Private lawyer hired to represent Palin in Monegan inquiry
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- Republican John McCain's pick for vice president -- now has a private lawyer representing her and others in the governor's office in an investigation into the firing of her public safety commissioner.
It wasn't immediately clear who hired and who is paying for Thomas Van Flein, who is with a large Alaska law firm.
The Alaska Legislature approved spending up to $100,000 to investigate the circumstances surrounding the firing of the commissioner, Walt Monegan. He has said he believes he was pushed out at least in part because he had refused to fire a state trooper who is Palin's ex-brother-in-law and who the family considered dangerous and a "loose cannon."
"We have been retained to represent the Governor and the Governor's Office relative to the Legislative Council's investigation into the termination of Mr. Monegan ...," Van Flein wrote in a Friday letter to Steve Branchflower, the special counsel hired by the Legislature.
http://www.adn.com/palin/story/512842.html