The four-year-long saga over Jeff Thompson‘s seized files just got even more convoluted! Now that the Washington Post wants a judge to unseal court files about Thompson’s attempt to keep his files from federal investigator, the financier of the Vince Gray 2010 shadow campaign wants a say on what gets released.

The Post motion, which also seeks to unseal files related to search warrants issued for Thompson’s house and office, could help explain why Thompson got a cushy plea deal from prosecutors despite not successfully producing an indictment for Gray. But in a motion filed last week, Thompson’s attorneys ask for more time to oppose the Post‘s motion. The files in question, the new court filing says, involve Thompson’s “privacy and reputational concerns.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office might not help Thompson keep the records sealed. In a separate motion, prosecutors asked for more time to respond to the Post because of negotiations with the paper over the files.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery