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Palin's husband refuses to testify in troopergate probe

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-19 16:54

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband has refused to testify in the investigation of his wife's alleged abuse of power, and key lawmakers said Thursday that uncooperative witnesses are effectively sidetracking the probe until after Election Day.

US Republican vice-presidential nominee and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, with her husband Todd (R) arrives to speak in Golden, Colorado September 15, 2008. Todd refused to testify in the investigation into his wife's alleged abuse of power, the troopergate. [Agencies]

Related readings:  Probe into Palin's troopergate unraveling  Palin's email account hacked, contents leaked  Palin spells out her role in McCain administration  Alaska lawmakers vote to subpoena Todd Palin

Todd Palin, who participates in state business in person or by e-mail, was among 13 people subpoenaed by the Alaska Legislature. Palin's lawyer sent a letter to the lead investigator saying Palin objected to the probe and would not appear to testify on Friday.

"The objections boil down to the fact that the Legislative Council investigation is no longer a legitimate investigation because it has been subjected to complete partisanship and does not operate with the authority that it had at the time of its initial authorization," McCain-Palin presidential campaign spokesman Ed O'Callaghan said.

Sarah Palin initially welcomed the bipartisan investigation into accusations that she dismissed the state's public safety commissioner because he refused to fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper. "Hold me accountable," she said.

But she has increasingly opposed it since Republican presidential candidate John McCain tapped her as his running mate. The McCain campaign dispatched a legal team to Alaska including O'Callaghan, a former top US terrorism prosecutor from New York to bolster Palin's local lawyer.

In the letter, Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein lists nine objections to the Legislature's investigation into Gov. Palin. Van Flein also argues the subpoena is "unduly burdensome" because Palin has travel plans that require him to be out of the state.

Earlier this week, Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg said the governor, who was not subpoenaed, declined to participate in the investigation and said Palin administration employees who have been subpoenaed would not appear.

State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, a Democrat, said the McCain campaign is doing all it can to prevent the Legislature from completing a report on whether the GOP's vice presidential nominee abused her power as governor.

Wielechowski and another member of the panel that summoned the witnesses, told The Associated Press that the witnesses can avoid testifying for months without penalty and that court action to force them to appear sooner is unlikely.

The McCain-Palin campaign said Thursday that Gov. Palin is cooperating with a separate Alaska State Personnel Board investigation into Troopergate. Palin initiated that investigation after she joined McCain's ticket. The three-member board is appointed by the governor.

"I can't say it enough, the governor is an open book on this matter," McCain spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said. "She is fully cooperating with the unbiased, legally appropriate and independent investigation of the State Personnel Board."

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