subcommittee didn't have jurisdiction over the Justice Department, he held powerful sway in funding matters.

In Asheville, Taylor was never interrogated by investigators.

Ferrell contends someone in Washington -- either then-Attorney General Ashcroft or someone who worked for him -- intervened.

"My information was that the U.S. attorney general in D.C. prohibited the U.S. Attorney's Office in North Carolina from interrogating Charles Taylor," Ferrell recalled last week. He would give no other details.

"My information was confidential," Ferrell said.

Ferrell filed a motion based on his "information and belief," requesting an investigation into prosecutorial misconduct.

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.