NEW ORLEANS - A federal appeals court has heard the latest arguments on whether a new trial should be granted to a woman who served in Louisiana's state House and the New Orleans City Council before being convicted of corruption in 2011. 

Renee Gill Pratt is serving four-years and two months in prison. She was convicted in a plot to steal more than $1 million from taxpayer-funded charities.

Her attorney told judges with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday that the case was tainted by the once-anonymous online comments of a former federal prosecutor. An assistant U.S. attorney argued that the misconduct by Sal Perricone did not affect the trial.

Perricone resigned in 2012 after it was revealed that he was the source of anonymous online comments on various cases.