Troopergate Investigation Report Date Moves Up

ABC:

Investigation into Palin Now on Fast Track
Sources Tell ABC News that Report Will Be Released Almost Three Weeks Early
By LEN TEPPER

September 5, 2008—

ABC News has exclusively learned that Alaska Senator Hollis French will announce today that he is moving up the release date of his investigation into whether Gov. Sarah Palin abused her office to get the Alaska public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, fired. The results of the investigation were originally scheduled for release Oct. 31 but will now come almost three weeks earlier, according to sources.

The announcement is set for 9 a.m. AKDT time.

The Alaska state senator running an investigation of Gov. Palin had accused the McCain campaign of using stall tactics to prevent him from releasing his final report by Oct. 31, four days before the November election.

"It's likely to be damaging to the Governor's administration," said Senator Hollis French, a Democrat, appointed the project manager for a bi-partisan State Senate Legislative Counsel Committee investigation.

Palin, who has denied any wrongdoing and has said she has nothing to hide, has hired private lawyers to represent her in the matter.

After years of reports and investigations released after elections (so as not to "interfere" with people's important choices based on issues like who we'd rather have a beer with), it's nice to see the American people might get a chance to actually evaluate someone before having to decide how to vote on their candidacy.

The only remaining question is whether the Alaska State Legislature has the same odd predilection for Sternly Worded Letters^TM that the U.S. Congress has.

UPDATE: Oh well, maybe not:

The commitee, led by Sen. Hollis French, an Anchorage Democrat also announced that it would meet on September 12 to issue subpoenas in the case.

But according to the release, Palin herself will not be subpoenaed. The committee still holds out hope that she will talk to indepedendent investigator Steven Branchflower voluntarily.

Ha ha. Yeah, right.