Palin's attorney: Investigator 'biased'

[Botany]

Source: AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A lawyer for Gov. Sarah Palin is taking another stab at derailing the Legislature's ethics
investigation into the firing of her former public safety commissioner, accusing the retired prosecutor who is
conducting it of acting unethically himself.

In two letters released Wednesday, Thomas Van Flein called the investigation "unlawful and unconstitutional" and
said the man hired to run it, former prosecutor Stephen Branchflower, has a conflict of interest because he's a
friend of the fired commissioner. Citing "your seemingly biased conduct of the investigation in recent weeks,"
he urged Branchflower to stop interviewing witnesses — the second time this month that he's asked Branchflower
to stand down.

Branchflower is looking into whether Palin, now John McCain's running mate, canned Public Safety Commissioner
Walt Monegan because Monegan wouldn't fire a state trooper who was involved in a messy divorce from Palin's
sister, a probe that has come to be known as "Troopergate."

snip

In July, Palin said she'd welcome and cooperate with the investigation, but after McCain picked her as a running
mate, Van Flein urged that the investigation be conducted by the Alaska Personnel Board, which is appointed
by the governor.

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jOTk11gvqDAgD0cY3i4WjI_2YOxwD934A0C80

---

So Palin's lawyer is now trying to stop the investigation? And this was an Investigation
that Palin said she welcomed just last July.

Nice pick John :rofl:

[9119495]

1. She was for it before she was against it.

Did I win?

[Botany]

2. You win.

What gets me is this investigation was known and still McCain picked her.

[Bette Noir]

7. A sterling example of McCain's judgement.

The scary part is that half the country is willing to vote for these morons.

[Bozita]

3. The longer this goes on, the more it sounds like former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

Sarah and Kwame, birds of a feather.

[liberal N proud]

4. They love to make her the victim

Don't they

[Botany]

5. To me it seems like she is guilty and tying to hide

Also this investigation was started by the republican state legislature in
Alaska because of the evidence in the case it is not some witch hunt.

[Igel]

9. I have trouble following the Senate in Alaska.

There's apparently a ruling bipartisan coalition that's majority dem, with dems having a majority of committee chairs but the president of the senate being repub.

To keep the peace, repub members of the coalition vote with dems, by and large, and the non-coalition repubs have markedly less power. If I understand it correctly. It makes for a dem majority leader of the Senate and a repub minority leader, even though, I think, repubs are numerically more numerous.

That makes "started by the republican state legislature" a fairly undefined statement. It was started by a senate that's 11-9 repub-dem, but which is controlled by a dem-majority coalition.

The dems are clearly in control of the process, with a bit of bipartisan support. That doesn't mean it's not a witch hunt or that it is a witch hunt. It merely means that the discussion can't be simplified too much before it starts representing a state of affairs sharply at odds with reality.

However, it'd be interesting to hear what the courts have to say about the administrative/legislative dispute. It would also be fascinating if the legislative investigation is challenged in court on the basis of the "just" and "fair" language in the AK Constitution that (even!) legislative hearings have to abide by. I'd just like to see how that particular legal contest would work out--it's a novel idea, having such a limitation on a process which is, by its very nature, either there simply for informational purposes (presumably to advance legislation--not the issue here) or for political purposes (i.e., possibly leading to impeachment, as French has said). McCarthy casts his shadow today.

[Botany]

10. thank you

I was under the impression that Alaska was a very red state and that
was reflected in their state senate.

[yellowcanine]

6. It is the Tom Delay defense.

[kurth_]

8. Pit bull is full of bull

nothing but

[tanyev]

11. What a WHINER!