Alaska employees agree to testify against Palin
Alaska state employees agree to testify against VP nominee Sarah Palin over alleged abuses of power
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Monday, 06, Oct 2008 10:41
Seven employees of the state of Alaska have said they will testify against Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin over alleged abuses of power.
Mrs Palin, the state's governor, is accused of firing a senior state official over a personal feud.
The state employees, who had previously refused to testify in the case, are expected to take to the stand this month in what had been dubbed by local media as 'Troopergate'.
Mrs Palin, John McCain's White House running-mate, denies accusations she sacked safety chief Walt Monegan after he refused to fire state trooper Mike Wooten.
Mr Wooten had been involved in a heated custody battle with Mrs Palin's younger sister at the time.
It is unclear whether Mrs Palin and her husband Todd will testify in the case. According to Mrs Palin, Mr Monegan was sacked over budgetary disagreements.
The confirmation from state prosecutors comes after a weekend in which Democratic nominee Barack Obama's campaign team accused the McCain-Palin ticket of "gutter politics".
Mrs Palin said on Saturday that Mr Obama was "palling around" with a former member of American militant group Weather Underground, which campaigned violently against the Vietnam war.
Mr Obama once served on a charity board with Bill Ayers but denied close links and denounced Weather Underground.
On Sunday the Obama campaign team hit back with a new cable television advert that emphasised Mr McCain's role in the collapse of a Californian savings and loan institution in the late 1980s.
Mr Obama and Mr McCain are due to hold the second of three presidential debates in Nashville, Tennessee, tomorrow.