PHILADELPHIA — Former FBI director Louis Freeh’s lawyer has asked an appeals court not to delay a defamation case over his Penn State sexual-abuse investigation.

The school’s former president, Graham Spanier, is suing Freeh over the damning report he prepared on the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

However, Spanier wants to delay the civil suit until after his criminal trial.

Spanier is charged with helping cover up complaints that Sandusky, the longtime assistant football coach, was molesting children.

Freeh’s lawyers say they want to clear his name sooner rather than later.