Alaska’s high court refuses to halt probe into Palin ethics

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Sarah Palin

In Wisconsin, John McCain again linked Barack Obama to a 1960s radical.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The state Supreme Court refused Thursday to halt an ethics investigation into Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee.

The ruling clears the way for lawmakers to release today a report on their investigation into whether Palin abused her power by firing her public safety commissioner. The report could prove to be an embarrassment for Palin and a distraction for John McCain’s presidential campaign.

Lawmakers are investigating whether Palin abused her power to settle a family dispute. Her former public safety commissioner says he was dismissed after resisting pressure to fire a state trooper who had gone through a nasty divorce from Palin’s sister.

Republican lawmakers had sued to block the report, saying it had become politicized. Palin didn’t join that lawsuit. Her husband, Todd, and some of her top aides are cooperating in the inquiry.

In affidavits submitted Wednesday, Todd Palin and two top aides for his wife’s administration portrayed the firing as the result of continued wrangling between the governor and her public safety commissioner over control of the agency. The affidavits also portray Sarah Palin as uninvolved while her husband repeatedly tried to spread the word that their former brother-in-law was unfit to remain a state trooper.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court refused to block the legislative investigation but did not immediately explain why.

Meanwhile on the campaign trail, Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Thursday that questions about Democratic rival Barack Obama’s association with a former war protester linked to Vietnam-era bombings are part of a broader issue of honesty.

In his strongest personal criticism since his faltering campaign began casting Obama as an unknown and unacceptable candidate, McCain told supporters that Obama had not been truthful in describing his relationship with former radical William Ayers. The Arizona senator also said Obama himself has “a clear radical, far-left pro-abortion record.”

McCain and the Republican National Committee also launched new Web and TV ads about Obama and Ayers.

Loud cheers from 4,000 people gathered at a sports complex near Milwaukee greeted McCain’s attacks over Ayers.

, who helped found the Weather Underground, a Vietnam protest group that bombed government buildings 40 years ago. Obama has noted that he was a child at the time and first met Ayers and his wife, ex-radical Bernadine Dohrn, a quarter-century later.

“Look, we don’t care about an old, washed-up terrorist and his wife,” McCain said. “That’s not the point here.”

“He’s a terrorist!” a man in the audience screamed without making clear to whom he was referring.

“We need to know the full extent of the relationship,” McCain replied. Later, McCain told ABC News: “It’s a factor about Sen. Obama’s candor and truthfulness with the American people.”