Thursday, September 18, 2008

Todd Palin Refuses to Tesify in 'Troopergate' Probe

Todd Palin, husband of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, has refused to testify in the investigation of his wife's alleged abuse of power in a case involving their former brother-in-law. Lawmakers in Alaska said late Thursday that without the testimony of some key witnesses, the investigation will potentially be delayed until after Election Day.

The Alaska Legislature subpoenaed 13 people in the case, but not the governor. Palin's lawyer, Thomas Van Flein, announced in a letter to investigators that Todd Palin would not testify 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, reported The Associated Press.

Alaska State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, a Democrat, told AP that the McCain campaign is working hard to prevent the Legislature from completing its job. AP reported that Wielechowski said the witnesses can avoid testifying for months without penalty and that court action to force them to appear sooner is unlikely.

Republican Sen. Gene Therriault, who opposed the subpoenas, told AP, "If we had turned the rhetoric down and turned the pressure down to do some things we might have gotten voluntary cooperation."

No comments: