Lawsuit to stop Palin investigation has Texas ties
A group of Alaskan Republican lawmakers trying to stop an inquiry into Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of her public safety chief are represented by a Texas legal institute with ties to conservative causes. The New York Times reports Hiram Sasser and Kelly Shackelford of the Plano-based Liberty Legal Institute are representing the lawmakers, along with Alaskan lawyer Kevin Clarkson.
The institute has strong ties to socially conservative causes. Shackelford led the fight for a ban on gay marriage in Texas. PolitickerTX.com interviewed Shackelford twice in late August. When John McCain was floating the idea of a pro-choice running mate, Shackelford shot-down the idea and described it as "foolish." Shackelford later told PolitickerTX.com he was "thrilled" McCain chose Palin. "Solidly pro-life and strong in every way," he said.
Clarkson reached out to Sasser "because of his constitutional expertise." The 26-page lawsuit was filed against Democratic state Sens. Hollis French and Kim Elton and an independent investigator.
The lawsuit contends that the Legislature does not have the constitutional power to conduct the inquiry and the whole process is politically biased. The inquiry stems from Palin's decision to fire Walt Monegan, her public safety commissioner. Monegan said he was let go because he refused to fire state trooper Mike Wooten, Palin's former brother-in-law. Palin said she fired Monegan for "insubordination" on budget issues.
Alaska Republicans, many of whom have been critical of Palin in recent days, said the inquiry had become too politicized. "What started as a bipartisan and impartial effort is becoming overshadowed by public comments from individuals at both ends of the political spectrum," state House Speaker John Harris wrote in a letter to Elton.
"The McCain campaign is the one that has made this partisan," Lyda Green, the Republican state Senate President told the Times. "This was 100 percent bipartisan effort on the part of the Legislature to ask questions that deserve to be answered."
I noticed you mentioned the "liberty legal institute, apparently they are based out of Plano. Too close to home, as I don't live that far from Plano. When I read this I was wondering why a Plano based "think tank" were interfering with Alaska LAW. While making claims that the Alaska Legislature doesn't have the constitutional power to conduct the inquiry.:eyes:
While also making claims that the process is politically biased. Damn straight it is, brought to you by John McCain, who is known for squashing investigations.
Maybe they should just butt out since they don't have any legal authority to be there in the first place. I didn't know they have ties to Dobson.