Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's administration threatened to sue to
stop a probe into her firing of the state's public-safety
commissioner, escalating its efforts to fight an investigation
seen as a potential political threat to her nomination as vice
president.  The legislative probe is exploring whether the
commissioner was fired because he refused to dismiss a state
trooper involved in a bitter divorce with the governor's sister.
The move marks an escalation of what is looming as a showdown
between the state's executive and legislative branches.  In a
letter to a top state lawmaker, written on a letterhead bearing
the governor's name, Senior Assistant Attorney General Michael
Barnhill said: "Bluntly and to the point, we think there is a
legitimate concern that this investigation is no longer being
conducted in a fair manner."  Mr. Barnhill argued that the
investigation is "potentially violative of Alaska's
constitutional due-process safeguards."   Read the letter from
Senior Assistant Attorney General Michael Ba