Pace of Palin probe quickens

Anchorage, Alaska —- The Alaska Legislature will work to complete its ethics investigation into Gov. Sarah Palin’s firing of her public safety commissioner earlier than expected, weeks before the national election.

State Sen. Hollis French said seven witnesses told the Legislature’s investigator they will not provide depositions and canceled their meetings. French, who is overseeing the investigation into whether Palin abused her power, said the Legislature will subpoena witnesses.

Lawmakers said they have put the investigation on a fast track now that Palin is Republican John McCain’s running mate. The investigation previously was expected to end on Oct. 31 —- just four days before the election. French said the probe will be completed three weeks earlier than that.

In July, a state oversight committee approved $100,000 for an investigation into whether Palin fired public safety commissioner Walt Monegan because he would not dismiss a trooper who had gone through a messy divorce from Palin’s sister before Palin ran for governor.

Palin lawyer Thomas Van Flein has worked aggressively against an Alaskan legislative inquiry and has started questioning potentially damaging witnesses against the governor.

Van Flein wants the state personnel board to conduct the probe, not the Legislature. The board members are gubernatorial appointees. Van Flein said he has already provided the board the depositions of two witnesses he has questioned, leaving the Legislature in the dark.

The legal tactic of pre-emptive questioning gives the governor a distinct advantage in the controversy because it means that she already knows at the outset the detailed accounts of potential witnesses against her. The procedure also locks important witnesses into the accounts they give. If the witnesses provide statements now that are favorable to Palin, their credibility could be called into question if they make statements in the future that are unfavorable.