Palin Family Was Ordered Not To Disparage Trooper

Sarah Palin's family was warned by a judge three years ago not to disparage her sister's ex-husband, the Alaska state trooper at the center of an investigation into whether the governor abused her power trying to get him fired.A custody investigator appointed concluded that Molly McCann, Palin's sister, had disparaged Mike Wooten in front of their children, Judge John Suddock said during an October 2005 hearing. The judge warned her and her relatives not to disparage Wooten in front of the kids.

"Disparaging is not to be tolerated -- it's a form of child abuse," Suddock said, according to notes on the hearing included in the divorce file.The Alaska Legislature is investigating whether Palin, the Republican candidate for vice president, fired former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan because he would not dismiss Wooten, a probe known as "Troopergate." Monegan has said he believes Wooten's continued employment was the reason for his dismissal, but Palin has denied that was the reason.

Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Wednesday.Monegan was interviewed Wednesday by the Troopergate investigator, retired Anchorage prosecutor Stephen Branchflower.Monegan did not immediately return calls to his home Wednesday. But he told KTUU-TV that he was exhausted but would be available for additional interviews with Branchflower, if needed.

The executive director for Wooten's union, John Cyr, testified in the divorce proceedings that Sarah Palin and her father, Chuck Heath, filed so many complaints against Wooten that his superiors put him under a microscope and that he advised Wooten to find other work.