It's still unclear how Republican Attorney General Mike Cox's admission that he had an extramarital affair, or his accusation that Geoffrey Fieger was going to blackmail him about it, could affect the 2006 attorney general's race.

"The big question is whether or not anybody is going to be charged with a crime," said Bill Ballenger, editor and publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, a Lansing-based political newsletter. "The Oakland County prosecutor is looking into the charges made by Cox."

Both men have announced plans to run for the attorney general's seat.

Cox said on Wednesday he had told his wife about the affair and was disclosing it because of alleged blackmail.

Neil Rockind, Fieger's lawyer, said Cox's statements about blackmail are entirely untrue. He said they are coming at a time when an appeal is pending in court regarding documents used to investigate Fieger's campaign contributions. The attorney general's office possesses these documents and doesn't want to turn them over to a judge, Rockind added.

"(Fieger) has never had a conversation with anybody at any time about trying to threaten or solicit Mike Cox," he said. "You've got the attorney general in a press conference essentially commenting on a case that has not been evaluated."

The attorney general's office did not return calls for comment.

The Michigan Republican Party said Fieger is trying to further his political career by saying whatever he can, spokesman Nate Bailey said.

"The only thing it does is prove Geoffrey Fieger will do or say anything for his personal gain," Bailey said. "He is the guy who is running to be the top cop in the state, and now he is trying to extort and blackmail the current attorney general. The people of Michigan have shown time and time again they don't trust him, and with good reason."

The statements made by Cox were an attempt to shift attention from the fact that he did have an affair, Rockind said.

"Things like affairs are going to come out," he said. "He tried to scrub himself clean by wrapping Geoffrey's name around the affair."

Bailey said Cox should be commended for coming forward and continuing to serve the people of Michigan.

"When someone tries to blackmail someone else, that is truly despicable," he said. "The attorney general did a hard thing. He made it clear Geoffrey Fieger's blackmail would not stop him from doing his job."

There is a lot more that needs to be investigated and determined, Ballenger said.

"Any way you look at it, it is not a good situation for Cox," he said. "If he runs for re-election, this hurts him. But if there is a charge, it corroborates what Cox said. It also could get into a situation of Cox versus Fieger.

"There is still a lot that remains to be found out," Ballenger said.