Liberty Legal sues over investigation into Palin's firing of DPS commissioner

Plano is a long way from Anchorage, Alaska -- about 4,091 miles, to be exact, or almost three days of round-the-clock driving, according to Google maps. But geographic distance presents no obstacle when it comes to the veepstakes. In a Sept. 17 press release, Plano-based Liberty Legal Institute refers to an investigation into Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of a former Alaska Department of Public Safety commissioner, led by Alaska state senators, as "McCarthy-style." Hiram Sasser, Liberty Legal's director of litigation,  is serving as co-counsel to five Alaska state legislators who filed a complaint on Sept. 16 in the Alaska Superior Court in Anchorage. They're suing two other Alaska state senators, the Alaska Legislative Council, and an investigator working for that permanent interim committee and service agency of the Alaska Legislature. In the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that the defendants are conducting an investigation that is "not related to or derivative of the Legislature's constitutionally granted powers" but rather is "McCarthyistic." Established in 1997, Liberty Legal identifies its mission on its Web site as protecting "religious freedoms and First Amendment rights for individuals, groups and churches," stating it offers assistance pro bono "to ensure all individuals and groups can thrive without the fear of governments restricting their freedoms."
-- Miriam Rozen