on CNN they announced it as breaking news.
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http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/06/palin.investigation/?iref=mpstoryviewOctober 6, 2008 -- Updated 0154 GMT (0954 HKT)
Palin's husband will answer questions in firing investigation
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband has agreed to answer written questions in the state Legislature's investigation into the firing of her public safety commissioner, campaign officials said Monday.
Todd Palin has been resisting a subpoena by lawmakers since mid-September. But with the Legislature's report on the matter due Friday, Palin has agreed to answer written questions submitted through his lawyer, McCain-Palin campaign spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said.
Stapleton called the move a good-faith offer, despite allegations that the investigation has been tarnished by partisan politics since the governor became Republican Sen. John McCain's vice presidential candidate.
"We certainly hope this would not be the case, but there is a good chance that Friday's report may not get to the facts in a way that is at arm's length from politics as the legislators originally intended," Stapleton said. "However, Todd Palin believes it is still important to make an offer of cooperation and good faith."
She said the questions were submitted to Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein on Monday and are expected to be returned by Wednesday -- the same day the state Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a request by the governor's GOP allies to shut down the investigation.
There was no immediate response from the office of state Sen. Hollis French, the lawmaker managing the investigation. French, a Democrat, is the chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee and a lighting rod for critics of the investigation.
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Meanwhile, Palin's allies in the Legislature are asking the state Supreme Court to shut down the legislative investigation. An Anchorage judge dismissed their request last week and upheld the subpoenas, but Alaska's five-member high court agreed last week to hear the case on an emergency basis.
The court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Wednesday afternoon -- but its chief justice, Dana Fabe, announced Monday that she has recused herself because her husband's law firm represents a witness in the investigation.
The Republicans, backed by a conservative legal foundation from Texas, argue that the Legislature's investigation violates the state Constitution's guarantee of due process. They also argue that the investigation led by French and former Anchorage prosecutor Stephen Branchflower fails to meet the goal of a "professional, unbiased, independent, objective" investigation set by the bipartisan committee that authorized it in July.
In dismissing their lawsuit last week, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski said it was up to the Legislature to manage its own investigation