CHICAGO – Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s defense attorneys have asked a federal judge to throw U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and all his assistants off the fraud and bribery case against him.

Chief defense counsel Edward Genson said in a motion Thursday that the news conference Fitzgerald held in announcing the charges was so filled with prejudicial publicity that the prosecutor should bow out.

The full text of the motion wasn’t immediately available because it had been filed under seal. But it was described by U.S. District

Court Chief Judge James Holderman, who ordered it unsealed, and by Blagojevich attorney Sheldon Sorosky.

Fitzgerald spokesman Randall Samborn had no immediate comment.

North Carolina has three U.S. attorneys, one each in the Western, Middle and Eastern judicial districts. But the Eastern District, which covers 44 counties, is the most important in state corruption cases because it includes the capital, Raleigh.

Although Obama will actually name the three prosecutors, Sen.-elect Kay Hagan will have an unofficial but potentially influential voice in picking them.

It’s Washington’s favorite parlor game during a presidential transition: trying to figure out who’ll land a top spot in the new administration. President-elect Barack Obama is weighing an array of Washington insiders and outsiders, including some Republicans, for Cabinet and other top positions, according to Democratic officials.

Just like the stock market, names rise and fall weekly, some zooming to the top, others dropping out of contention. Hillary Rodham Clinton suddenly is considered the top prospect for secretary of state, although other names remain in the mix. It looks like Eric Holder, former deputy attorney general, is on track to become attorney general.

Some of those who are the subject of speculation already have been chosen by Obama to serve as part of his transition team. For example, former Sen. Tom Daschle was picked Wednesday to lead Obama’s working group on health care, the same day word surfaced that he’s accepted Obama’s offer to serve as secretary of health and human services.

Some names being floated are surprising, such as former Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell for education secretary. Others are high-profile governors or members of Congress. Many are also little known to the general public – and may remain so.

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DEFENSE SECRETARY

Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., member of Senate Armed Services Committee.

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TREASURY SECRETARY

Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

Lawrence Summers, former treasury secretary and one-time Harvard University president.

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SECRETARY OF STATE

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, former first lady and one-time rival of Obama’s for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., former U.N. ambassador and energy secretary.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., 2004 presidential nominee.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate.

Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

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ATTORNEY GENERAL

Eric Holder, former deputy attorney general.

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HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.

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HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.

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CIA DIRECTOR

John Brennan, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center

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NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR

Tim Roemer, former Indiana congressman and member of the 9/11 commission.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., chairwoman of House Homeland Security intelligence subcommittee.

Jami Miscik, former head of CIA’s analytical operations.

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NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER

James B. Steinberg, former deputy national security adviser.

Susan Rice, former assistant secretary of state for African affairs.

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ENERGY SECRETARY

Dan Reicher, director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google, former assistant energy secretary in charge of efficiency and renewable energy programs in the Clinton administration.

Former Rep. Philip Sharp, D-Ind., president of Resources for the Future think tank.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

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INTERIOR SECRETARY

Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber.

Former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles.

Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., former executive director of Colorado Natural Resources Department.

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EPA ADMINISTRATOR

Lisa P. Jackson, commissioner of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Mary Nichols, head of California Air Resources Board.

Kathleen McGinty, former secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

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HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.

Renee Glover, head of Atlanta’s housing authority

Nicholas Retsinas, director of Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies

Shaun Donovan, commissioner of New York City’s housing department.

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LABOR SECRETARY

Ed McElroy, former president of the American Federation of Teachers

Former Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri

Linda Chavez-Thompson, former AFL-CIO vice president

Former Rep. David Bonior, member of Obama’s Transition Economic Advisory Board.

Maria Echaveste, former Clinton White House adviser.

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COMMERCE SECRETARY

Laura D’Andrea Tyson, former chair of White House Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton.

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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET DIRECTOR

Peter Orszag, director of Congressional Budget Office.

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EDUCATION SECRETARY

Colin Powell, former secretary of state, former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Arne Duncan, chief executive officer of Chicago public schools.

Inez Tenenbaum, former South Carolina schools superintendent.

Linda Darling-Hammond, education professor at Stanford University.

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TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY

Jane Garvey, former head of Federal Aviation Administration.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of House Transportation Committee.

Mortimer Downey, former deputy transportation secretary.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., member of the House Transportation Committee.

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AGRICULTURE SECRETARY

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.

Tom Buis, president of National Farmers Union.

Former Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas.

John W. Boyd Jr. of Virginia, president of National Black Farmers Association.

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VETERANS AFFAIRS

Tammy Duckworth, a disabled Iraq war veteran and Illinois veterans affairs director.

Former Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, a Vietnam veteran who had three limbs amputated after a grenade blast.

Current VA Secretary James Peake.

DOVER, Del. - Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden says he plans to fulfill his National Guard duties and won’t accept an appointment to his father’s U.S. Senate seat.

The younger Biden has released a statement as his unit prepares to deploy to Iraq. Beau Biden says he hasn’t sought and wouldn’t accept an appointment to the Senate, and that he looks forward to returning to his job as attorney general after his service tour.

Biden was seen as a possible successor to his father, Democrat Joe Biden, who must resign his Senate seat before being sworn in Jan. 20 as vice president. Delaware’s governor will appoint a new senator.

Speculation on Biden’s replacement has centered on Lt. Gov. John Carney. He lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary in September to State Treasurer Jack Markell, who is now Delaware’s governor-elect.

The talks suggest that Obama is deeply interested in Holder, who served as the No. 2 official in the Justice Department under President Clinton.

In the past week, Obama aides have asked Senate Republicans whether they would support Holder. In particular, the aides questioned whether Holder’s confirmation would be delayed because of his involvement in the 2001 pardon of fugitive Marc Rich by President Bill Clinton.

Newsweek, quoting unidentified legal sources close to the presidential transition team, reported Tuesday that Obama offered Holder the job and he accepted. Newsweek said Holder still has to undergo a formal “vetting” review by the Obama transition team before the selection is final.

One person involved in the talks told The Associated Press that the Obama team has received some assurances that, while the Rich pardon would certainly come up during hearings, the nomination likely wouldn’t be held up over that. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private conversations.

On the last day of Clinton’s term, Holder was asked whether the president should pardon Rich, a wealthy commodities dealer who had been spent years running from tax charges. Holder said he was “neutral, leaning towards favorable” on the pardon. Clinton later cited that as among the factors that persuaded him to issue the pardon.

Holder has publicly apologized for what he said was a snap decision that he should have paid more attention to. Had he taken more time to review the case, he would have advised against a pardon, he said.

A former U.S. attorney, Holder is among Washington’s most prominent defense attorneys. He would be the first black attorney general in U.S. history.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Attorney General Roy Cooper’s first television ad for his re-election bid highlights the Duke University lacrosse case.
 
A commercial that began running Tuesday in the Triangle shows clips from his news conference last year when he declared three former players innocent of all charges.

The players were falsely accused of raping a woman hired to perform as a stripper at a 2006 lacrosse team party. Cooper said at the time that no DNA supported the woman’s story.

The ad’s narrator goes on to say Cooper helped modernize the state crime lab and added dozens of DNA experts.

Cooper is seeking a third term as attorney general. Republican challenger Bob Crumley has criticized Cooper for opening a new lab in Greensboro that doesn’t have the equipment to perform DNA testing.