In the first investigation, Branchflower found that Sarah Palin had abused her power and violated ethics laws. On Friday, she will give her first deposition in this second inquiry, into the Troopergate affair. Of course, to hear Sarah Palin tell it, she has been completely clear. She had an interview with CNN:

“I don’t think that it was an abuse of power of my office at all,” Palin told CNN in an interview Tuesday. “And I was very thankful that that report cleared me of any illegal dealings or anything else. I replaced the commissioner because he was not doing the job that I expect of my Cabinet members.”

Talk about being in denial. Maybe this second inquiry will give her a reality check. Here are the details from the Anchorage Daily News on what will transpire on Friday.

The Palins’ attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said Tuesday that the governor and her husband will both give depositions Friday afternoon outside of Alaska, but declined to say where. She is on the campaign trail as Republican John McCain’s running mate. McCain-Palin campaign spokesman Taylor Griffin said Palin’s Friday schedule has not been released. These depositions are part of an investigation by the Alaska Personnel Board, which has hired independent counsel Timothy Petumenos, who did not return a telephone call to his Anchorage office. Van Flein said he expects each interview to take up to three hours. Unlike the Legislature, the Personnel Board is an agency of the state’s executive branch and its officials can be fired by Palin for cause. Only the three-member board has the authority to sanction Palin.

Palin has said it was up to the Personnel Board to investigate her actions, not state lawmakers. Palin agreed to cooperate with the board’s investigation. The Alaska Supreme Court rejected a bid by five Republican state legislators to shut down the Legislature’s investigation.

This should be interesting to see what this investigation turns up. Witness tampering should be at the top of the list. If I find anymore information about this second inquiry, I will keep everyone posted with an update. I’m interested to hear how many of you think she is guilty. If not guilty, I would love to hear your reasons why not.