A probe into Sarah Palin's conduct as Alaska's governor has ties to the Ozarks. The Vice-Presidential candidate is under investigation in her home state for allegedly trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired.

That man is Mike Wooten. He's currently an Alaska state trooper and was once married to Palin's sister, Molly. Wooten's father speaks exclusively to KSPR in defense of his son.

Sarah Palin is accused of attempting to get her ex-brother in law, Mike Wooten, fired after he and Palin's sister, Molly, divorced four years ago. Mike still has his job as a state trooper, but his father, Riley, says it's been rough.

“There's a lot of stress for the entire family,” says Riley Wooten, the trooper’s father.

In the midst of all the controversy, Riley says two things have made his son look bad—one was the allegation that Mike tasered his stepson. Riley and Mike both say it's a half-truth.

"The taser was activated for less than a second,” said Mike Wooten in a recent CNN interview.

"Michael will tell you from the beginning that it was a mistake,” says Riley. “He shouldn't have done that, but Peyton kept insisting, insisting, insisting, that he wanted to feel what it felt like."

And Riley says the taser used was a training aide—not one with a full charge. “It was dumb,” he says. “But like I said, you take a nine volt battery and touch it to your tongue, and that's what it feels like."

Another thing that looks bad, Riley says, is the accusation that his son shot a moose illegally. Riley says Sarah Palin's parents are avid outdoorsmen. He says Mike's former wife Molly had the tag for the moose, though he shot it.

"He got the moose, put it back in the pickup truck, took it to his father-in-law, who properly cleaned it up, gutted it, the whole thing,” says Riley. He gave some of the meat to Todd and Sarah. He kept some and gave the rest to Michael and Molly. Three and a half years later, it becomes the moose incident."

Riley says Mike has had some black eyes on his record, but according to him, he's had more good marks. He says his son is willing to share all of it with the public. Riley brags about his son being a gulf veteran who spent 12 years with the Air Force. Riley says Mike has loved being a trooper for the last eight years as well.

"What he wants and what I would like for my son is that people just leave him alone,” says Riley. “Let him finish out his career as a state trooper, let him just work. He loves Alaska, he loves his kids. He absolutely adores his kids. Michael didn't divorce Sarah Palin. He divorced Molly, her sister. Keep it out of politics.”

Riley says neither he nor his son have hard feelings towards Sarah Palin or the other ex-in-laws. But at this point, getting their votes could be another story.

"I've been a Republican all my life--no more,” says Riley. “I'll either go independent or might even go Democrat.”

Wooten has also faced allegations of drinking in his patrol car and threatening to kill Palin's father, though he denies those accusations.

In the end, though, his record is not the issue. It’s whether Palin used her power to pressure the state's safety commissioner, Walter Monegan, into firing Wooten. The commissioner didn't fire Wooten. However, Palin fired the commissioner.

“I believe I was fired because I did not fire Mike Wooten,” said Monegan during a CNN interview. “The Governor did, I think, allow her personal feelings to get involved in a professional responsibility, and she ventured where she should not have ventured.”

Palin says she fired Monegan over budgetary issues. McCain campaign officials say there’s no evidence that Palin ever ordered the trooper, Mike Wooten, to be fired. However, Palin’s office admits there were several calls from her aides and supporters to state police about Monegan’s handling of Mike Wooten, including this one from aide Frank Bailey:

“Walt has been very reluctant to take any action. But there are some very clear facts out there that—and these things actually happened—that he Tasered his 11-year-old kid, he drove drunk in a patrol car, he shot a cow moose out of season…the Palins can’t figure out why nothing’s going on.” According to CNN, Palin released that audiotape of Bailey, said she didn’t know Bailey and others were calling police, and she suspended Bailey.

In the meantime, Wooten continues his work as a state trooper. His father, Riley, says it is a sign that all of the allegations that have come out against him have been unfounded—except the moose and taser incidents, in which Wooten received reprimands.

The Troopergate investigation is ongoing and could be finished by early October.