Todd Palin Among 13 Subpoenaed By Alaska Lawmakers in ‘Troopergate’ Probe

Government Law

Todd Palin Among 13 Subpoenaed By Alaska Lawmakers in ‘Troopergate’ Probe

Posted Sep 12, 2008, 05:23 pm CST
By Martha Neil

The husband of Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been subpoenaed, along with aides who have refused to cooperate in an investigation of whether she improperly fired the head of the state police.

A state senate judiciary committee voted 3-2 to issue the subpoenas to to a total of 13 people, with a Republican lawmaker casting the deciding vote in favor of proceeding, according to Bloomberg and the Associated Press.

"Republican efforts to delay the probe until after the Nov. 4 election were thwarted when GOP State Sen. Charlie Huggins, who represents Palin's hometown of Wasilla, sided with Democrats," AP recounts. Said Huggins, who was dressed in camouflage pants on a break from a moose hunt: ''Let's just get the facts on the table.''

The investigator in charge of the probe says he also wants to interview Sarah Palin, but there is no need to subpoena her because she has said she will cooperate.

Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, who was fired in July, has said he was pressured to dismiss state trooper Mike Wooten but resisted. Wooten was involved in a contentious divorce from Sarah Palin's sister.

"The lawmakers also want to know if any Palin aides violated Wooten's privacy rights by illegally reviewing his personnel files," writes Bloomberg.

The McCain campaign responded to news of the subpoenas by releasing a written statement by Alaska Lt. Governor Sean Parnell, which blamed Democrats and called the investigation a "smear," AP says.

Related coverage:

Newsweek: "A judge repeatedly told Palin and family not to badmouth her sister's ex"

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