TrooperGate Probe To Wrap Up On October 10
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Alaska, Ethics, Law, Palin
Todd Palin and a few of his wife’s staffers failed to appear recently, even though they were subpoenaed. Still, the prosecutor Stephen Branchflower says the investigation will be finished soon.
But will it be of any value if nobody involved testifies?
Todd Palin’s attorney sent French a letter Thursday listing Palin’s objections to the Legislature’s investigation of his wife. Among them, the attorney said, were jurisdiction questions, separation of power issues and an inconvenient travel schedule.Subpoenas were approved on seven other government employees, but not served because the state attorney general’s office had agreed to cooperate, French said. But Attorney General Talis Colberg earlier this week reversed himself, saying the governor declined to participate and that Palin administration employees would not appear.
French said subpoenas will be issued for those seven people, ordering them to testify on Sept. 26.
Witnesses who refuse to testify can be found in contempt under Alaska law. But the full Legislature must be in session, which won’t happen until January. That means witnesses can stonewall without penalty beyond the Nov. 4 election, lawmakers said.
One of them, Sen. Gene Therriault, opposed the subpoenas. He said Friday the investigation was intended to uncover whether the governor was justified in firing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, and he believes she was.
A few questions…
First, does anybody think Sarah and Todd and her staff would have refused to testify had she not been selected as McCain’s VP?
Second, is it disingenuous to continue to characterize this investigation as a partisan witch hunt when bi-partisan panels voted to open the investigation in the first place and and then a completely separate bi-partisan panel voted to issue the subpoenas?
Hardball has more on the case…
More as it develops…
This entry was posted on Friday, September 19th, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, Alaska, Ethics, Law, Palin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 19th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
They must really have something to fear. How else to explain facing this exactly the way Bush and his merry band of crooks do. By stonewalling and obfuscating the issues so that people get tired and move on to the next issue. But for her and McCain it’s fairly devastating to her brand. She comes across as another Cheney (dick in a skirt, as some have started calling her), not some new wave maverick politician. Plus, her husband’s involvement in her defense makes it look likes she needs him to fight her battles.
October 10th, 2008 at 8:29 am
I watched all day on news showing McCain’s interview on Fox News about wanting Obama to come out with the truth about Ayers so the public can decide. Why isn’t anyone calling out McCain on his hypocrisy on TROOPERGATE? He asks that Obama come clean, yet he sends his lawyers to Alaska to cover up TROOPERGATE. Why doesn’t McCain let Palin testify about her TROOPERATE connection so the American Public can decide – the same standard he wants to apply to Obama.
I don’t want to hear this crap that TROOPERGATE is politically motivated and that the AYERS connection isn’t. American people are not stupid. One thing we can’t stand is a hypocrite.
I’m upset that the media televises McCain’s hypocrisy when applying the standard of truth for Obama yet ignores his effort in covering up his VP involvement in TROOPERGATE. If judgment is what McCain is questioning about Obama, shouldn’t the American pubic question McCain’s judgment for picking a VP that may be using her powers for personal reasons? Especially after 8 years of Dick Chaney. After all, Palin’s character could be a heart beat away from the Presidency if McCain is elected. If McCain wants the American pubic to decide what is true, than let Palin testify. She seems to have some CHARACTER flaws so she is the last person who should be pointing fingers
The media keeps dropping the ball. Everything McCain seems to criticize about Obama seems to apply in his own campaign.