Who da thunk it:

Arguments by the lawyer for a former aide to ex-Gov. Mike Easley seeking to dismiss most of the 57 felony counts against the aide in a corruption case largely are premature for pretrial motions or overreaching, prosecutors wrote late Monday.

The government, in meeting a deadline to file responses to a series of motions by Ruffin Poole’s lawyer earlier this month, said bribery and extortion charges filed against him met the requirements necessary for an indictment.

Federal prosecutors also rejected Poole’s argument that as a special counsel and personal assistant to Easley for eight years he didn’t fit the definition of a “public official” required as a prerequisite to be accused of 12 racketeering-related counts.

Poole made a “startling claim that it is legal under North Carolina law for members of the governor’s staff to receive bribes,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Bruce and Dennis Duffy wrote as they seek to keep all of counts in place.

The upper echelons of state government have followed that legal reasoning for years.