Before I go any further, how about some love for The Anchorage Daily News? Their coverage of Troopergate is beyond excellent. Lately, they've been posting videos of the briefings that GOP fixer Ed O'Callaghan and McCain spokesperson Meg Stapleton have been giving to the Alaska press. Quite a hoot.
The best line from today's installment came early when Stapleton explained that there's no reason to worry about the independence of the Personnel Board because, as Stapleton drolly intoned, "The governor has no power to remove a member of the Personnel Board except for cause."
Hilarious.
But even though that's the best line, this exchange is classic:
Reporter: Will the governor be testifying?
O'Callaghan: The governor is embracing Mr. Peteumenos' investigation wholeheartedly. She is an open book in this matter. If requested by Mr. Peteumenos to be interviewed, she will be interviewed.
Reporter: Given that she's an open book, her testimony will be public then?
O'Callaghan: Uh, our understanding is that Mr. Peteumenos has requested that the investigation be confidential as long as it is going on, and we intend to honor that request.
Reporter: One of the concerns that you guys cited as well as Van Flein cited about the Legislative Investigation is that Mr. Branchflower is conducting secret interviews, emphasis on the word secret. Isn't that what Mr. Peteumenos is doing?
O'Callaghan: Mr. Peteumenos is going to determine how to run his investigation, and we are going to respect his wishes.
Reporter: But you brought up the issue of secret interviewing of witnesses. It was your side of the issue that brought up the secretness of Branchflower's investigation, and you're saying that's all right if it's Peteumenos.
By the way, if there was any actual news made, it was probably O'Callaghan's claim that nobody from the governor's office or the McCain campaign had instructed any witnesses to defy subpoenas. Apparently, it just so happened that all of the various members of the Palin adminstration independently decided not to comply. Good to know.
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