Monnegan interviewed by Rachel Maddow on Sept. 15,

Now that Sarah Palin’s husband, First Dude Todd, has failed to appear at a hearing on Sarah’s allegedly improper firing of Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, it can be said that the Palins are officially stonewalling the Troopergate investigation.
Gov. Sarah Palin’s chief of staff authorized former Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan to travel to Washington, although the governor has cited that trip as a primary example of the insubordination that led to his firing.
Todd ignored the subpoena because the Palins claim that the motivations of the Republican-dominated investigative committee are “partisan.” Ignoring subpoenas has become a hallmark of the GOP in the Bush years, and Todd Palin’s failure to testify is a clear signal that this brazen disrespect for the law will continue under the next Republican regime if John McCain and Palin are elected.

Now a document has been produced that proves that Sarah Palin has, in fact, lied about at least one aspect of her story about Monegan’s dismissal:

Gov. Sarah Palin’s chief of staff authorized former Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan to travel to Washington, although the governor has cited that trip as a primary example of the insubordination that led to his firing.

Monegan is the central figure in the investigation into whether Palin abused her power when she fired him. Monegan alleges he was fired because he refused to terminate a state trooper who was involved in a bitter divorce with the governor’s sister. Palin says he was fired because of insubordination on budget issues.

Even before the document was produced, Palin’s version of events was hard to believe. Her principle beef against Monegan, she says, was that he spent too much money fighting sex crimes:

The campaign has released a series of e-mail messages detailing the frustration several Palin administration officials experienced in dealing with Monegan. The “last straw,” the campaign said, was a trip Monegan planned to Washington in July to seek federal money for investigating and prosecuting sexual assault cases.

In a July 7 e-mail, John Katz, Palin’s special counsel, noted two problems with the trip: The governor hadn’t agreed the money should be sought, and the request was “out of sequence with our other appropriations requests and could put a strain on the evolving relationship between the governor and [recently indicted Alaska GOP Sen. Ted] Stevens.”

But a travel authorization document signed by Palin Chief of Staff Mike Nizich on June 18 approved Monegan’s trip to Washington for the purpose of meeting Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

The McCain campaign’s response to the charge Palin lied was a non-denial denial:

McCain spokesman Taylor Griffin said Friday that the travel authorization was for a routine trip, and that state commissioners regularly travel to meet members of Alaska’s congressional delegation.

“He was not authorized to lobby Congress,” Griffin said.

Another spokesman also tried to square the circle:

In response to inquiries about the document Friday, the McCain-Palin campaign provided a statement from Randy Ruaro, another aide to Palin.

According to Ruaro, Monegan asked for — and received — approval for the travel without telling Palin’s staff his reason for going. “As a matter of routine, the travel was approved by Mike Nizich … weeks before the actual purpose was made clear by former Commissioner Monegan,” Ruaro wrote.

“When you receive permission to travel, it does not mean that you receive blanket authorization to discuss or do whatever you would like on that trip,” he added.

But neither of these non-denials is true, according to the newly produced document:

The document, a state travel authorization form, shows that Palin’s chief of staff, Mike Nizich, approved Monegan’s trip to Washington, D.C., “to attend meeting with Senator Murkowski.” The date next to Nizich’s signature reads June 18. [Emphasis added.]

And:

Contacted Friday, Monegan confirmed the travel authorization was to pursue funding for the anti-sexual-violence program. He said the travel authorization form was completed in a fashion consistent with practice, even though it showed no expenditures. The signed form approved the travel, he said, and authorized him to use a government credit card or seek reimbursement for expenses he incurred during the trip.

The Palins are certainly acting like they have something to hide. If so, this lie could well be evidence of the cover-up. Their objective now is to stall the investigation until after the election.They will undoubtedly be successful, which means that if McCain and Palin are elected, dealing with Palin’s Troopergate scandal will be among the first orders of business for the McCain administration.