By GottaLaff
Nah, no Gramm-pa McCain/Karl Rove fingerprints on this, nope:
Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg is suing to kill subpoenas issued by the state Legislature in its Troopergate investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin.Colberg filed the complaint Thursday in Anchorage superior court, arguing the state Senate Judiciary Committee lacked authority to issue subpoenas demanding that potential witnesses testify in the investigation. He wants a judge to rule them invalid.
The attorney general's lawsuit against state lawmakers is the first time Palin's executive branch has brought the courts into its war with the legislative branch of government over the investigation. Now that Palin is the Republican nominee for vice president, the stakes are huge.
Palin's husband, Todd, and two state officials have refused to honor the subpoenas, leaving some state legislators suggesting jail time is a potential consequence. Colberg's suit is on behalf of seven other subpoenaed Palin administration officials who are supposed to testify today but won't. [...]
The lawsuit comes as Colberg faces growing criticism from state legislators and other critics who argue that the attorney general is treading dangerous legal ground as state employees defy legislative subpoenas. [...]
Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Hollis French responded, after reading the attorney general's court filing Thursday, that the nation is built on a system of checks and balances between the different branches of government.
"For over 200 years, legislatures have exercised their right to oversee the activities of the executive branch. Denying us that authority undermines the basic democratic process," said French, an Anchorage Democrat and former state prosecutor.
The chairman of the Legislative Council, which authorized the investigation, said he wished Colberg had gone to court earlier if that was his plan.
"I'm relatively comfortable that I know how the court is going to rule. I think that the argument they can ignore subpoenas is specious," said the chairman, Juneau Democratic Sen. Kim Elton. "I'm just sorry that he's waited so long to do it because everyone knows that the clock is ticking."
Bush III, Cheney II.
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