Moreover, he said in an interview on Tuesday, he has never been questioned by Queens prosecutors.

It came after he spent 12 years in prison, when a court ruled that a Queens prosecutor had elicited false testimony against him.

Even if the Queens prosecutors are justified in keeping the questioning of the policemen to themselves, there is simply no reason to put off the interviews.

He asked that a message be sent to Daniel A. Saunders, the senior Queens prosecutor now handling his case.

Queens prosecutors said they evaluate each defendant on a case-by-case basis.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Queens prosecutors seized upon "what happened that night, for political purposes."

But the Queens prosecutors have raised the stakes.

Queens prosecutors do not appear to have sought a similar agreement.

Judge Ridgely suggested in his letter that the decision by the Queens prosecutors was a significant factor in his ruling.

Queens prosecutors did not have enough evidence to charge Mr. Lauer, but the case was still open.

Moreover, he said in an interview on Tuesday, he has never been questioned by Queens prosecutors.

It came after he spent 12 years in prison, when a court ruled that a Queens prosecutor had elicited false testimony against him.

Even if the Queens prosecutors are justified in keeping the questioning of the policemen to themselves, there is simply no reason to put off the interviews.

He asked that a message be sent to Daniel A. Saunders, the senior Queens prosecutor now handling his case.

Queens prosecutors said they evaluate each defendant on a case-by-case basis.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Queens prosecutors seized upon "what happened that night, for political purposes."

But the Queens prosecutors have raised the stakes.

Queens prosecutors do not appear to have sought a similar agreement.

Judge Ridgely suggested in his letter that the decision by the Queens prosecutors was a significant factor in his ruling.

Queens prosecutors did not have enough evidence to charge Mr. Lauer, but the case was still open.