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68-531: Troopergate may refer to: Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal , allegations regarding Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States in 2008 Eliot Spitzer political surveillance controversy , allegations made in 2007 regarding New York Governor Eliot Spitzer Troopergate (Bill Clinton) , allegations regarding Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, made in 1993 when he

136-546: A Taser on his then 11-year-old stepson in 2003. He told investigators that he did so "in a training capacity" after the child had asked to be tased. In a September 2008 newspaper interview, Wooten said that he set the Taser to "test" mode, meaning that it was on low power. In a statement to police, the boy said "he wanted to be tased to show that he's not a mommy's boy in front of Bristol [his cousin, Palin's daughter]. Following being tased he went upstairs to tell his mother that he

204-519: A wolf from a helicopter. Aside from the alleged death threat against Heath, Sarah and Molly had also accused Wooten of making threats that he would "bring down" Sarah and her family. Sarah Palin had no first-hand knowledge of these threats; she heard about them via Molly. Molly told police she understood Wooten to mean that he could use his position as a trooper to make life difficult for Sarah. Wooten denied making this threat. The police investigation treated this allegation as "Not Sustained." Based on

272-448: A Memorandum of Findings describing the results of his investigation. Wall's investigation report dated October 29, 2005 found that Wooten violated internal policy, but not the law, in making a death threat against Molly McCann's father Heath on February 17, 2005. Molly McCann, Sarah Palin and Track Palin said that he made the threat. Wooten said that he didn't make the threat. Wall decided that he had in fact done so. Wall concluded that

340-431: A bill is engrossed and sent to the opposite house to go through the same process of introduction, committee referral, and three readings. When a bill is not modified in the second house, that house can send it to the governor on Third Reading, through enrollment. If the bill is modified, the house of origin must vote to accept or reject amendments by the opposite house. A Fourth Reading, in the case of acceptance, will send

408-485: A bill, and committees can vote to approve a bill in its original form or make modifications through a committee substitute. Once bills or substitutes are approved, the legislation is referred to the next committee of assignment or to the Rules Committee, which can further amend the bill or assign it to the chamber's daily calendar. Once the Rules Committee has scheduled a bill on the chamber floor, it appears on

476-408: A cabinet position. Monegan is a former police chief of Anchorage and son of Walter C. Monegan, Jr. According to the investigator hired by the state legislature, "Right about that time, a little after the swearing in," someone from Palin's office called Monegan's office to schedule a meeting between Monegan and Todd Palin , the governor's husband. According to Monegan, the meeting took place in

544-849: A character reference for Wooten. In 2001, Wooten became an Alaska State Trooper. Also in 2001, McCann and Wooten got married. In January 2005, they were separated. On April 11, 2005, McCann filed for divorce from Wooten. That day a judge granted a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) against Wooten. The same day, McCann's father Chuck Heath phoned police to inform them about the DVPO. Also that day, police spoke with McCann. She said Wooten had threatened to shoot her father if he hired an attorney to help in her divorce. McCann said that although Wooten "has never physically abused her," he "acts very intimidating." She also accused him of using illegal testosterone supplements, drunk driving, and threatening to "take down" Palin if she got involved. McCann said she

612-464: A gubernatorial election. Representatives have a two-year term, and senators have a four-year term. One-half of the senators shall be elected every two years. Annual sessions begin in January and are limited by statute to 90 calendar days. Special sessions of 30 calendar days may be convened by a consensus of two-thirds of each house. In the 2006 elections, a voter initiative was passed that reduced

680-633: A gun, of course." A spokesperson for the McCain-Palin campaign says that Palin's contacts with Monegan were only to alert him to potential threats to her family. Monegan also has said he got telephone calls from three Palin appointees: her then-chief of staff, Mike Tibbles; Commissioner Annette Kreitzer of the Department of Administration; and Attorney General Talis Colberg . Colberg said he called after Todd Palin asked him about "the process" for handling death threats made by state troopers against

748-549: A hunting violation in shooting a moose without a permit: he had been out hunting with McCann in September 2003 and had shot the animal himself even though their permit was in McCann's name only. According to subsequent news reports, McCann had obtained the permit but balked at killing the moose herself, so she handed the gun to her then-husband, who shot the animal. Wooten was also found to have violated department policy in using

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816-502: A phone line (speakerphone). Palin said she had not called police at that time because she did not want to put Wooten's career in jeopardy, and the situation had not progressed to physical violence. On August 10, 2005, Palin sent an email to Col. Julia Grimes, head of the Alaska State Troopers, urging that Wooten be dismissed and giving more details about the alleged death threat. The email from Palin to Grimes said that

884-427: A police investigator asked Bristol why they "waited so long and brought the incident up after two years." Bristol said "because of the divorce and stuff". The investigation initially cleared Wooten on all the alcohol-related charges, but Grimes overturned that result and found that Wooten did, "Take [an] open beer with him when he drove away in his trooper vehicle," on one occasion in the summer of 2004, violating both

952-409: A position as executive director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which he turned down. In a letter to DPS employees announcing his termination, Monegan wrote that he was an at-will employee and knew his dismissal was, "A possibility ever present", and that he had been advised that the governor wanted to take DPS in a "different direction". In an interview the next day Monegan said that

1020-432: A poster over here that has a picture of Mike Wooten on it?" Until that moment, Commissioner Monegan apparently never realized it was indeed a photograph of Trooper Wooten. Governor Palin canceled her appearance and sent Lieutenant Governor Parnell in her place. At least three dozen people contacted Monegan's office over a 19-month period. Kim Peterson, Mr. Monegan's special assistant and a 31-year human resources employee of

1088-595: A representative 21 years of age at the time the oath of office is taken. Each chamber of the legislature may expel a member with the concurrence of two-thirds of the membership of that house. This has happened only once in the legislature's history. On February 5, 1982, the Alaska Senate of the 12th Legislature expelled Bethel senator George Hohman from the body. Hohman was convicted of bribery in conjunction with his legislative duties on December 24, 1981, and had defiantly refused to resign from his seat. Expulsion

1156-495: A serious and concentrated pattern of unacceptable and at times, illegal activity occurring over a lengthy period, which establishes a course of conduct totally at odds with the ethics of our profession". After a union protest, the suspension was reduced to five days, and Grimes warned Wooten he would be fired if he committed any further misconduct. In early December 2006, Palin took office as Governor of Alaska and appointed Walter C. Monegan III to be Public Safety Commissioner,

1224-591: A special investigator to look into the issue to clear the air. That's the only thing I can think of, if you want to get to the truth and be unbiased," said Senate President Lyda Green, a Wasilla Republican. "Otherwise, speculation just continues." Ten days later, on July 28, 2008, the Alaska Legislative Council met and voted 12–0 to delegate their authority to the Council Chairman, Senator Elton, to hire legal services to investigate

1292-400: A statement: Alaska Legislature Non-caucusing members (3) The Alaska State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska . It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives ( lower house ) and the 20-member Alaska Senate ( upper house ). There are 40 House Districts (1–40) and 20 Senate Districts (A–T). With

1360-653: A total of 60 lawmakers, the Alaska State Legislature is the smallest bicameral state legislature in the United States and the second-smallest of all state legislatures (only the 49-member unicameral Nebraska Legislature is smaller). There are no term limits for either chamber. The Alaska State Legislature meets in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau . The current meeting since 2023 is the 33rd Alaska State Legislature . The previous meeting,

1428-571: Is a form of child abuse ... relatives cannot disparage either. If occurs [ sic ] the parent needs to set boundaries for their relatives." In the divorce decree that was granted on January 31, 2006, Judge Suddock expressed concern about continued criticism by McCann's family towards Wooten and noted that he would pay particular attention to problems raised by a custody investigator. Legal disputes between Wooten and McCann over custody, child support and visitation rights continued through 2007 and 2008. On October 29, 2005, Sgt. Wall issued

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1496-401: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal On October 10, 2008, the twelve-member bipartisan Alaska Legislative Council hired investigator Stephen Branchflower to investigate whether Palin had dismissed Monegan for not firing Wooten. The Branchflower Report found that Palin had violated

1564-405: Is this guy still representing the department?' " and "I'm telling you honestly, you know, she really likes Walt [Monegan] a lot, but on this issue, she feels like it's, she doesn't know why there is absolutely no action for a year on this issue. It's very, very troubling to her and the family. I could definitely relay that." Bailey said in an interview on August 13 that no one had asked him to make

1632-439: The 32nd Alaska State Legislature , met from 2021 to 2023. Unlike other state legislatures with longer sessions, the Alaska State Legislature's comparatively short session allows many lawmakers to retain outside employment, especially in the state's many seasonal industries , such as fishing and tourism . In this, the Alaska State Legislature retains some of the volunteer nature that characterized most state legislatures until

1700-475: The Anchorage Daily News he had met once with Wooten's supervisor, Colonel Audie Holloway, to give her pictures of Wooten driving a snowmobile when he was out on a worker's compensation claim. Diane Kiesel, Alaska state personnel director, also called Holloway about the snowmobile incident. On November 19, 2007, a meeting was called by Mike Tibbles, at the time Palin's chief of staff, to discuss

1768-641: The Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act covering state executive employees, and released it to the public. Under Alaska law, the state's three-member State Personnel Board, not the Legislative Council, decides whether a governor has violated the ethics laws. On November 3, 2008, the bipartisan Personnel Board, all of whom had been appointed by Palin, released the findings of its own investigation which concluded that Palin did not violate any ethics laws. No action

1836-548: The Alaska State Trooper's union testified that the union viewed the dozen complaints filed by McCann and her family against Wooten as "not job-related" and "harassment." Judge Suddock repeatedly warned McCann and her family to stop "disparaging" Wooten's reputation or risk the judge granting Wooten custody of the children. At a court hearing in October 2005, Judge Suddock said "disparaging will not be tolerated—it

1904-559: The February 2005 threat by Wooten to shoot Heath came after McCann had accused Wooten of attending an event with another woman. In the email, Palin described Wooten as "a loose cannon" and "a ticking timebomb," and said that failing to fire Wooten "would lead a rational person to believe there is a problem inside the organization." As a result of the email, Palin was interviewed again by state troopers on August 18, 2005. During this interview, she stated that she did not warn her father of

1972-890: The Governor herself, her husband, and members of her staff as well as the state's Attorney General, had contacted him numerous times regarding Wooten. At the time Palin dismissed Monegan, Wooten was involved in a custody battle with his former wife, Molly McCann, Palin's sister. Palin denied that there had been any pressure on Monegan to fire Wooten, either from herself or from anyone in her administration. In mid-August, Palin acknowledged that "pressure could have been perceived to exist, although I have only now become aware of it." She also apologized to Alaskans for what she called "this distraction." Before Palin became governor, she and other members of her family had made various allegations of misconduct against Wooten. An internal investigation upheld some charges and rejected others. On March 1, 2006

2040-562: The Governor's office on January 4, 2007, with only Monegan and Todd Palin present. Palin asked Monegan to look into the Wooten affair. He gave Monegan various records, including material from a private investigator hired by the Palin family. Palin said that he disagreed with the five-day suspension, as inadequate and insufficient, and accused Wooten of a variety of transgressions, including drunken driving and child abuse. He asked Monegan to revisit

2108-437: The Palin administration and the governor's husband, Todd Palin , about Wooten started shortly after Monegan was hired and continued until May or June 2008. Monegan said that Palin's acting chief of staff, Mike Nizich, told him on July 11 that he was being removed from his position because Palin wanted to take the Department of Public Safety in a different direction. On July 18, in response to Monegan's comments, Palin released

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2176-503: The State of Alaska, said she fielded about a dozen calls. "It was very clear that someone from the governor's office wanted him watched," she told The New York Times . Mr. Palin had called Ms. Peterson to claim that he had seen Wooten riding a snowmobile while on disability for a back injury and asked her to investigate. When Mr. Palin called back two weeks later asking for a response, Peterson told him that she could not discuss it because it

2244-498: The bill to the governor, through enrollment. If amendments are rejected, the bill can be sent to conference, where members of the Senate and House hash out a final version and send it to a Fourth Reading in both houses. The governor can choose to sign or veto the legislation. In the case of the veto, a two-thirds majority can override the veto. If signed or approved by a veto override, the legislation becomes law. Unlike in many states,

2312-528: The calendar in Second Reading. The bill is again read by number, sponsor or sponsors, and title, along with the standing committee reports. A motion is made on the floor to adopt any committee substitutes. Amendments can also be offered and voted on. Third Reading is where the motion is made to vote on the bill. After final passage in either the Alaska House of Representatives or Alaska Senate,

2380-647: The call and he didn't know why he indicated in the call that he was speaking on behalf of the Palins. A transcript of the call is available. Cell records show that Todd Palin spoke to Palin aide Ivy Frye three times on the afternoon of February 28, the day before Bailey's conversation with Dial. About three hours after the last call, the first of ten emails began to circulate between Ivy Frye, Sarah Palin , her husband Todd, Bailey, Administration Commissioner Annette Kreitzer, Deputy Chief of Staff Randy Ruaro and Palin aide Kris Perry. The exchanges continued overnight and into

2448-520: The chief of the Alaska state police issued a letter of reprimand to Wooten, and he served a five-day suspension as penalty. After Palin became governor in December 2006, she, her husband Todd Palin , and various aides had further contacts with Monegan about Wooten. Monegan told both Sarah Palin and Todd Palin that the disciplinary proceeding against Wooten was concluded and could not be reopened. Palin

2516-481: The circumstances under which a trooper can be fired. According to Monegan, Governor Palin raised the matter with him personally twice, in January and February, and then kept raising the matter indirectly through e-mails, though she did not again bring it up directly. In an email sent to Monegan on February 7, 2007 about a proposed bill to require 99-year sentences for police officers found guilty of murder, Palin mentioned Wooten as an example of an officer who violated

2584-503: The crime lab at AST headquarters in Anchorage, partially obscured by a flagpole. The picture to be signed by the Governor was to be used as a poster to be displayed in various Trooper Detachments around the state. Shortly after he returned to his office from dropping off the photograph, he received a call from Kris Perry, Governor Palin's Director of her Anchorage office, who asked (according to Walt Monegan's testimony), "Why did you send

2652-486: The death threat until two weeks after it was made; she explained the delay by saying that Wooten had no reason to shoot Heath. According to Heath himself, the delay was a month: "Heath stated that his daughters didn't report the incident to him until a month later." On May 9, a court hearing was held regarding the DVPO. At this hearing the DVPO was quashed because McCann's counsel was unable to produce evidence of any acts of physical or implied violence. In October 2005,

2720-580: The death threat was not a crime because Wooten did not threaten the father directly; therefore, Wall deemed the threat to be a violation of trooper policy rather than a violation of criminal law. Although the death threat was listed as a violation of trooper policy OPM 101.070(A) Unbecoming Conduct and OPM 101.070(B) Personal Conduct in the Memorandum of Findings, it was not mentioned at all in the suspension letter sent to Wooten by Col. Grimes on March 1, 2006. The investigation found that Wooten had committed

2788-409: The dismissal had come "out of the blue" and that "[i]f the governor was upset with me for one thing or another, it had never been communicated to me." The accusation that Governor Palin may have abused her power when her attempt to reassign Commissioner Walt Monegan resulted in his termination of employment appeared in the blog of Andrew Halcro on Thursday, July 17, 2008. Halcro claimed that Monegan

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2856-459: The divorce went to trial. During the trial, Judge John Suddock expressed puzzlement at the efforts of McCann's family to get Wooten fired, since it would harm his earning capacity and damage his ability to pay child support. Judge Suddock said "it appears for the world that Ms. McCann and her family have decided to take off for the guy's livelihood -- that the bitterness of whatever who did what to whom has overridden good judgment." A representative for

2924-475: The first family. Monegan told Colberg the matter had been handled, and Colberg reported back to Todd Palin that nothing more could be done. In mid-August 2008, the Alaska Attorney General's inquiry reported that Palin's staff had made about two dozen contacts with public safety officials about Wooten, in 2007 and 2008, with more than half initiated by Tibbles. In April 2007, Todd Palin told

2992-566: The full Alaska Senate for contempt. These contempt charges were not addressed until the state legislature met in January 2009, when the legislature had several options including physically bringing the witnesses in, imposing jail time, and levying fines. With the refusals to testify, Senator Hollis French, the Democrat chosen to oversee the charges, moved forward with the investigation. Palin's attorney general announced on October 5, 2008, that seven state employees would honor subpoenas to testify in

3060-630: The governor are introduced through a Rules Committee in either chamber. The chief clerk of the house or the senate secretary assigns each bill a number. During session, a bill is introduced and first read by number, sponsor or sponsors, and title. The bill is then referred to a committee or multiple committees. Both chambers have the following committees: Finance; Health, Education and Social Services; Judiciary; Labor and Commerce; Community and Regional Affairs; Resources; Rules; State Affairs and Transportation; and any subcommittees created by committee chairs. Committee chairs can choose whether or not to hear

3128-520: The governor does not have the power of the pocket veto. Unlike many other state legislative chambers in the United States, both houses of the Alaska State Legislature have a longstanding tradition of majority caucuses encompassing members of both major parties ( Republican and Democratic ). Democrats caucusing with the majority are colloquially known as "Bush Democrats," a reference to the Alaskan bush country from which they typically hail. Members of

3196-447: The internal investigation findings, Grimes announced on March 1, 2006 that she would suspend Wooten for ten days. In announcing the suspension, Grimes referred to the Taser, moose and beer incidents, and also to seven other negative actions in Wooten's personnel file, such as failing to use turn signals. She did not mention the alleged death threat or any other allegations regarding threats. She concluded that "[t]he record clearly indicates

3264-533: The investigation. The contract was signed on July 31, 2008, and Branchflower began his investigation on August 11, 2008. On July 17, Palin said publicly that "We have [to] start recruiting. We have to start doing more than just talking about it. And taking action also." Monegan responded on July 18 that the two most recent trooper graduating classes had the most recruits in years. On July 18, Monegan suggested that his dismissal might have been related to his reluctance to fire Wooten. He said phone calls and questions from

3332-512: The law and internal trooper policy. Wooten was not on duty; he was wearing "civilian attire." And he "drove approximately one mile to his residence." Because Wooten "was a member of the SERT [SWAT] team ... he [was allowed to] use his State vehicle for personal use." The only witnesses to this event were close friends of Sarah Palin's father: "Adrian Lane was a student of Chuck Heath's in Idaho when he

3400-526: The legislative investigation of the Troopergate affair. On October 10, 2008, the Alaska Legislative Council unanimously voted to release, without endorsing, the Branchflower investigative report which found that Sarah Palin "abused her power as governor [in] attempting to get Trooper Wooten fired." In 1999, Sarah Palin's sister Molly McCann and Mike Wooten began dating. In 2000, Palin wrote

3468-413: The matter in light of some additional evidence he was providing. Monegan agreed to do that. He detailed some staff for the review, who made a page-by-page comparison with the investigation that had been done earlier, and told Monegan that there was nothing new. Monegan then told Todd Palin that there was nothing he could do as the case was closed. The troopers operate under a union contract that restricts

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3536-443: The middle of the 20th century. This has led to recurring but minor controversy around the potential for conflict of interest inherent in legislators' outside employment. A candidate for legislative office must be a qualified voter and resident of Alaska for no less than three years, and a resident of the district from which elected for one year immediately preceding filing for office. A senator must be at least 25 years of age and

3604-420: The morning of Bailey's phone call. Shortly before the annual celebration of Police Memorial Day on May 15, 2008, Commissioner Monegan dropped off a color photograph at Governor Palin's Anchorage office with a request that she sign and present it at the ceremony. The photograph was of an Alaska State Trooper, dressed in a formal uniform, saluting. He was standing in front of the police memorial located in front of

3672-548: The process of how Wooten had returned to work after a worker's compensation injury. Present were Kevin Brooks, the deputy commissioner of the Department of Administration, Nicki Neal, director of the Personnel Division, and Diane Kiesel, former director of Personnel and Labor Relations. On February 29, 2008, Frank Bailey , the governor's director of boards and commissions, made a phone call to trooper Lt. Rodney Dial,

3740-402: The public trust. The email listed several examples of Wooten's alleged misbehavior. Another Palin email, dated July 17, 2007, concerned a proposed bill to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. Palin wrote to Monegan that her first thoughts "went to my ex-brother-in-law, the trooper, who threatened to kill my dad yet was not even reprimanded by his bosses and still to this day carries

3808-471: The report will "likely be damaging" to the Palin administration, and may be an October surprise . In response to those remarks by French, Republican state Senator John Coghill pushed an unsuccessful effort to have French removed from managing the investigation. Todd Palin did not honor a September 2008 subpoena to appear in court to testify about his role in Troopergate. Two other key witnesses also failed to appear, and all three were originally referred to

3876-401: The state troopers' liaison to the legislature. The Public Safety Department recorded the call, as it does routinely, and the Palin administration released an audiotape of it on August 13. In it, Bailey made several accusations against Wooten, including that he lied on his application to become a trooper. He was recorded saying "Todd and Sarah are scratching their heads, 'why on earth hasn't, why

3944-594: The statutory length of the session from 121 days to 90 days. The 2008 session was the first 90-day session. Although the session adjourned on time, opponents of the shorter session claimed that legislation was rushed and public input was jeopardized. Legislators introduce a bill by giving it to the Chief Clerk of the Alaska House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Alaska Senate . Bills submitted by

4012-405: The termination of Commissioner Monegan. They named Senator Hollis French as Project Director for the contract. The report was intended that the "investigation [is] in a professional, unbiased, independent, objective manner, and... at arm's length from the political process". The investigators report was to be submitted to the Legislative Council. Senator French hired Stephen Branchflower to conduct

4080-418: Was "fired" because of his budget battles with the governor and because he refused to fire Trooper Wooten. Halcro's blog reported that Monegan thought he was going into the meeting to smooth over the ruffled feathers caused from when his deputy, Holloway, denied the governor's chief of security, Cocerall, an extra trooper for security at the governor's picnic. Instead he was fired. The legislators agreed to hire

4148-428: Was "scared" of what Wooten "would do when he finds out she has hired an attorney." Based on McCann's complaint, the Alaska State Troopers began an investigation into the claims made, interviewing more than fifteen witnesses. In May 2005, Sarah Palin told police that she and her son Track overheard a death threat against her father (Heath), in February 2005, when McCann allowed her to listen in on an argument through

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4216-426: Was a child and they have been close friends ever since." This is apparently why the original Memorandum of Findings treated this allegation as "Not Sustained." Wooten denied this allegation. Wooten was cleared of numerous other allegations made by McCann and her family, including that he had taken illegal steroid and testosterone supplements, that he had physically assaulted McCann, and that he had illegally shot

4284-588: Was a confidential personnel matter. Dianne Kiesel, a deputy director at the Department of Administration, called Ms. Peterson to suggest that Wooten could be reassigned to the cold-case unit or perform background checks. Ms. Peterson responded that those options would violate the union contract. Annette Kreitzer, Commissioner of the Alaskan Department of Administration, also called Monegan and Peterson about Wooten. On July 11, 2008, Palin's acting chief of staff Mike Nizich dismissed Monegan, offering him

4352-484: Was ever taken. Sarah Palin, who in late August became the Republican vice presidential nominee in the 2008 United States presidential election , said that she reassigned commissioner Walt Monegan because of performance-related issues. Monegan said that his forced resignation may have been tied to his reluctance to fire Mike Wooten, an Alaska State Trooper who is also Palin's ex-brother-in-law. Monegan said that

4420-429: Was fine." In a statement to police, Molly McCann said "she was up stairs giving a bath to the kids ... Mike was going to show Payton what it feels like and she told Mike that he better not." According to Molly's account, she remained upstairs during the incident. Although the Taser incident happened in 2003, it was not reported to police until on or after April 11, 2005, the day McCann filed for divorce. On June 6, 2005,

4488-562: Was forty-second President of the United States Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Troopergate . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Troopergate&oldid=735463932 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

4556-484: Was investigated by an independent investigator, hired by a unanimous vote of a bipartisan committee of the Alaska Legislature , "to investigate the circumstances ... surrounding [Monegan's termination], and potential abuses of power and/or improper actions by members of the executive branch." Palin denied any wrongdoing. Democratic state Senator Hollis French , who is overseeing the investigation, stated

4624-419: Was unnecessary during the more recent Alaska political corruption probe , as legislators targeted by the probe resigned, lost renomination or re-election, or did not seek re-election. The Alaska Constitution gives the legislature the authority to set the term start date. Legislative terms begin on the second Monday in January following a presidential election year and on the third Tuesday in January following

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