5 legislators sue to end inquiry into Palin firing safety commissioner
JUNEAU, Alaska - Five Republican legislators sued yesterday to end the bipartisan investigation into Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's firing of the state's public safety commissioner.
A bipartisan oversight committee had unanimously approved an inquiry into whether Palin, now the Republican vice presidential nominee, dismissed Walt Monegan because he wouldn't fire her former brother-in-law, a state trooper.
But in their lawsuit, three state representatives and two state senators called the investigation "unlawful, biased, partial, and partisan." The suit seeks to either delay the investigation until after the Nov. 4 election or remove the Democratic senator overseeing the investigation and the one who heads the Legislative Council that authorized it.
Though Palin said in July that she welcomed the probe and wanted to be held accountable, she and John McCain's presidential campaign have sought to distance her from the controversy and have taken actions that could slow its resolution until after the November election.
The McCain campaign late Monday released e-mails supporting Palin's contention that she dismissed the commissioner over budget disagreements. Calling the investigation "tainted," the campaign also said that Palin is unlikely to speak with an investigator hired to look into the matter and report on Oct. 10.
Palin's lawyer said in papers filed Monday with the state Personnel Board that Monegan lost his job in July because he resisted her budget policies and showed "outright insubordination."
But in interviews Monday with MSNBC and ABC News.com, Monegan said that while he was never directly ordered to dismiss the trooper, Mike Wooten, he felt pressured by Palin, her husband, Todd, and several high-level staffers to do so.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Adviser to McCain says candidates not CEO-ready
NEW YORK - An economic adviser to John McCain said yesterday that neither he nor his running mate is qualified to lead a large corporation, but asserted that they're not running for CEO.
Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard, told KTRS radio in St. Louis that she did not believe that vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin had the experience to run a big company. "But that's not what she's running for," Fiorina replied. Running a corporation is a different set of things."
Later on MSNBC, said she said the same of McCain, but said that the Democratic candidates also don't have the business background to run a company. "It's a fallacy to suggest that the country is like a company," Fiorina said.
The Obama campaign pounced anyway. "If John McCain's top economic adviser doesn't think he can run a corporation, how on Earth can he run the largest economy in the world in the midst of a financial crisis?" spokesman Tommy Vietor asked.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Clinton still talking up the Democratic ticket
Hillary Clinton continues to be a good soldier for Barack Obama, talking up his running mate Joe Biden and demurring on talk that she should be on the ticket instead.
In an interview yesterday on ABC's "Good Morning America," she said she is telling her supporters that they have much more in common on the issues with Obama than with Republican John McCain.
But Clinton also continued to refrain from directly going after Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, preferring to focus on differences on issues. "This goes beyond any one candidate," she said.
Asked about Palin's comment last week that Obama likely regrets not picking her, Clinton said it's fine to be "excited" about a woman being nominated, but added: "That's not a good enough reason to vote for that ticket."
Appearing in New Hampshire last week, Biden also suggested that Clinton might have been a better selection.
Clinton, however, said she's fully behind Biden.
"He's been a strong leader both on issues here at home when it comes to the economy and stresses on middle-class working families, and he understands the strategic challenges that we face around the world," Clinton said.
FOON RHEE
Suit challenges blocking of voting amid foreclosure
LANSING, Mich. - Barack Obama's campaign, the Democratic party, and several voters filed a lawsuit yesterday to challenge what they say is an attempt to keep people facing foreclosure from voting in Michigan, a key swing state.
The suit asks for an injunction prohibiting the Macomb County GOP, the Michigan Republican Party, and the Republican National Committee or anyone connected with them from challenging Michigan voters whose homes are on foreclosure lists.
ASSOCIATED PRESS 