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Palin's husband: She didn't know I was seeking firing

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

October 10, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Gov. Sarah Palin remained in the dark while her husband repeatedly asked top state officials to help get his former brother-in-law kicked off the state police force, Palin's husband and top aides say in affidavits provided to The Associated Press.

The Republican vice-presidential nominee is the focus of a legislative probe into whether she abused her authority by firing the state's public safety commissioner to settle a long-standing family dispute. The commissioner says he was fired after resisting pressure to fire Mike Wooten, a trooper involved in a bitter divorce with Palin's sister.

The issue has been a distraction for John McCain's presidential campaign. Lawmakers were scheduled to meet today and release a report on the case, which could shed light on how Palin governs and what role her husband played in her administration.

The affidavits filed late Wednesday will probably help Palin's defense that the firing was not a tit-for-tat, but they also portray her as uninvolved while her husband met repeatedly with her aides about family affairs. That could provide fodder for her political opponents.

"I have heard criticism that I am too involved in my wife's administration," Todd Palin wrote in his affidavit. "My wife and I are very close. We are each other's best friend. I have helped her in her career the best I can, and she has helped me."

The documents, released the same day the State Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit designed to block the probe, describe Todd Palin's extraordinary level of access to a variety of the governor's top aides.

He told them emotional stories about Wooten threatening and emotionally abusing his family. He said he talked to anyone who would listen. He gave them photos and documents, which they forwarded to others in the administration, and he questioned how Wooten kept his job.

Gov. Palin's special assistant, Ivy Frye, said she was distraught when she was told about the situation. But Frye said she never talked about it with the governor or mentioned the idea of asking Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan to fire Wooten.

Monegan says he was fired for not dismissing Wooten, a claim that touched off the politically charged investigation just before McCain chose Palin as his running mate. Palin says she fired Monegan over a budget dispute.