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APWASHINGTON – Republicans said Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will attend a major congressional fundraiser Monday night, ending a will-she-or-won't-she mystery that has overshadowed the event and frustrated the GOP. Republican officials involved in organizing the event said Palin, the party's 2008 vice presidential nominee, had accepted an invitation to attend without a speaking role. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
But just hours before the dinner, there was still some confusion.
Fred Malek, a Palin friend and finance chairman of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, said she would attend and "be recognized and I think it will be well-received by all attendees and be a real plus for the committees."
But a spokeswoman for Palin's political committee, Meghan Stapleton, said in an e-mail: "Not confirming."
The last-minute uncertainty is the latest twist in an unusual public flap between Palin and congressional leaders who run the GOP's fundraising committees, and who had originally asked the telegenic, potential 2012 presidential candidate to headline the event.
In March, organizers replaced Palin as the keynote speaker with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., after she wavered over accepting the invitation for the annual Senate-House dinner.
She hadn't been expected to attend until last week, when her advisers approached organizers saying she would be near Washington and would like to come.
Republican officials involved in the discussions said Palin was invited to sit at a head table but told she would not be given a chance to speak for fear that she might overshadow Gingrich.
Palin balked at that arrangement but as late as Monday had not made clear whether she would attend, the officials said. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, made a personal appeal over the weekend for her to attend.
Late Monday afternoon, the officials said Palin's aides had informed organizers that she and her husband, Todd Palin, would attend. They are slated to sit at Cornyn's table, the officials said.
Palin catapulted to fame last year as presidential candidate John McCain's running mate and is widely believed to be eyeing a presidential bid in 2012.
In March, Cornyn's committee and its House counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee, put out a news release saying she would be the keynote speaker at the dinner, which is one of the party's largest fundraisers. Palin's representatives said later that the governor never confirmed that she would speak and wanted to make sure the event did not interfere with state business.
Gingrich also has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012, and the confusion over the fundraiser comes as Palin is denying an allegation that she borrowed heavily from an article he co-wrote in a recent speech.
Responding to an accusation from a blogger on the Huffington Post Web site, Palin's attorney said the governor gave Gingrich proper credit when she used some of his material about former President Ronald Reagan.
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