Mukasey said Thursday that he would respond to a recent letter from U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield that asked for a federal investigation of whether Johnson's constitutional rights have been violated.

Mukasey made the comment Thursday during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, according to a spokesman for Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat.

In December, Butterfield wrote to Mukasey that Johnson's right to a speedy trial has been denied, and that Mukasey needs to intervene to "restore public confidence in the criminal justice system."

"We don't hold North Carolina citizens in jail without evidence," Butterfield said in the letter. "And we don't mislead the families of victims who are suffering from the tragic loss of a loved one."

Johnson was jailed for three years on charges in the slaying of Brittany Willis, a 17-year-old Wilson girl who was abducted from a shopping center, raped and killed in 2004.

Another man, Kenneth Meeks, initially implicated Johnson in the killing but has since admitted that he acted alone.

Johnson, 21, was freed in December pending a review of his case, and the murder, rape and kidnapping charges against him were dropped for lack of evidence. Johnson is now charged with accessory after the fact to murder.

The accessory charge stems from a statement Johnson made to police -- that he wiped his fingerprints from Willis' SUV, which Meeks had stolen. Johnson has said he only helped because he feared for his own life.

Dole race big in NYC

North Carolina's race for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Elizabeth Dole has been getting a lot of press in New York.

First, there was the New York Post, which inaccurately reported that former Sen. Jesse Helms had died.

Now, there's the Village Voice, which skims over the whole primary issue to declare Jim Neal the Democratic candidate against Dole. (There is another candidate for the Democratic nomination -- state Sen. Kay Hagan of Greensboro.)

The weekly's interview by gay columnist Michael Musto has drawn attention for an exchange about Helms and Dole.

Neal, a Chapel Hill investment banker who has said that he is gay, told Musto that Dole is not as polarizing on social issues as Helms was, recalling an old tale popular with Democratic activists about Helms' being so mean as a boy that "his mother had to tie a pork chop around his neck so the dogs would come play with him."

That prompted Musto to say, "I thought that was to keep away the Jews."

And Neal replied: "There aren't any."

And then there was this line from Neal, using the sort of gay slang that goes well in Greenwich Village but doesn't play quite the same in the Piedmont:

"Yes, I was a breeder," Neal said, using the slightly derisive '90s term for heterosexuals. "When I did meet someone and fell in love with him, call it an epiphany or whatever, but I couldn't live with myself any other way than who I am!"

Hawke takes it easier

Jack Hawke has stepped down as president of the Civitas Institute, but he says he has no current plans to move to any political campaign.

Hawke announced to his staff this week that he would no longer head the Raleigh-based conservative think tank that was started by Raleigh businessman Art Pope. But he will retain a part-time senior fellow status.

"I said from the beginning that I would stay three years," said Hawke, who is 66. "It means I won't have to go into the office every day. It means I can spend more time with my grandchildren."

Hawke said he might do some political consulting, although he has said he has not had any conversations with any campaign.

More online classes

Gov. Mike Easley used his son's report card this week as a political prop.

Speaking before the joint meeting of the N.C. Education Governing Boards in Chapel Hill, Easley argued for more online classes, saying they cater to the younger generation's learning style. He said his son got an A in an online class at UNC-Chapel Hill last year.

"That's the way these kids think," he said. "If they could get a haircut online, they would do it."

(Correspondent Cori Sue Morris contributed to this report. )