6 try to halt Troopergate

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Six Alaska lawmakers filed an emergency appeal Friday asking the state's Supreme Court to halt an investigation into abuse-of-power allegations against Gov. Sarah Palin before the findings are released next week.

The independent investigator conducting the probe plans to turn over his conclusions by next Friday to the Legislative Council, the body that authorized it. The six Republican lawmakers, who are not on the Legislative Council, say the investigation is being manipulated to damage Palin before Election Day on Nov. 4.

Late Friday, the Supreme Court accepted the appeal and scheduled oral arguments for Wednesday in Anchorage.

The probe is looking into whether Palin, who is the Republican vice presidential candidate, and others pressured Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan to fire a state trooper who was involved in a contentious divorce from Palin's sister and then fired Monegan when he wouldn't dismiss the trooper. Palin says Monegan was ousted over budget disagreements.

Five Republican lawmakers sued to block the investigation or remove its overseers and were later joined in their lawsuit by a sixth legislator. But the lawsuit was dismissed on Thursday by an Anchorage judge.

Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski said the Legislature has the ability to investigate the circumstances surrounding the firing of a public officer the lawmakers had confirmed.

Plaintiffs' attorney Kelly Shackelford said Friday that Michalski overlooked the legislators' assertion of bias and conflict of interest by the investigation's overseers. He said that alleged bias violates a provision of the state constitution that says legislative and executive investigations cannot infringe on a person's right to "fair and just treatment."

The legislators are asking for an expedited appeal process so that a decision can be made by Thursday's close of business.

Defense attorney Peter Maassen said the Legislature is free to conduct an investigation as it sees fit and the judge's ruling confirmed the separation of power principles. An emergency appeal is unwarranted, he said, because by next Thursday the investigation will have already be completed — all that will remain will be to make its findings public.

"There's been no time in history that a court has suppressed the outcome of a legislative investigation," Maassen said.

Michalski also threw out a lawsuit filed by Palin aides seeking to dismiss subpoenas compelling their testimony in the investigation. The aides had argued that the subpoenas should not have to be honored because they should not have been issued.