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Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) running mate, faces an investigation over her controversial firing of a public safety commissioner. State lawmakers approved an investigation late last month into whether the governor retaliated against former commissioner Walt Monegan for not firing a state trooper entangled in a divorce and ongoing custody battle with Palin’s sister. The investigation will also examine whether Palin or any of her family members pressured Monegan to fire state trooper Mike Wooten because of the messy divorce. Palin has denied any wrongdoing. But Democrats will undoubtedly use the allegations to attack the “clean-government” reputation of the first-term governor. The McCain campaign said Palin “did nothing wrong and has nothing to hide.” “It’s outrageous that the Obama campaign is trying to attack her over a family issue. As a reformer and a leader on ethics reform, she has been happy to help out in the investigation of this matter, because she was never directly involved,” the McCain campaign stated. “Her sister’s former husband was a state trooper and several years ago was suspended from duty after making threats and using a taser on his stepson. One of her staff members did talk about this episode with the office of public safety, but the governor was not aware of his actions. He was wrong to do so and was later suspended for it.” Lawmakers approved $100,000 to conduct the investigation, which may pick up steam weeks before the November elections.
Palin, 44, will appear with McCain at an Ohio rally Friday. The first-term governor came into office with a call to clean up the state's politics, which have been dogged by numerous scandals, including the indictment of legendary Sen. Ted Stevens (R) last month. When Stevens was indicted on seven felony counts, Palin said she shared her state’s “dismay” over the turn of events. |
