South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) “enlisted the help of a central figure in the Statehouse corruption probe in an attempt to sideline the case’s special prosecutor just as the investigation was about to zero in on Wilson’s close allies,” according to emails obtained by the Charleston Post and Courier.

“It’s a highly unusual move that legal observers say raises serious questions about the allegiances of the state’s chief law enforcement official and his willingness to meddle in matters in which he had already revealed a potential conflict.”