Clarkson said in a statement that the judge's decision was "dangerous because it robs every Alaskan of the protection specifically provided by the Alaska Constitution" against bias interfering with due process.
At first, Palin agreed to cooperate with the probe, but since being picked Aug. 29 to be McCain's running mate, she, her family and staff have instead said that the legislative investigation has been compromised by politics and that they would only cooperate with a separate investigation run by the Alaska State Personnel Board, whose members Palin can fire.
Michalski also threw out a lawsuit filed by Palin aides who had been subpoenaed to testify in the investigation. The aides had argued that the subpoenas should not have to be honored because they should not have been issued.
Todd Palin also refused to testify under subpoena, but he was not a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed by the state. His attorney, Thomas Van Flein, declined to say whether Palin would testify now, saying he had not seen the ruling to study the options.
"The question was never if Mr. Palin would testify, only where. The personnel board or the committee," Van Flein said by e-mail. "Now it could be both. But no decision has been made."
