The House Judiciary Committee is asking the Justice Department to temporarily release former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman from prison to testify before Congress in early May about possible political influence over his prosecution.

A spokeswoman for the committee said today that Siegelman, who is serving more than seven years in a Louisiana prison, would travel to Washington under guard of the U.S. Marshals Service.

She says Committee Chairman John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, wants to hear directly from Siegelman because lawmakers are having trouble getting information elsewhere, including from the Justice Department.

The Justice Department had no immediate comment on the request.

A member of Siegelman's defense team, which is working on his appeal, said today the former governor already has agreed to testify to Congress.

In Mobile, attorney Vince Kilborn said Congress seems to think "it's critical to straighten out the Justice Department to have him shed whatever light he can."

He says Siegelman is "delighted to cooperate. There are no restrictions on questions they can ask him."

Siegelman, a Democrat, was elected governor in 1998 and served one term. He was convicted on six bribery-related and one obstruction of justice charge in 2006. Democrats last year began reviewing the case as part of a broader investigation into selective prosecution under the Bush administration.

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