Palin Could Be Deposed in Probe
Former State Official Claims He Was Pressured to Fire Gov.'s Former Brother-in-Law
A woman who answered the phone at Wooten's house declined to put him on the phone, saying, "He's putting his children first ... and has nothing to say about the campaign or Palin."
The legislative investigation centers on Palin's dismissal of Monegan, who says that he was contacted several times by the governor and her husband, Todd Palin, and that they pressured him to fire Wooten, who was locked in a contentious divorce and custody battle with Palin's sister, Molly McCann.
"Obviously, there was an issue," says Monegan, who claims that the governor talked to him twice and e-mailed him two or three times about the issue. "And did she want us to do more than discipline him? Yeah, anyone can tell you that.
"No one ever -- not her, not her staff -- has ever said, 'Fire Trooper Wooten,'" adds Monegan. "They all said, 'He's not the sort we'd like to have represent Alaska state troopers.' But the intention was clear."
Monegan says that he also met with Todd Palin in the governor's office in January 2007 and claims, "He showed me ... private investigator reports, letters, correspondence" that raised issues suggesting Wooten should be punished.
But Monegan says when he brought the information back to his office and compared it to the commission's internal file on Wooten, which contained complaints filed by Palin's sister, he says he didn't find anything new.
Monegan says Wooten had already been disciplined by his predecessor for the same complaints raised by Palin and her husband.
"They were already done deals and he had already been punished," says Monegan, who adds that the governor called him late at night on his cellphone a few days after his meeting with Todd Palin.
"There was no new evidence, and I called [Todd Palin] back and told him it was a closed case," Monegan says. "He wasn't happy to hear that. I got a subsequent phone call from the governor about it, and she wasn't happy, either."
In total, Monegan says he and his office received 24 calls over 17 months from the governor, her husband and her staff about Wooten.
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