Palin husband, aides cited for contempt

JUNEAU, Alaska, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The husband of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and nine of her aides were cited for contempt Friday by the state Senate for ignoring subpoenas.

The Senate resolution said Todd Palin and the aides -- who eventually gave written statements to legislative investigator Stephen Branchflower -- should not be punished, the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported. Todd Palin and the aides had been summoned to testify about claims that the governor abused her office with an alleged vendetta against a state trooper who had been married to her sister.

The resolution passed 16-1.

State Sen. Hollis French, the Anchorage Democrat who sponsored the resolution, said he had received calls from people "upset" because no action had been taken against people who ignored the subpoenas.

"It memorializes their contempt and it balances that wrongdoing against their compliance once the suit was resolved," French said.

Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell sent French a letter calling the resolution "an assault on the reputations and due process rights" of those cited.

The investigation was being conducted while Sarah Palin was the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008.