Alaska lawmakers can continue investigating whether Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power in firing a state public safety commissioner who refused to fire her former brother-in-law, a judge ruled Thursday.

Bloomberg News reports:

In his ruling yesterday, issued minutes before the start of the vice-presidential debate, Alaska state court Judge Peter Michalski said the Alaska Legislative Council can move ahead with its investigation, including having the state Senate Judiciary Committee subpoena Palin aides to testify.

"It is legitimately within the scope of the Legislature's investigatory power to inquire into the circumstances surrounding the termination of a public officer," Michalski wrote in his ruling.
Republicans in Alaska had sought to end the probe, arguing that it has become infected with politics. Republican presidential nominee John McCain tapped Palin to be his running mate.

The judge's decision on the probe came just a few hours before Thursday night's debate between Palin and Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden. The trooper-firing investigation was not mentioned during the debate.

The probe began before Palin's rise to the national stage. State lawmakers hired an investigator to determine whether Palin acted improperly in allegedly pressuring Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan to fire her brother in law and then firing Monegan when he refused to comply. The governor's office says budget disputes led to Monegan's firing.

The Associated Press has more on the investigation.
The independent investigator, retired prosecutor Steven Branchflower, now can conclude the probe and report his findings by Oct. 10. Branchflower has not interviewed Palin's husband Todd and several top aides who have refused to appear under subpoena. It was not immediately clear whether they now would testify.
It remains to be seen whether the investigation's findings will turn into this year's "October surprise" in the presidential campaign.

7 state workers now agree to testify in 'Troopergate' probe
Associated Press
Published: Sunday October 5, 2008


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Seven Alaska state employees have reversed course and agreed to testify in an investigation into whether Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her powers by firing a commissioner who refused to dismiss her former brother-in-law.

There is no indication, however, that Palin or her husband will now agree to testify about the case, which has dogged her for the past several months and could hurt John McCain in the final weeks of the presidential race.

Palin, a first-term Alaska governor, is the focus of a legislative inquiry over her firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan a year after she, her husband and key advisers began questioning him about getting rid of a state trooper who had gone through a nasty divorce with her sister.