Sarah Palin's ethics

The list of "The Palingates" is long, but one gate has many, may posts: Ethics. There are 68 posts dedicated to the topic! (69 when this one is included)

It would be impossible to go into this topic in depth and look at each of the ethics complaints against Sarah Palin in a single post, so I'll make list and focus on the most important of the lot.

1) 7/28/08 filed by Alaska Legislature - Abuse of Power re: firing Walt Monegan (aka Troopergate).
10/10/08 Sarah Palin found guilty of abuse of power for permitting husband and staff to harangue Monegan about the trooper.

2) 8/06/08 filed by Andree McLeod (AK resident) - Undue influence exerted by Palin and staff to get a job for a Palin supporter.
Palin staff member advised to take ethics training.

3) 8/20/08 filed by Brian Kraft (AK resident) - Breaking election law by taking public position on ballot initiative concerning Pebble Mine.
05/08/09 Complaint rejected by APOC (Alaska Public Offices Commission).

4) 9/02/08 filed by Sarah Palin (AK resident) - Self-disclosure filing with AK Personnel Board (re: Troopergate).
11/03/08 Personnel Board found no abuse of power for Sarah Palin letting aides and husband hassle Monegan, but also, no investigation of who committed perjury in their contradictory sworn statements, Palin or Monegan.

5) 9/03/08 filed by PSEA (AK Public Safety Employees Association) - Improper disclosure of the trooper's personnel records and amended to include allegation of harassment (bundled with charge #4)
11/03/08 Dismissed together with #4 by AK Personnel Board.

6) 10/13/08 Filed by Walt Monegan (AK resident) - Request by filer for a hearing to clear his name (it had been sullied by Palin and staff).
11/03/08 AK Personnel Board said there was no legal basis or jurisdiction for a hearing on this matter.

7) 10/23/08 filed by CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics) - Expensive wardrobe purchased for Sarah Palin with donor money violates FEC regulations.
05/19/09 FEC ruled "party money" is not covered in ban.

8) 10/24/08 unnamed filer - Abuse of power for charging AK for children's travel.
02/23/09 AK Personnel Board negotiated settlement wherein Sarah Palin paid $10,000 to reimburse for costs.

9) 11/14/08 Filed by Zane Henning (AK resident) - Alleged abuse of office by doing "post-election damage control" in interviews from Governor's office.
03/23/09 Dismissed by AK Personnel Board.

10) 12/02/08 filed by Anthony Martin (AK resident) - Sarah Palin violated ethics by campaigning for Saxby Chambliss of Georgia.
03/23/09 Dismissed by AK Personnel Board.

11) 12/18/08 unnamed filer - Alleged misuse of funds by allowing her picture to be used to promote Alaska seafood in national publications while also promoting her national political ambitions.
01/12/09 Dismissed by AK Personnel Board.

12) 01/12/09 filed by Edna Birch - Interference in job hiring.
02/20/09 Dismissed by AK Personnel Board because filer failed to use a real name.

13) 01/26/09 filed by Andree McLeod (AK resident) - Palin aide Bill McAllister worked on state time to benefit Palin's extra-AK political interests. PENDING

14) 01/26/09 filed by Andree McLeod (AK resident) - Palin aide Kris Perry worked on state time to benefit Palin's extra-AK political interests.
06/05/09 Dismissed by AK Personnel Board.

15) 03/18/09 filed by Andree McLeod (AK resident) - Improper use of state resources for partisan political purposes.
05/27/09 Dismissed by AK Personnel Board.

16) 03/24/09 filed by Linda Kellen Biegel (AK resident) - Conflict of interest by advertising for husband's sponsor by wearing Arctic Cat gear during official duties.
06/02/09 Dismissed by AK Personnel Board.

17) 04/22/09 filed by Sondra Tompkins (AK resident) - SarahPAC constitutes ethics violation by misusing official position and accepting outside employment.
05/08/09 Dismissed by AK Personnel Board.

18) 04/27/09 filed by Kim Chatman (AK resident) - Alaska Fund Trust (AFT) violates ethics rules by funneling improper gifts to Sarah Palin.
06/24/2010 PALIN SETTLES - has to return $386,000 because AFT declared illegal.

19) 07/06/09 filed by Zane Henning (AK resident) - Illegal continuation of per diem collection when Sarah Palin's home is less than 50 miles from Anchorage office. PENDING

20) 07/10/09 filed by Ray Ward (AK resident) - Illegal compensation collected by Sarah Palin for giving radio and television interviews since '08 campaign ended.
07/15/09 Dismissed by AK Personnel Board (in part for not being properly notarized).

21) 07/14/09 filed by Andree McCleod (AK resident) - Failure to transfer power to Lt. Gov during '08 campaign, while collecting salary during "off duty" status.
07/24/09 Dismissed by AK Personnel Board as legally flawed.

22) 07/20/09 filed by Andree McCleod (AK resident) - Failure to disclose gifts within 30 days of receipt. PENDING

I suspect the complaints marked as PENDING were resolved in Sarah Palin's favour. I tried to find up-to-date information, but the trail went cold. One possibility is that the state is holding back, waiting for the two years after her resignation to expire so she would no longer be held accountable.

Most of these complaints have something in common, in that they were investigated and resolved by a personnel board appointed by the governor. The other thing they all have in common is the blurring of boundaries, a useful smokescreen to conceal unethical practices.

Linda Kellen Biegel (complaint #16) wrote about how Sarah Palin's chief of staff Mike Nizich encouraged a backlash against Alaska citizens who challenged the governor's unethical behaviour. Sarah Palin regularly bragged about each dismissed complaint in press releases on her governor's website.

The most interesting complaints are the ones where Sarah Palin was found to be at fault (in her book that means exonerated).

Troopergate may come to the forefront yet again. Sarah Palin was found guilty in an independent, bi-partisan report and not guilty by her Personnel Board. Now a major player in the fiasco, Frank Bailey, is prepared to disclose a ton of evidence that confirms that there was indeed abuse of power and a great deal of harassement of some people by the Palins. Alaska Dispatch has already disclosed some passages (you will need to register to read it) from Bailey's manuscript and it appears there's a sequel to the original Troopergate, this time involving a "hiring" instead of a "firing," indicating another instance of abuse of power. It seems Judge Morgan Christen was appointed to the Supreme Court as a reward for siding with Sarah Palin's sister Molly in the custody battle with Mike Wooten.

Complaint # 18 is another interesting one. We don't have a way of finding out if the money was indeed returned to the donors. As they're what we call "palinbots," I don't think they would come forward to say they have not been reimbursed. The new Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund website doesn't publish any financial disclosures or reports, so it's impossible to tell how well the fund is doing.

The original Alaska Fund Trust, with Kristan Cole as the sole trustee, failed to publish a detailed account of donations as she had promised, so we can't tell if the $386,000 figure quoted above is in any way accurate. Is it possible that a lot more was collected and the balance is nowhere to be found? When it comes to Sarah Palin and Kristan Cole, we can't be blamed for having suspicious minds...

The outcome of complaint #19 is unclear. It was filed three days after her first quitter speech on Lake Lucille and I couldn't find any resolution, for or against Sarah Palin (see above). In February 2009 she was told to pay back taxes on at least $17,000 per diem.

We discussed complaint #8 already and it raised a few questions, as usual.

Sarah Palin invited the citizens of Alaska to hold her accountable. She ran her campaign for governor on a platform of transparency and accountability, as an ethics champion. Then she found it impossible to govern Alaska because too many citizens took her at her word. She quit.

Uh?


The Branchflower report on Troopergate may be downloaded from the sidebar.

Sarah Palin innocent?

As stated in a previous post, I visited The Personnel Board's webpage and had a look at the minutes of their meetings. On October 31, 2008, the following went on record:

Board Member Tamagni asked Assistant AG Dave Jones if the Board had the authority to assess fees for frivolous complaints. Mr. Jones stated he would research the question and report back to the Board.

Assistant Attorney General Dave Jones looked into it and determined “the answer is no, the Personnel Board may not award fees against a person for filing a frivolous or meritless ethics complaint. A statutory change would be necessary.”

I found an interesting comment on the ADN political blog about the above:

"Well here's the thing, if she filed a complaint against herself, citing abuse of power, then in fact, isn't she admitting guilt? If the Personnel Board didn't dismiss it as meritless, then aren't they acknowledging that there was a legitimate complaint? Though due to their conflict of interest, their "findings" were irrelevant (hired and able to be fired by Palin)!

But I'm wondering, since Palin admitted guilt, how could the PB find her innocent of her own charges against herself. That's like a bank robber admitting he did the crime and the judge saying, no you didn't. If she filed a complaint against herself, why was there even an investigation? Why didn't the PB simply penalize her and be done? Why the big charade? It would have saved Palin and the state a lot of money!"

This comment prompted me to search for details of the ethics complaint Sarah Palin filed against herself.

From an article on ADN, dated September 3, 2008, when Troopergate became a problem for Sarah Palin's vice presidential campaign and her camp wanted the Branchflower investigation halted:

The governor asked that it go to the three-person Personnel Board as a complaint. While ethics complaints are usually confidential, Palin wants the matter open.

The lawyer, Thomas Van Flein, also asked the state Legislature to drop its own investigation into the Monegan matter. He says the Personnel Board has jurisdiction over ethics.

"Governor Palin believes it will find no conceivable violation of the Ethics Act," her complaint says. She wants the investigation "to put these matters to rest."

Tom Daniel, an Anchorage labor and employment lawyer hired by the board in the Renkes case, took a quick look at Palin's complaint Tuesday.

"It appears that the Governor has filed an ethics complaint against herself. ... This is very unusual because ethics complaints typically are filed against others," Daniel wrote in an e-mail responding to a Daily News query.

Among key claims in Palin's complaint:

• Special Agent Bob Cockrell of the governor's security detail told Todd Palin to let Monegan know about Wooten's threats against Chuck Heath, who is Palin's father and was Wooten's father-in-law.

• Monegan never told the governor or Todd Palin that Wooten had been disciplined over complaints brought by the family that included tasering his stepson, illegally shooting a moose and telling others that Heath would "eat a f***ing lead bullet" if he helped his daughter get an attorney for the divorce. Wooten ultimately was suspended for five days by troopers but the family says they only learned that when the conflict spilled into public after Monegan's firing. In her complaint, Palin calls the suspension "a slap on the wrist."

• Recently, Wooten's supervisor intervened when he wouldn't return the children after a visit, the complaint says. Wooten warned his ex-wife he was going to get her and Palin, the complaint says. "There is evidence suggesting that Wooten was following the governor," it says.

Does the above read as a complaint by the governor against herself or as a complaint against Wooten?

The relevant thing is: if Sarah Palin was innocent, why did she mention Wooten and his trasgressions at all? The whole point of the Branchflower investigation was to look into her abuse of power, NOT Wooten's conduct. By referring to Wooten in her complaint against herself, she was trying to justify her actions, no?

Reading the key claims in Sarah Palin's complaint, it seems very clear that the governor tried to prove that she, her husband and her staff had the right to attempt to have Wooten fired because he was so bad, as stated above. The simple fact that Wooten is mentioned proves that Sarah Palin abused her power as governor and encouraged or allowed her husband and her staff to approach Walt Monegan to have Wooten fired.

Sarah Palin started a legal defense fund to make her supporters part with their money to pay Van Flein's astronomical fees relating to this farce.

As for "While ethics complaints are usually confidential, Palin wants the matter open.", I must point out that the Personnel Board report was never published.

I rest my case.

All Troopergate posts
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Sarah Palin's abuse of power

Rep Wes Keller was appointed by Sarah Palin to the Wasilla seat left vacant when Vic Khoring was jailed for corruption. Keller is a member of Sarah Palin's church.

I found an article about Troopergate and some the comments show the opinions of the people in the Mat-Su Valley about the issue and the governor.

Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, September 17, 2008

Wasilla Republican Rep. Wes Keller is one of five GOP legislators suing to put a halt to the “Troopergate” investigation.

“The goal is to either bring an end to the investigation, which I think is very improper, or stop it until Branchflower and Elton and French are disqualified,” Keller said.

The Legislative Council, made up of four Democrats and eight Republicans, voted unanimously to investigate the circumstances of Monegan's dismissal.

Before Aug. 29, Palin told reporters she welcomed an investigation because she has nothing to hide. Since being named to the Republican ticket, however, Palin now has a lawyer defending her during the investigation and representatives of the John McCain presidential campaign are involved.

Here are some of the comments on the article:

- "Wes, come on here! Appointed by Palin and all for her protection, yes, it sounds like you! By the way what have you done this year, certainly not answer to your constituents mail."

- "No wonder Wasilla is the Duct Tape capital of the world, it's being used over our mouths to keep quiet. Wes Keller is just a Palin plant in government to carry out her wishes, what happened to her "Looking forward to the investigation"? We can't even speak our minds in Wasilla without being put on her hit list. The freedom of speach is alive and well somewhere but not here."

- "Wes Keller is a Palin appointee and a member of Palin's church. She relied on him to attack the Alaska Supreme Court's recent abortion decision as well. It's no surprise he's teamed up again with two other defenders of patriarchy, Sen. Dyson and Rep. Lynn.

It seems Wasilla's politicians are recruited from Wasilla right wing churches. Her appointees, Pastor Stan Tucker and Diane Keller (now mayor), and Greg Koskela got themselves into hot water with the ACLU over prayers at the planning commission in April of 2006. Too bad for them--the 1st Amendment won that fight."

- "This is the tip of the iceberg, wait for all the firings to come out. That will tell a tale of Sarah Palin. What about all the money spent on the failing creamery? The hockey rink? Raised taxes. Have you forgotten already?"

- "A chilling indictment from a Wasilla citizen. It speaks to the intimidation felt not only by citizens, but, it would seem, your elected officials, as born out in this case.

I have spoken to many people here who know some of the less pretty things about Ms. Palin's political background but are afraid to speak up for fear of being ostracized or retaliated against. Ms. Palin and her supporters have long memories, and a reputation for being ruthless and Wasilla is a really small town."

- "As for Sarah Palin. She has no respect left, we can't believe anything she says. Bully, liar and coward. Enough of her!"

- "Nothing to hide? Then speak to YOUR legislature Sarah Palin? Nothing to hide then speak to YOUR people in Alaska. Don't hide behind a lawyer and some high priced suit from the lower 48. Take a day, meet with the people hold a televised address to the state. Just because you're a VP nominee does not give you the right to stick it to us Alaskans."

- "The governor has something to hide. This "something" would show that she is not honest, open or transparent. Too bad Talis Colberg has been dragged into the mud pit too. Oh the tangled webs we weave indeed.

It is as simple as this. If Sarah has nothing to hide, she would not try to disrupt, delay and impede this investigation. If she acted honorably, the investigation would just back her up. Sarah has lost my vote because of her actions and her actions alone. Yes, I voted for her for governor and I am disappointed to say the least."

-"This is not what I expected. I feel duped and I guess that I expected too much. Sorry but you've lost me. Sarah has not been open or transparent."

The article makes reference to Sarah Palin hiring a lawyer and the RNC involvement in the investigation, which puts her legal fund into perspective.

The comments about intimidation of the citizens of Wasilla are particularly telling... abuse of power indeed!

Full article on the Mat-Su Frontiersman
Recall Sarah Palin
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Paying Sarah Palin's legal fees

Troopergate was a bipartisan investigation and the committee which commissioned it had 8 Republican and 4 Democratic members.

Could somebody explain how it became political?

The way I read it, it became very political indeed after the RNC got involved in the affair with their efforts to rescue their precious, shoddily vetted vice presidential candidate.

Sarah Palin had agreed with the original Branchflower investigation saying that she had "nothing to hide". The worst case scenario at that point would have been a slap on the wrist and that would have been the end of the story.

Then Sarah Palin was tapped by McCain and a possible slap on the wrist became a huge no-no.

Five Republican lawmakers filed a lawsuit against the original commitee, claiming the investigation was of a political nature and the AG filed another suit claiming the subpoenas issued by the legislative committee to the governor, her staff and her husband were not valid.

Kelly Shackelford, an attorney from the Liberty Legal Institute, Texas, was retained as co-counsel assisting Brena, Bell, & Clarkson, of Anchorage, to the tune of $185,000. The two suits were amalgamated and heard by Judge Peter A. Michalski, who ruled that the subpoenas and the investigation were valid.

Somebody must have advised Sarah Palin to move the investigation to the safer Personnel Board and to retain private legal counsel. Enter the $500,000 worth of legal fees in the shape of Thomas Van Flein. She hired a very expensive attorney to defend her against... herself, as the Personnel Board complaint was filed by none other than Sarah Palin.

The RNC operatives were very conspicuous in Alaska during the vice presidential campaign and heavily involved in the Troopergate proccedings, doing what they do best: smearing the reputation of an honest public servant. Walt Monegan was painted as some rogue, worthless loose cannon by Sarah Palin's knights in shining armour.

What happened next is also typical of their tactics and disloyalty. The Republicans lost the election, Sarah Palin was of no further use to them, so she was left high and dry with a huge legal bill.

Sarah Palin said many times since the campaign that she was poorly advised by the RNC team. For once I agree with her.

The much publicized $150,000 wardrobe is small fry compared to the $500,000 their advice cost her. Where are they now?

As far as they are concerned, Sarah Palin belongs in the same trash bags that hold her expensive clothes...

All Troopergate posts
Recall Sarah Palin
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The cost of Sarah Palin's ethics

Gov. Sarah Palin owes more than a half million dollars to an Anchorage law firm that has defended her against ethics complaints, and she may create a legal fund to pay the bill, she said Friday.

Legal bills have mounted fighting complaints that she called partisan, false and frivolous, starting with "the politically motivated Troopergate probe," Palin said in a written response to questions.

She said the legal bills all stem from her actions as governor.

"I must defend against these baseless ethics accusations out of my own pocket as the use of public monies to do so could itself violate state law," Palin wrote.

"On August 29, it seems the political landscape changed in Alaska. Now, it seems in order to do this job as Governor, with the political blood sport some are playing today, only the independently wealthy or those willing to spend their income on legal fees to defend their official actions in office ... can serve," Palin said in the written response to Daily News questions.

In all, Palin said, there have been 10 ethics complaints, counting Troopergate, though she did not provide a list. State ethics complaints are confidential unless a public accusation is filed or the accused person agrees in writing to make to make it public. State officials said they could not discuss any pending ethics cases.

Out of the 10 complaints, Palin said six have been dismissed, one had "concluded," and three are pending.

"Obviously we cannot afford to personally pay these bills -- and really no future governor should feel the sense of financial vulnerability at the hands of those with a political vendetta bent on personal destruction," Palin wrote. "Some have suggested a legal fund to pay these bills. We'll have to pursue that."

Sarah Palin herself said the legal bills all stem from her actions as governor. Ten ethics complaints against her as governor indicate that people believe she governs unethically, no?

"Hold me accountable."

"I'm all about transparency."

Well, dear Sarah, these soundbites turn out to be very expensive if people take you at your word...

Full report: ADN.
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Sarah Palin's secret e-mails

Sarah Palin had at least two private Yahoo accounts and used one for state business. A couple of other employees in the governor's office, Ivy Frye and Frank Bailey, also used private e-mail accounts for state work at times. But it's not clear how widespread the practice has been. Close to 90 people have worked in the governor's office since Palin took office in December 2006, counting those in the Office of Management and Budget and the lieutenant governor's office.

Separate from the Yahoo accounts, Bailey set up another private e-mail system this spring for Palin and some of her insiders. (ADN article "State scrambles to gather private e-mails", October 10, 2008)


In June 2008, Andrée McLeod, a self-described independent government watchdog in Alaska, sent an open records act request to the office of Governor Sarah Palin. She requested copies of all the e-mails that had been sent and received by Ivy Frye and Frank Bailey, two top aides to Palin, from February through April of this year. In response to her request, McLeod received four large boxes of e-mails, but 1,100 were withheld. The Palin administration won't release hundreds of e-mails from her office, claiming they cover confidential policy matters.

Sarah Palin's office claimed most of the undisclosed e-mails were exempt from release because they were covered by the "executive" or "deliberative process" privileges that protect communications between Palin and her aides about policy matters. But the subject lines of some of the withheld e-mails suggest they were not related to policy matters. Several refer to one of Palin's political foes, others to a well-known Alaskan journalist. Moreover, some of the withheld e-mails were CC'ed to Todd Palin, the governor's husband. Todd Palin—a.k.a. the First Dude—holds no official state position (though he has been a close and influential adviser for Governor Palin). The fact that Palin and her aides shared these e-mails with a citizen outside the government undercuts the claim that they must be protected under executive privilege.

The list of confidential e-mails includes a number of communications related to the Public Safety Employees Association, a union for the state's police officers and state troopers. Many of these PSEA-related e-mails were CC'ed to Todd Palin—and were also withheld under the deliberative process and executive privileges.

In September, McLeod filed an appeal.

September 9, 2008, Anchorage, Alaska—Andrée McLeod, a registered Republican and well-known citizen watchdog filed an administrative appeal in which Ms. McLeod requested Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to review the decision to withhold or redact over 1,100 public records in violation of the Alaska Public Records Act. The records document the day-to-day operation of the Governor's Office and members of her administration during Sarah Palin's tenure as governor.

"Keeping government communications secret is not being a 'champion of transparent government' and fails to meet Governor Palin's promises that she established and ran on," McLeod says. "What is Sarah Palin hiding?" (Mother Jones)


Palin had claimed executive privilege for documents copied to her husband, who is not a state employee, in responding to an open records request in June made by Andrée McLeod. The administrative appeal filed by McLeod's attorney, Donald C. Mitchell, argued that by copying Todd Palin on sensitive state correspondence, the governor and her aides shattered the privilege rightly afforded elected officials.

"She has allowed Todd Palin -- who has not been elected by the people of Alaska, who is not a state employee -- to entangle himself apparently as he sees fit in the operations of the executive branch of the state government," Mitchell said.

"From the case law, if government voluntarily opens up that internal decision-making to what I would call civilians, then that is waiver of that protection of the government policy decision-making process. That is what happened here, and it happened because Sarah Palin doesn't understand it," he said.

Todd Palin was frequently copied on e-mails relating to Alaska State Troopers and the union representing public safety employees, according to McLeod, who received four boxes of redacted e-mails in response to her request. At the time, both Sarah and Todd Palin were complaining to the state public safety commissioner about a disciplinary matter involving Sarah Palin's ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper. (Washington Post)


Palin has denounced McLeod's efforts. After McLeod filed the ethics complaint, Sarah Palin told the Anchorage Daily News, "This is the same Andrée McLeod that follows us around at public events and camps herself out in our waiting area and hounds us for a job, asking us if there's a way she can...not have to go through the system to get a job with this administration." Palin also called McLeod "the falafel lady," because McLeod once sold falafel. On his website, Halcro has posted excerpts of e-mails Palin sent McLeod between 2002 and 2005, in which she praised McLeod. In one of these messages, Palin wrote, "You're all about accountability." In another, Palin said, "Thanks for working to instill the public trust." Palin also wrote her, "I'm proud to know you." And in one e-mail, Palin hailed McLeod: "Holy Moly you are powerful regarding getting the word out to the press about questionable activity." (Mother Jones)


I raised the question of Todd Palin's access to Mike Wooten's confidential personnel files in "Sarah Palin's Troopergate questions". It looks like not only was Todd Palin given access to the files, but that there is actual evidence contained in the secret e-mails.

If only David Kernell had political motivation and the presence of mind to publish these e-mails when he hacked into Sarah Palin's Yahoo account...

Links
Mother Jones, Washington Post, Huffington Post.
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Sarah Palin's Troopergate questions

The Troopergate investigation by the Personnel Board appears to have been incomplete. They have not addressed some aspects of the case, such as the unlawful access to Mike Wooten's confidential personnel file. I found an article that outlines the change of tactics when the confidentiality of Wooten's file became an issue.


Sarah Palin claims right to see all state files

Palin’s new position was summed up in a letter from Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg.

“It does not violate the State Personnel Act for Department of Administration Staff to provide confidential personnel information to the governor or her staff — or for the governor or her staff to receive that information — in the course and scope of their official duties.”

This legal analysis appears to be an attempt to provide Palin and her staffers with legal cover for allegedly disseminating confidential information about Wooten in a campaign to get him fired.

Sarah Palin’s new defense line became necessary when it emerged that an earlier claim that Wooten’s personnel file was public record through his divorce case with Palin’s sister turned out to be untrue.

Sarah Palin issued a statement suggesting that she had obtained information about Wooten’s personnel file through the discovery process related to the divorce/custody battle with her sister, which was posted in her Governor's website.

“Any information regarding personnel records came from the trooper himself,” Palin said.

Later Palin’s office removed Wooten’s release form from her official website without explanation. The governor's office refused to comment.

However, the removal roughly coincided with the attorney general’s letter, suggesting that the Palin administration may have realized that Wooten’s records were never part of the public record in the divorce case, leaving the governor and her husband with some legal exposure.

Attorney General Colberg then issued his opinion that the source of Sarah Palin’s knowledge about Wooten’s personnel record was irrelevant because she had the right to look into anything she wanted with regards to a state employee.

Wooten’s personnel file was never introduced as evidence in the divorce/custody case because he entered into a settlement agreement with his ex-wife over custody of their young children, according to Sarah Palin’s sister’s attorney, Roberta Erwin.

The clerk at the courthouse in Anchorage confirmed that the contents of the Wooten divorce case contain none of Wooten’s personnel, medical or financial records.

However, three weeks after Wooten signed that release form for the discovery – even though the information was not in the public record – Sarah Palin’s director of state boards and commissions, Frank Bailey, telephoned police Lt. Rodney Dial and wanted to know why Wooten hadn’t been fired. Bailey outlined disparaging details about Wooten’s finances and personal behavior that appear to have come from his personnel file. Bailey said he had gotten the information from Todd Palin, the governor’s husband.

Sarah Palin had stated her husband Todd had the information because Wooten had signed a release placing his entire personnel file in the public domain.

************************

I doubt that the Governor and her staff actually have unlimited legal access to state employees' confidential personnel files, but even if they do, Todd Palin doesn't! If Sarah Palin allowed her husband access to Wooten's file, she is in trouble. The illegal release of a state employee’s personal details is a misdemeanour in Alaska. According to Alaska law ANY public official convicted of this misdemeanour AUTOMATICALLY FORFEITS THEIR OFFICE.

As usual, I raise some questions.

Who can charge Sarah Palin with this? Is it always up to the Personnel Board, whose members are appointed by the Governor, to investigate these matters?

Why does Sarah Palin always have unlimited wriggle room to escape a proper investigation into anything?

Who can hold this woman accountable for her actions?

Links
Full article here.
State of Alaska Confidentiality of Information Acknowledgment. pdf
Image: Banksy
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Oil or the safety of women and children?

Former Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan speaks out about sexual violence:

"Alaska's forcible rape rates are 2.5 times the national average. Our children are abused at six times the national average. We are number one in the nation for spousal and partner murder. Alaska holds the distinction of suffering higher rates of interpersonal violence than any other state in the nation. Our children, women and men endure this epidemic of violence daily.

As a police officer, chief of police and the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, I witnessed the lasting damage interpersonal violence creates. I have seen little ones suffer unimaginable cruelty from those responsible for caring for them. I have investigated crime scenes, viewed pictures and learned details that continue to haunt me today. So have the men and women I worked beside. I've determined that this epidemic must be met with an equally strong charge against violence. We cannot expect change while allowing the resources and attention paid to these crimes to remain stagnant."

When Sarah Palin fired Walt Monegan last July and later Troopergate started interfering with her VP campaign, one of the justifications for the firing was that Monegan had made an unauthorised trip to Washington DC to seek federal money for investigating and prosecuting sexual assault cases.

"The governor hadn't agreed the money should be sought, and the request was out of sequence with other appropriations requests and could put a strain on the evolving relationship between the Governor and Sen. Stevens." (from an e-mail sent by her special counsel at the time)

Monegan wasn't fired because he refused to dismiss Sarah Palin's former brother-in-law, state trooper Mike Wooten, it was because he tried to address the problem of sexual violence in Alaska against the Governor's wishes!

Sarah Palin has not addressed the rampant sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence and murder that make Alaska one of the most dangerous places in the country for women and children. Despite the Governor's pro-family image, public safety experts and advocates for women and children struggled when asked to explain how Palin's leadership has helped address the crisis.

"She's really done a lot of work on oil and gas, but when it comes to violence against women and children . . . we haven't been on her radar as a priority," said Peggy Brown, executive director of the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

When it comes to allocating resources or offering support, Sarah Palin appears to have only one priority.

Yes, you've guessed it.

Further reading here and here.
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Troopergate, a beast of mythical proportions

Troopergate is becoming the Hydra, a beast with the body of a reptile and many, many heads. If any of the heads is severed another grows in its place. The stench from the Hydra's breath is enough to kill man or beast.

There is the original Troopergate, which started when Walt Monegan was fired for refusing to fire state trooper Mike Wooten, Sarah Palin's former brother-in-law. An investigation by a bi-partisan panel of state senators and representatives followed and the Governor was found to have abused her power. That investigation was conducted by Steve Branchflower, starting early August 2008. Sarah Palin initially promised to cooperate in the investigation, telling the Legislature to “hold me accountable”, but later refused to speak to Branchflower. After the report was published on October 10, another investigation, instigated by Sarah herself, this time by the very secretive state Personnel Board (all members of the board are appointed by the Governor), concluded that the Governor had NOT abused her power. Sarah Palin waived her confidentiality to release the Personnel Board report - but not her deposition or her husband's.

Confused? There's more, much more...

The Branchflower investigation started before Sarah Palin was chosen to run for VP, but five Republican lawmakers filed a lawsuit in state court to stop it. They charged the investigation was partisan. A few weeks later, seven employees who had been called to testify, with Colberg's office acting as their attorney, sued the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 25, arguing that legislators on the committee lacked authority to issue the subpoenas. Colberg's was challenged by a legislator as to whether he believed obeying a subpoena was "optional."

Enter Liberty Legal Institute, in the shape of Kelly Shackelford, from Texas, chief counsel of said Institute and co-counsel assisting Brena, Bell, & Clarkson, of Anchorage, in the case against members of the committee. Shackelford said at the time: “It’s about time some of these rogue ‘investigators’ have to face the law. Abusing their office for political purposes is wrong.” The two lawsuits were consolidated and the hearing took place on October 2 in the courtroom of Judge Peter A. Michalski, who ruled that the subpoenas and the investigation were valid.

Liberty is the legal arm of the Free Market Foundation, which is associated with evangelical leader James Dobson's Focus on the Family, and lists its guiding principles as limited government and promotion of Judeo-Christian values.

On February 6, 2009, Senate Resolution #5 passed 16-1. This resolution finds the witnesses who ignored their subpoenas GUILTY OF CONTEMPT of the Alaska State Senate. Todd Palin had refused to honour the subpoena, but co-operated with the separate investigation by the state Personnel Board.

On Tuesday, February 10, 2009, Attorney General Talis Colberg resigned, deals were made, but the questions continue, as evidenced in the Governor's press conference yesterday. There is growing suspicion that Colberg was pressured into resigning.

Then there is the still unresolved question of the e-mails. The McCain-Palin campaign released a batch of e-mails that her lawyers said demonstrated Monegan was fired for insubordination. But in response to a request filed by a conservative activist under Alaska's Public Records Act, Palin invoked executive privilege in order to withhold some 1,100 e-mails, many of whose subject lines suggest little connection to sensitive policy deliberation. Some e-mails were copied to Todd Palin, not a state employee, therefore not covered by executive privilege and still not released.

Troopergate is not going to go away, Governor Palin. But how many more heads is it going to sprout and how many more careers will it kill before this matter is resolved?
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Ethics

Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, said the Senate passed the contempt resolution to make it clear the matter was closed, not to come down on the governor. He said he was meeting with Palin today to make that clear.

Stevens said today that he was surprised at Colberg's resignation.

"When you think of Talis, ethics pops to mind. I've been really pleased to work with him and sorry to see him go," Stevens said.

Sarah Palin said she supports how Colberg handled the issue of the subpoenas and did not have concerns with how he was doing his job.

Now, how did the matter regarding Troppergate and all that's attached to it happen to be closed? Apparently via a nice (and secret) quid pro quo: Sen Stevens and Rep Mike Chenault will kill any further attempts by the Legislature to get to the bottom of the Troopergate affair and in return the Governor won't veto any projects from their districts. Very neat and tidy!

So the way Colberg handled the "optional" subpoenas was OK with the Governor, uh? Now that the guy has taken the fall after saving her neck during the Branchflower investigation into Troopergate, it turns out that Colberg's ethics didn't stand a chance!

On the subject of ethics, Stevens and Chenault could at least look up the word in the dictionary...
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Resigned or under the bus?

Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg has resigned in the wake of state legislators blasting his performance during the "Troopergate" investigation.

Governor Sarah Palin, who appointed Colberg to the job just over two years ago, said "It is a harsh political environment right now. You saw what he went through these last couple of weeks with speculation that a couple of the lawmakers wanted to continue to grill him, a couple of the lawmakers not believing, it seems, what he had to say," Palin said. "I just hope this political environment doesn't deter others who want to make a positive difference."

Colberg has been at the center of controversy over his handling of the so-called "Troopergate" investigation. Two weeks ago, he was grilled and sharply criticized by legislators for trying to block legislative subpoenas to state officials during the inquiry into whether Palin abused power in complaints against a state trooper and her dismissal of former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.

The state Senate on Friday found the governor's husband, Todd, and nine Palin aides in contempt for failing to show up when ordered by subpoena to testify in the Legislature's "Troopergate" investigation. Todd Palin and the rest did eventually submit written statements to the investigator, so the Senate said no punishment of them was warranted. But Anchorage Democratic Sen. Hollis French, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, had left open the possibility of future action against the state attorney general.

A statement from the governor's office quoted Palin as saying, "Talis is a highly intelligent, thoughtful and reserved scholar who brought considerable legal knowledge and great personal integrity to the position. I appreciate his willingness to serve, and as the search for a new attorney general begins, I will look for someone with the same strong moral character as Talis. I wish him well in his future endeavors."

Colberg was an attorney in a small private practice in Palmer before being appointed by Palin shortly after she took office in 2006.

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The Attorney General should be elected, not appointed by the Governor!

(full report - Anchorage Daily News)
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