Los Angeles ? The district attorney is trying to deny Robert Blake a fair murder trial by jailing him without bail and interfering with his employment of an investigator, the defense says a claim the District Attorney’s Office called “preposterous.”

Defense lawyer Harland Braun also suggested Thursday that the arrest of the former “Baretta” star was politically motivated: He claimed now-retired Police Chief Bernard Parks wanted a “last moment of glory” before leaving.

Blake, 68, is accused of murdering wife Bonny Lee Bakley, 44, on May 4, 2001, soliciting her murder, conspiracy and the special circumstance of lying in wait. He had pleaded innocent.

Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, denied Braun’s claims, saying: “These outrageous allegations are patently preposterous.”

Braun’s motion came the day after prosecutors asked a judge to prohibit Braun from hiring a private investigator who is scheduled to testify against the actor.

Prosecutors are also trying to remove the lawyer representing Blake’s bodyguard, Earle Caldwell, claiming she has a conflict of interest. The lawyer is being paid by Blake and allegedly gave information to authorities that might make her a witness at the trial.

A hearing is scheduled Monday.

“Robert Blake objects to all these attempts by Steve Cooley to interfere with his right to a fair trial,” Braun’s motion said. “Mr. Blake also objects to Mr. Cooley’s engineering of his arrest as a political and media event.”

He claimed that Cooley had yielded to a wish by Parks that Blake be arrested before he left office.

“Only a fool would not notice that Bernard Parks’ last day as chief was April 19, 2002,” said the documents. “Parks would not be denied a last moment of glory in the press and therefore forced the arrest of Blake on April 18 before Cooley was prepared to file a complaint.

The motion said that on Feb. 19, Cooley ordered his deputies to file a case against Blake within 30 days.

“The order from Cooley clearly put the investigation in a bind because it did not have any physical evidence or witness connecting Robert Blake to the murder of Bonny Bakley,” said the motion.

As for prosecution complaints about Braun’s employment of William C. Jordan, a private investigator, the motion said Jordan had worked for Blake in his attempt to gain custody of his child by Bakley.

Prosecutors said they interviewed him and had planned to call him as a witness before Braun hired him as a consultant last week.

The motion concluded with a renewed plea for bail. Blake has offered to post $1 million bail and to submit to electronic monitoring.