Glance on McCain camp braced to fight Troopergate fallout in Alaska

The Republican's presidential campaign is preparing an aggressive push back against the "Troopergate" inquiry if McCain's running mate Sarah Palin is found to have abused her office to settle a personal score.

The final report from the investigation has been expedited to October 10, three weeks before the election. According to The Times, the investigation is one of the few dark clouds hanging over Palin since she was named as the running-mate two weeks ago.

McCain's aides are unsure what the outcome will be and whether "Troopergate" could derail the campaign.

A bipartisan panel from the Alaskan state legislature, headed by a Democrat, has been investigating after allegations in July that Palin pressured the police chief to dismiss a state trooper involved in a divorce from her sister.

Police chief, Walter Monegan, has claimed that Palin fired him when he refused to dismiss trooper Mike Wooten, the Alaskan governor's estranged brother-in-law.

Palin initially denied that she or any of her staff had contacted Monegan about Wooten, who admitted attacking his stepson, 10, with a taser gun, and whom Palin accused of threatening her father.

Yet last month she released a tape-recording of a senior aide pressuring Monegan to dismiss Wooten, and conceded that members of her staff had made about two dozen contacts with state officials about him.

Monegan also claimed in the past fortnight that Palin contacted him personally about Wooten.

On Friday the Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee voted to issue subpoenas to Todd Palin, the husband of the Republican vice-presidential nominee, and a dozen members of her gubernatorial team, including her chief of staff and deputy chief of staff.

Steve Branchflower, a retired state prosecutor hired to conduct the inquiry, said that he had taken the rare step of requesting the subpoenas because most of the state employees had either refused to submit to his questioning or had initially agreed, then cancelled their appointments.

He said that Mrs Palin would not be summoned. She said that she would cooperate fully with the investigation and denied any wrongdoing.