Palin Aide Dodges Trooper-Gate Deposition

As if we needed another sign that Sarah Palin has decided to stonewall the Trooper-Gate investigation, ABC News reports this afternoon that lawyers for her aide Frank Bailey have cancelled Bailey’s scheduled deposition in the investigation .

Bailey is central to the case. In phone recordings released last month as part of a parallel probe by the state Attorney General, Bailey suggested that Palin and her husband wanted trooper Mike Wooten — who has been embroiled in a messy family dispute with the Palins — removed from his job.

“The Palins can’t figure out why nothing’s going on,” Bailey told a trooper official. “I mean he’s declared bankruptcy, his finances are a complete disaster, he’s bought a new truck. All kinds of crazy stuff. He doesn’t represent the department well. The community knows it, but no action is being taken.”

This is by no means the first instance of foot-dragging on the legislature’s investigation from Palin’s camp since she was announced last week as John McCain’s running mate. In a complaint filed last night to the Alaska Attorney General, Palin’s lawyer suggested that Palin would not be made available for her deposition unless the investigation was taken out of the hands of the legislature and handed over to the state personnel board, who’s three members are appointed by the governor. Sen. Hollis French, the Anchorage Democrat overseeing the probe, has said that he is willing to issue subpoenas if necessary.