Senate Investigations Committee Chairman George Winner, R-Elmira, has sent out another invitation letter to its meeting next week on Troopergate, a scandal in which top aides to Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer were found to have released information meant to discredit Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, a Rensselaer County Republican. This time, Winner is requesting the company of Spitzer’s former top energy adviser, Steven Mitnick, who is being investigated by Inspector General Kristine Hamann’s office for alleged threats he made to a state Public Service Commission official. Hamann recently agreed to appear before the Senate Committee, after sending a representative to its first meeting earlier this month.

“I believe that your testimony could provide valuable insight as we seek to evaluate the need for legislation affecting the inspector general’s reporting responsibility,” Winner wrote in a letter to Mitnick.

At issue is Hamann’s investigation into Troopergate. She agreed with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s report that gubernatorial aides behaved inappropriately, but she did not issue her own report. Her representative at the last meeting said the agency stopped its investigation when it learned that the governor’s secretary, Richard Baum, was involved in Troopergate through some of his e-mails. That begged a still-unanswered question from lawmakers—How can you sign off on a report when you ended your investigation due to a potential conflict of interest?

The committee, controlled by Republicans, is authorized to develop legislative responses to Troopergate—changes in laws to prevent such a scandal in the future. The first meeting was very contentious, with Republicans and Democrats arguing about the mission and purview of the panel. The state Ethics Commission and Albany County district attorney are conducting their own investigations into the matter.