Sensitive Palin ethics report kept secret, for now

[Stoicheion]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska â€" Sworn to secrecy, Alaska lawmakers have begun reviewing a lengthy and politically sensitive investigative report focusing on whether Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her authority as governor.

The first-term Alaska governor has been accused of firing a state commissioner to settle a family dispute. But the report is also expected to touch on whether Palin's husband meddled in state affairs and whether her administration inappropriately accessed employee medical records.

The inquiry, approved by a legislative committee's bipartisan vote, began before Republican presidential nominee John McCain named Palin his running mate. Since then, the case has been dogged by accusations of political influence.

The investigation focuses on her firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan. Monegan says Palin and her husband pressured him to fire Mike Wooten, a state trooper involved in a nasty divorce and custody dispute with the governor's sister. When Monegan resisted, he says, he was fired.

Palin's critics say that shows she used her office to settle family affairs.

"When you're the governor, you leave your household hat at home and you become governor," said state Senate President Lyda Green, a Republican who has frequently clashed with Palin.

At their meeting Friday, lawmakers planned to vote to release the estimated 300-page report and some of the 1,000 or more pages of supporting documents. The 14-member legislative panel could recommend that the case be closed, that another committee continue to investigate, or that the matter be referred to criminal investigators.

In an effort to head off the report, McCain campaign spokesman Taylor Griffin released the campaign's own version of events. That report, which Griffin said was written by campaign staffers, says the Legislature has taken a legitimate policy dispute between a governor and one of her commissioners, and portrayed it as something inappropriate.

"The following document will prove Walt Monegan's dismissal was a result of his insubordination and budgetary clashes with Governor Palin and her administration," campaign officials wrote. "Trooper Wooten is a separate issue."

Monegan had not seen the closely held report Thursday night and said he did not know what to expect.

"I just hope that the truth is figured out," Monegan said in a telephone interview Thursday. "That the governor did want me to fire him, and I chose to not. You just can't walk up to someone and say, 'I fire you.' He didn't do anything under my watch to result in termination."

The report is also expected to focus on Palin's husband, Todd, who had extraordinary access to the governor's office and her top aides. Todd acknowledges calling and meeting over the course of many months with numerous senior government officials about Wooten, whom he described as a dangerous and unstable man who had threatened his family.

One of those meetings, Monegan said, occurred in the governor's office. Green said that raised questions of impropriety and that, ultimately, the governor is responsible.

"He shouldn't be sitting in the governor's office and making phone calls if he's going to be pushing his agenda," she said. "Everything's on her."

Steve Branchflower, a retired prosecutor hired by the Legislature, is also investigating whether anyone in the Palin administration pressured auditors to deny Wooten's disability claim. He had claimed he hurt his back moving a body bag, but Todd Palin later said he documented and took photos of Wooten riding a snowmobile that cast suspicion on his injury.

Republican state Rep. John Coghill, a member of the committee, said he would try to keep the discussion focused on the what legislators set out to investigate: Monegan's firing.

"It wasn't supposed to look into the whole administration team. It was supposed to look at the governor," he said before reading the report. "This is about the integrity of the legislative process."

Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said he had not received a copy of the report. Over the past few days, Van Flein has released affidavits and other documents that Palin's husband and aides provided to investigators. That rankled some lawmakers but Van Flein said he wanted to make sure Branchflower's report didn't take anything out of context.

"Whenever anyone writes their own report, they're filtering their data. And if you've already drawn your conclusion, you tend to filter it in a way to support that conclusion," he said.

Palin's allies have accused the committee of having already drawn their conclusion. They cited comments by Democratic state Sen. Hollis French, who said the investigation could provide an "October surprise" for McCain.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

TEEHEE

[Stoicheion]

I was just watching the news and they said that it IS likely that they will be publishing the report sometime later this month.

When that happens it will officially be the end of the McCain campaign.

[Jolly Sapper]

I was just watching the news and they said that it IS likely that they will be publishing the report sometime later this month.

When that happens it will officially be the end of the McCain campaign.

That would only apply if the "true believers" in the McCain campaign actually cared one way or the other about Palin possibly using her position to settle a personal grudge.  Though it will add one more nail to the coffin of McCain's attempt to court some of the undecideds.

[Stoicheion]

It Is Confirmed


By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer 6 minutes ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.
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Investigator Stephen Branchflower, in a report to a bipartisan panel that looked into the matter, found Palin in violation of a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.

The inquiry looked into her dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, who said he lost his job because he resisted pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce and custody battle with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.

Monegan's firing was lawful, the report found, but Palin let the family grudge influence her decision-making â€" even if it was not the sole reason Monegan was dismissed.

"I feel vindicated," Monegan said. "It sounds like they've validated my belief and opinions. And that tells me I'm not totally out in left field."

Branchflower said Palin violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Lawmakers don't have the authority to sanction her for such a violation, and they gave no indication they would take any action against her.

Under Alaska law, it is up to the state's Personnel Board â€" which is conducting its own investigation into the matter â€" to decide whether Palin violated state law and, if so, must refer it to the Senate president for disciplinary action. Violations also carry a possible fine of up to $5,000.

Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein disagreed with Branchflower's conclusions. "In order to violate the ethics law, there has to be some personal gain, usually financial. Mr. Branchflower has failed to identify any financial gain," he said.

Palin and McCain's supporters had hoped the inquiry's finding would be delayed until after the presidential election to spare her any embarrassment and to put aside an enduring distraction as she campaigns as McCain's running mate in an uphill contest against Democrat Barack Obama.

After a court fight to block the report failed, the panel of lawmakers voted to release it â€" though not without dissension. The panel did not vote on whether to endorse its findings.

"I think there are some problems in this report," said Republican state Sen. Gary Stevens, a member of the panel. "I would encourage people to be very cautious, to look at this with a jaundiced eye."

The state paid Branchflower, a retired state prosecutor, $100,000 to prepare the nearly 300-page report. He interviewed or accepted affidavits from about two dozen people in the eight-week investigation.

"Legislative Council seriously overreached, making a tortured argument to find fault without basis in law or fact," McCain campaign spokesman Meg Stapleton said.

The Legislature could vote next year to censure Palin, but committee members appeared divided over the report and Democratic state Sen. Kim Elton, the committee's chairman, gave no indication that would happen.

Stapleton also dismissed the report as "a partisan-led inquiry run by Obama supporters." The inquiry has been dogged by such criticism since Democrat Hollis French, who oversaw the investigation, predicted an "October surprise" for the McCain campaign.

Elton rejected the accusation of partisanship.

"When we began investigating this, we had no idea that Sarah Palin would be a part of the national ticket," said Elton, an Obama supporter.

The report notes a few instances in which Palin pressed the case against trooper Mike Wooten, but it was her husband, Todd, who led the charge. Todd Palin had extraordinary access to the governor's office and her closest advisers and he used that access to try to get Wooten fired.

Gov. Palin knowingly "permitted Todd to use the governor's office and the resources of the governor's office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired," Branchflower's report reads.

Wooten had been in hot water before Palin became governor over allegations that he illegally shot a moose, drank beer in a patrol car and used a Taser on his stepson. The Palins said they feared for their family's safety after Wooten made threats against them.

In proceedings revealed by the report, former Alaska State Trooper Col. Julia Grimes told investigators that Sarah Palin called her in late 2005 to discuss why Wooten hadn't been fired, and Grimes told her the inquiry was confidential by law.

"Her questions were how can a trooper who behaves this way still be working," Grimes said. "I asked her to please trust me, that because I can't tell her details I would ask her to please trust me that I would take the appropriate action if and when I knew what the findings were. ... I couldn't have another conversation with her about it because, again, it's protected by law."

Grimes said Todd Palin also contacted her by telephone in late 2005 to discuss the confidential investigation of Wooten.

Wooten's disciplinary case was settled in September 2006 â€" months before Palin was elected governor â€" and he was allowed to continue working as a trooper.

After Palin's election, her new public safety commissioner, Monegan, said he was summoned to the governor's office to meet Todd Palin, who said Wooten's punishment had been merely a "slap on the wrist." Monegan said he understood the Palins wanted Wooten fired. "I had this kind of ominous feeling that I may not be long for this job if I didn't somehow respond accordingly," Monegan told the investigator.

For months afterward, Todd Palin filed complaints about Wooten, saying he was seen riding a snowmobile after he had filed a worker's compensation claim and was seen dropping off his children at school in his patrol car.

Monegan said Wooten's doctor had authorized the snowmobile trip and his supervisor had approved his use of the patrol car. Monegan said Alaska's attorney general later called him to inquire about Wooten, and Monegan told him they shouldn't be discussing the subject.

"This was an issue that apparently wasn't going to go away, that there were certainly frustrations," Monegan said. "To say that (Sarah Palin) was focused on this I think would be accurate."

___

Associated Press writer Adam Goldman contributed to this report.

[rlrose328]

I just blogged about this... AND the story about McCain being booed by his own supporters, Connecticutt allowing gay marriage, and... oh yes, the upcoming worldwide depression (as my hubby put it today).  

Not a great day to be a republican.  

[Stoicheion]

it's just not a good year to be a repub. And i'll have to look at that blog.

yeah i read about Con. allowing gay marriage. I have a lot of gay friends and as soon as i found out, i texted all of them.

MCCAIN WAS BOOED? When did this happen? That's hilarious! Well i mean i'd boo him but by his own supporters?

[rlrose328]

MCCAIN WAS BOOED? When did this happen? That's hilarious! Well i mean i'd boo him but by his own supporters?

Here's the latest on the booing... and now his stupporters (unintentional typo, but I'm gonna leave it for now) are threatening Obama.  

I've got some choice words in my head for these people but I'm gonna leave those for now, too.

I cannot believe that people are still asking if he's a terrorist or a muslim or a Arab.  It speaks to the ignorance of the majority of the people in our country.  I'm starting to fear for Obama's life if he's elected.  

[curiosityandthecat]

MCCAIN WAS BOOED? When did this happen? That's hilarious! Well i mean i'd boo him but by his own supporters?

Here's the latest on the booing... and now his stupporters (unintentional typo, but I'm gonna leave it for now) are threatening Obama.  

I've got some choice words in my head for these people but I'm gonna leave those for now, too.

I cannot believe that people are still asking if he's a terrorist or a muslim or a Arab.  It speaks to the ignorance of the majority of the people in our country.  I'm starting to fear for Obama's life if he's elected.  

Honestly, though. Terrorist, fine. Consider that one dangerous. But Muslim? Maybe it's just because I was raised to be tolerant... and I went to a liberal college... and some of my best friends are Muslims... and I'm not a complete smegging retard...

Who knows. These people need lobotomies.

[Stoicheion]

Fear is a natural human response but its disgusting how the McCain campaign is using it as a tool unto Obama's demise.

In all other aspects i have to agree with what you are saying. I've been saying this as long as the Arab and Muslim issue have been around : "so what if he's of a different nationality or religion?! That doesn't make him more or less qualified to be president. Just because you're a racist and religious bible thumper who can't get past your own biases doesn't mean that every one else should suffer injustice!"

those who continue to fall for the lies will do so. Those however that are beginning to see the ridiculousness of it will choose Obama.