Alaska Republican lawmakers file to stop "troopergate" probe

A group of Alaska Republican lawmakers, with the support of a Texas-based conservative legal group, has filed suit to stop the Alaska Legislature's "Troopergate" probe into Gov. Sarah Palin.

The suit alleges the legislature overstepped its authority by probing the Republican's vice presidential pick, "conducting a 'McCarthyistic' investigation in an unlawful, biased, partial and partisan political manner" to sway the upcoming state and national elections.

The suit, filed in Alaska Superior Court, takes aim at Stephen Branchflower, the former prosecutor leading the probe; Sen. Hollis French, the Democratic state lawmaker chosen to manage the investigation; and Sen. Kim Elston, the Democratic chair of the Republican-dominated Legislative Council, which voted unanimously to conduct the probe.

All three men, the suit alleges, have conflicts which prohibit their involvement in the investigation. French and Elston have publicly supported Obama, the suit notes.