Gara suggests witness tampering (updated)

Posted by Alaska_Politics

Posted: September 24, 2008 - 12:00 pm

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From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage--

Anchorage Democratic state Rep. Les Gara has written a letter to the state troopers asking for an investigation of what he considers potential witness tampering in the troopergate investigation.

Gara's press release on it carries the headline "Legislator says McCain Campaign Tampering With Witnesses." (UPDATE -- a "corrected" press release was just sent out that carries the less accusatory headline "Legislator Asks Troopers to Look at Possible Witness Tampering.") But his letter says "I am not filing a complaint against any particular person, or alleging that a particular person has engaged in witness tampering. I do not possess that evidence."

Gara's letter, written to trooper director Audie Holloway, says several witnesses who agreed to testify in the Legislature's investigation have changed their position.

"Starting after August 29, certain staff for the McCain campaign came to Alaska in an effort to block this investigation," Gara wrote in his letter to Holloway. "There are rumors that upwards of 30 staffers have come to the state since that date. I do not know the roles of the various staff members. Campaign representatives Ed O'Callaghan and Meghan Stapleton have held numerous press conferences in Anchorage to block the investigation. Since then three witnesses have failed to comply with legislative subpoenas, and up to seven more may do the same this coming Friday."

"Something has caused, or in the words of the statute, may have "induced" these witnesses to change their position," Gara wrote. "I do not know whether it is advice from staff for the McCain campaign, state counsel, private counsel, or from others, or whether these individuals have done this independently of advice or suggestions from third persons. But it seems a witness would not risk possible jail time that comes with the violations of a subpoena without advice of others."

Sarah Palin is refusing to cooperate in the Legislature's investigation, which is supposed to be concluded Oct. 10, in favor of a separate probe by the state personnel board. There's no timeline for whether the personnel board investigation will be over before the Nov. 4 presidential election.

O'Callaghan and Stapleton have been holding near-daily press conferences, in which they claimed the Legislature's investigation is biased.

"Nobody ever told anyone not to testify," said O'Callaghan, a former New York federal prosecutor now working locally for the McCain-Palin campaign. "Individuals who were subpoenaed conferred with their individual attorneys, presumably, and made a determination to how to respond to those subpoenas."

O'Callaghan said Palin's husband, Todd, filed "lawful objections to the subpoena, through his attorney, Thomas Van Flein. And those objections were lodged with the Senate Judiciary Committee, the authority that issued the subpoena in the first place."

Anchorage Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski, a member of the judiciary committee, argued that's not an option for dealing with subpoenas. People subpoenaed either have to appear and testify or go to court to try and quash the subpoena, he said

"There is no option three of not attending and not filing anything with the court," he said.

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