Gov. Sarah Palin's Husband To Agrees To Cooperate With Investigation

Anchorage, AK (AHN) - Todd Palin, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband, has agreed to answer questions from the Alaska legislature about the Republican governor's dismissal of a top state official, but the statement will be written and given through his attorney, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

Alaska's Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Palin's husband last month along with 12 other people, including 11 gubernatorial aides, in its investigation into whether the governor abused her influence when she fired Walt Monegan as state public safety commissioner in July.

Todd Palin had responded to the subpoena with a letter through his lawyer saying the probe was "being pursued for partisan purposes' and "is being conducted in violation of all accepted norms of due process."

His decision to cooperate with the probe comes just a day after the state attorney general said seven gubernatorial aides, including Palin's chief of staff, will testify.

Attorney General Talis Colberg had challenged the subpoenas in court together with five Republican state legislators, claiming the investigation had been "tainted."

The lawsuit, which was rejected by the an Anchorage judge last week, said the former state prosecutor hired in the probe, Stephen Branchflower, is biased because his wife had previously worked for Monegan.

It added that state Sen. Hollis French, who is overseeing the investigation, and state Sen. Kim Elston, chair of the Republican-dominated Alaska Legislative Council, are backers of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL)

Palin, a first-term governor who is credited with energizing the McCain campaign as his vice presidential running mate, is accused of firing Monegan for failing to dismiss her former brother-in-law, Michael Wooten, who had been engaged in a bitter custody battle with her sister.

Palin has said Monegan was dismissed because he had opposed her state budgetary priorities and had shown "outright insubordination."