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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship contends he's in prosecutors' crosshairs because he produced a video that enraged Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin.
Federal prosecutors in West Virginia vehemently deny it.
Blankenship tries to tie Manchin to U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin in newly unsealed court documents.
The filings became available after the AP and other media successfully challenged a judge's gag order. Most were sealed and most participants were barred from discussing the case.
Blankenship's attorneys wrote that prosecutors targeted him after he made a video last spring about the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine explosion. It shifted blame for the blast that killed 29 men.
Prosecutors said the case resulted from a lengthy investigation, including previous convictions.
He's charged with conspiring to violate safety and health standards at the mine.
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