Alaska legislators sue to stop Troopergate investigation

The McCain campaign pushes hard against the inquiry into Sarah Palin's conduct, while some state legislators take matters into their own hands.

Published September 16, 2008 6:24PM (EDT)

Five Alaska legislators are filing suit to stop the investigation into Sarah Palin's firing of the state's public safety commissioner, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

In an e-mail to the ADN, the lawyer handling the lawsuit says, "The investigators have lost the appearance of impartiality required under the Alaska Constitution. The Legislators will ask for declaratory and injunctive relief in the investigation, stating that it is an attempt to use the Alaska Legislative Council to further partisan politics ... The investigation, which began after Monegan’s dismissal in July 2008, is being led by outspoken supporters of Barack Obama and members of the Democratic Party."

The investigation was originally approved unanimously by Alaska's Legislative Council; four Democrats and eight Republicans voted in favor.

The McCain campaign is also working hard against the investigation, and has announced that Palin will not cooperate. The McCain camp has released e-mails it says are evidence that Palin did nothing wrong, and that the former commissioner, Walt Monegan, was fired over budget disagreements. At a press conference on Monday, a McCain spokesman accused Monegan of "insubordination" and "obstructionist conduct" and said that the investigation into his firing has been "hijacked" by "Obama operatives."


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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