Alaska troopers rescind allegation of slowed drug-probe to shield Palin

ANCHORAGE — The union representing state troopers has backed off allegations that a drug investigation of Sherry Johnston was slowed down last fall to shield the national candidacy of Gov. Sarah Palin. Johnston's son, Levi, is the father of Palin's new grandson, Tripp.

An inquiry Monday by officials for the Public Safety Employees Association concluded that investigators did not delay a search warrant for political reasons, said union President Rob Cox.

Charges of political meddling erupted last week because of misunderstandings between investigators and senior state public-safety officials, Cox said.

The drug-selling case against Johnston did draw unusual scrutiny from top public-safety officials, Cox said. He said union and state officials hope to meet this week to sort out misunderstandings.

"At this point, it really is a nonissue," Cox said.

Public Safety Commissioner Joe Masters issued a statement late Monday, repeating his assertion that the Governor's Office was never clued in to the investigation and that trooper leaders were only trying to assure the case was handled like any other.

"Events nationally, and their affects [sic] locally, certainly may have influenced Ms. Johnston's behaviors and ultimately the timeline of the case," Masters said. "However, the accusations that political motives were behind the decision on how to manage this case are baseless."