The state has hired a private lawyer to represent Gov. Sarah Palin's office in the legislature's investigation into the firing of former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. The lawyer already has challenged whether lawmakers even have authority to oversee the inquiry.

The state Department of Law hired Thomas Van Flein, an Anchorage attorney with expertise in employment law and professional liability, because Attorney General Talis Colberg has a potential conflict of interest and shouldn't represent the governor, Van Flein said Monday.

His work started Aug. 21. He's being paid $185 an hour, lower than his usual rate, to represent Palin and others in the governor's office, he said. He is initially authorized to spend up to $95,000.

The state's Legislative Council, a bipartisan panel of senators and representatives, authorized the investigation last month and approved spending of $100,000. They've hired a special counsel, retired state prosecutor Steve Branchflower.

The investigation concerns whether Palin or others in her administration abused their power or improperly pressured Monegan to fire a state trooper who is Palin's ex-brother-in-law. Palin and her father have said Trooper Mike Wooten was a "loose cannon" who made threats against them. The investigation has received national attention since Sen. John McCain, the apparent Republican nominee for president, chose Palin as his running mate Friday.

A four-page backgrounder on the Wooten matter put out Monday by the McCain/Palin campaign says that Palin's husband, Todd, and members of her staff had made inquiries "about the appropriate Department of Public Safety procedures for dealing with someone they considered a dangerous person and rogue trooper."

Palin has denied pressuring Monegan. The campaign says she only recently became aware of efforts by Todd and others.

Because Colberg has acknowledged contacting Monegan about Wooten, he's a potential witness, Van Flein said Monday. So an outside law firm needed to be brought in to represent the governor's office, he said.

He said the governor's office welcomes the inquiry and will cooperate.

Van Flein said the investigation should be handled by the state Personnel Board, not the legislature, because it's "statutorily mandated" to handle ethics cases. The three-member Personnel Board is appointed by the governor.

In a letter to Branchflower, Van Flein also asked for all witness statements, documents and other materials collected in the course of the investigation.

"No" to both requests, said state Sen. Hollis French, an Anchorage Democrat and former state prosecutor who is project director for the legislative investigation.

The legislature has its own power of investigation, French wrote to Van Flein on Monday.

"Governor Palin has repeatedly stated that she has nothing to hide and that she and her administration will cooperate fully with this investigation. Is your client aware that you seem to be challenging the Legislature's jurisdiction?" French wrote.

As to witness statements, French said he had instructed Branchflower not to provide them. Colberg conducted a separate inquiry for the governor, and the governor can get statements from him, French noted.

"I think you will agree that it would be highly unusual for an investigator to share information with one of the targets of the investigation," French wrote. "I am unaware of any precedent for such an arrangement."

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