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TechnoratiAlaska Inquiry Concludes Palin Abused Powers
Gov. Sarah Palin abused the powers of her office by pressuring subordinates to try to get her former brother-in-law, a state trooper, fired, an investigation by the Alaska Legislature has concluded. The inquiry found, however, that she was within her right to dismiss her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, who was the trooper's boss.
![[Republican vice president candidate Sarah Palin stands behind John McCain as he speaks in Wisconsin. The Republican presidential ticket has gone on the defensive after investigators found vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin had abused her powers as Alaska governor. (AFP/Getty Images/Joshua Lott)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/PalinProbe.jpg "PalinProbe.jpg")
A 263-page report released Friday by lawmakers in Alaska found that Ms. Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, had herself exerted pressure to get Trooper Michael Wooten dismissed, as well as allowed her husband and subordinates to press for his firing, largely as a result of his temperament and past disciplinary problems.
"Such impermissible and repeated contacts," the report states, "create conflicts of interests for subordinate employees who must choose to either please a superior or run the risk of facing that superior's displeasure and the possible consequences of that displeasure." The report concludes that the action was a violation of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.
What now lies ahead is not fully known at this point. Ms. Palin could be censured by the Legislature, but that is unlikely.
Ms. Palin, who had been elected governor in 2006, was tapped as Senator John McCain's running mate in late August, about a month after an inquiry was opened into her firing of Mr. Monegan. Her political ascendancy took what was essentially a state personnel matter and elevated it into a national issue, one that has been simmering in the background of an increasingly heated presidential race.
In the report, the independent investigator, Stephen E. Branchflower, a former prosecutor in Anchorage, said that Ms. Palin wrongfully allowed her husband, Todd, to use state resources as part of the effort to have Trooper Wooten dismissed.
The report says she knowingly "permitted Todd Palin 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."
Further, it says, she "knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda."
Three years ago, Trooper Wooten and the governor's sister, Molly McCann, were locked in a harsh divorce and child-custody battle that further turned the Palin family against him. The couple divorced in January 2006.
As a result of several complaints against Trooper Wooten, he was suspended from the state police force for five days. However, Mr. Branchflower's report found numerous instances in which Ms. Palin, her husband and her subordinates tried to press for harsher punishment, even though Mr. Monegan and others told them they had gone as far as the law and civil service rules would allow.
Ms. Palin has denied that anyone told Mr. Monegan to dismiss Trooper Wooten, or that the commissioner's ouster had anything to do with the trooper, who remains on the force.
Mr. Monegan has said that he believes he lost his job because he would not bend to pressure to dismiss Trooper Wooten. On July 28, the Legislative Council, a bipartisan body of House and Senate members that can convene to make decisions when the Legislature is not in session, approved an independent investigation into whether the governor abused the powers of her office to pursue a personal vendetta.
Mr. Monegan said in an interview Friday night that he felt relieved.
"I feel that my beliefs and opinions that Wooten was a significant factor, if not the factor, in my termination have been validated," Mr. Monegan said, adding, "I was resisting the governor from the very beginning on the Wooten matter to protect her from exactly what just happened to her here, being found to have acted inappropriately."
The report was released after Alaska lawmakers emerged from a private session in Anchorage where they spent more than of six hours discussing the ethics report and what portions should be made public. The legislative council ended up voting unanimously to make part of the overall report public.
At a news conference Friday evening, a local McCain-Palin campaign spokeswoman, Meghan Stapleton, said that Mr. Branchflower's abuse of power finding was the result of an "overreach" by the investigator who went beyond "the intent of the original" inquiry.
Ms. Stapleton added that the governor "feels absolutely vindicated" because the report concluded that Ms. Palin was acting within her legal authority when she "reassigned" Mr. Monegan. On July 11, he was told by the governor's acting chief of staff that Ms. Palin wanted him to head the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, and that she wanted to take the public safety agency in a new direction.
In an e-mail statement, Ms. Stapleton said the report showed that the investigation was a "partisan led inquiry run by Obama supporters and the Palins were completely justified in their concern regarding Trooper Wooten given his violent and rogue behavior."
Minutes after the report was released, the Obama campaign sent an Associated Press article in an e-mail message to reporters, with the subject line, "Palin ‘unlawfully abused her authority.' " It contained no other comment.
A pre-emptive report on the investigation by the McCain-Palin campaign, released late Thursday, said that beginning in October 2007, the governor and members of her administration repeatedly clashed with Mr. Monegan over budgetary issues and the direction of his agency.
After months of "repeatedly ignoring the governor's budget priorities, making public statements that directly challenged the governor's policy agenda and taking numerous unilateral actions in conflict with the governor in support of his own policy agenda, his replacement in July 2008 should have come as no surprise," that report said.
Mr. Branchflower based his finding of abuse of power on Alaska's Executive Branch Ethics Act, which was established to "discourage executive branch employees from acting upon personal interest in the performance of their public responsibilities and to avoid conflicts of interest in the performance of duty," the report says.
It says, however, that "Governor Palin's firing of Commissioner Walt Monegan was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads." It cites the Alaska Constitution, which says "the governor may discharge department heads without cause."
The report continues, "In light of this constitutional and statutory authority, it is clear that Governor Palin could fire Commissioner Walt Monegan at will, for almost any reason, or no reason at all."
The report states that, while there is no doubt that Mr. Monegan's "failure to fire Trooper Wooten was a substantial factor in his own firing," the evidence suggests it was not the sole reason.
The report chastised Ms. Palin for declining to be interviewed.
Legislative leaders said that in cases like this, a violation of the ethics law would typically be resolved by the state Personnel Board. However, that chain of events is complicated by the fact that the panel is conducting an inquiry of its own. Ms. Palin has pledged to cooperate with that investigation.
Even as Ms. Palin drew large crowds as she campaigned across the United States, the issue was brewing in Alaska. But the campaign repeatedly shrugged off the accusations, stating that they were not serious and that she was not guilty of any wrongdoing.
Still, the accusations undermined the campaign's portrayal of Ms. Palin as a "maverick" and an ethics reformer who has taken on special interests and fought for average residents.
The McCain campaign flew operatives into Alaska to wage a public relations campaign to discredit the investigation and to help mount legal challenges to it.
Karen Aho contributed reporting from Anchorage.
39 Comments so far
Show AllIf it had been a Democrat rather than a Republican who abused power as Sarah Palin has done, Rethuglicans would be rabid, frothing at the mouth, and wanting her or him burned at the stake. Since she's a Rethuglican, she'll just get a slap on the wrist, and the mainstream media will hardly mention it.
Sioux Rose
MINITRU: Love the devil parable!
ORCAN: C'mon clothes alone don't make the man or woman! When you speak about their backgrounds, intelligence levels, or behavior, that's another matter... your post reminds me a bit of Hannible criticizing Clarisse's shoes!
Sioux Rose, what are you wanting here--a complete biographical profile of these people in a post to CD? How about we talk about mob real estate banker B.B. Rebozzo, who was practically a member of Nixon's cabinet?
This is an explosive development and already the lamestream media has brushed it aside after giving it it's fifteen minutes of fame.
My apologies! Here is the link to vote whether palin is capable of doing the job as VP/P or not.
http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html
May all Beings be blessed. Specifically the weak and ill minded.
With only a few notable exceptions, U.S. politicians have always been petty, mean-spirited, power-hungry egomaniacs hired by the ruling class to do their bidding. Politicians are rather low on the social class level and that includes U.S. presidents and VPs. Harry Truman started his career as a mob bagman in Kansas City. Eisenhower was a career military man who could hardly string together three coherent sentences. Richard Nixon always looked like he was wearing suit bought off the rack at Sears. Lyndon Johnson was a big schoolyard bully. Gerald Ford was a grinning buffoon. Ronald Reagan was a two-bit actor who dressed like a hardware store owner set off for church. Bill Clinton was a sex maniac. Dick Cheney has a crummy degree from Wyoming, no neck, and when he gets angry his chin juts out like a redneck wife-beater. Who could possibly be surprised by Sarah Palin?
URGENT!!!
PLEASE GO TO PBS AND VOTE AGAINST PHALLIN!!!
http://www.pbs.org/cgi-registry/poll/poll.pl
The result will go MSM. Please don't allow the right wing scum to prevail on this one!
Thank You for our own sake!
It's just Karma
May all Beings be blessed. Specifically the weak and ill minded.
link doesn't work
So Sainted Sarah abused her powers as Alaska's Governor.
In other news, gravity still sucked and the sky was found to be blue.
Why do any American's think she will not be even worse and more vindictive as VP, and very possibly President?
Walk in peace.
Sadly enough, I fear that the only difference we will see in the next four years is that the Dems might use Vaseline.
I got a non-partisan chuckle that might go well here. Seems apropro for some reason.
-----------------------------------------------
While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.
'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter. 'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you'
'No problem, just let me in,' says the senator. 'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.'
'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the senator.
'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.'
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.
They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.
Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises .
The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him. 'Now it's time to visit heaven.'
So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.'
The senator reflects for a minute, then answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.'
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.
Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above... The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. 'I don't understand,' stammers the senator. 'Yesterday I was here, and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?'
The devil looks at him, smiles and says.......
'Yesterday we were campaigning.
Today you voted.'
-----------------------------------------------
Ah, yes.
Alaska Inquiry Concludes Palin Abused Powers
-and nothing will happen as a result.
There are two "justice" systems in the US. One for Bush, Cheny and the well connected like Palin, and another one for those of us less fortunate ones. The difference is that we have to pay consequences for our actions.
So, this is an example of Palin's touted "executive" experience? What it shows is bad executive decision-making. It shows ethical lapses and unprofessional behavior. Taking a personal vendetta into public service and allowing an unelected agent (Todd Palin) to act on her behalf shows complete ignorance of her duties as an elected executive and complete disregard of the limits to the powers of the office. Not an example of someone you'd want with a finger one heart beat from the button and with the nuclear (not nucular) launch codes.
this shows the open arrogance of the REBS to elect a VP that has much dirt on her hands it reeks of corruption. She will be a pupid to any group who has the goods on her. So much for America
Ooooh, bad Sarah. Such a naughty girl. What did we learn about you? Nothing as revealing as the new journalistic heros (and heroines) of the "progressive" movement. The Washington Post, the New York Times, CBS, CNN, Howard Kurtz...in short, the Mainstream Media. Who woulda thunk?
You're confused and pretentious beyond words.
You're confused beyond words. Welcome to AmeriKKKa!!!
I don't think BubbaSouth is completely confused. Who wouldn't be angry with MSM these days? They supported and even defended Mccain and Palin just about enough. I do agree, however, that associated these media people with Palin the way BubbaSouth did it is too far out of touch.
Republicans = Abuse of Power, No Accountability, No Transparency
When Democrats do something it's not OK, but when Republicans do it, all they need to do is lie and deny it and it's A-OK.
It’s okay with Cruella AKA Sarah Palin for orphaned wolf puppies to be shot from helicopters along with adult wolves.
Palin's Wolf-Killing Program Results in 14 Wolf Pup Deaths
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HtNXlShAvU
Save the Wolves from Sarah Palin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH06fjYmuAc
Sioux Rose
NEBRASKA NATHAN: Right on, and you can add to it, torture!
Someone on CD mentioned that a last minute switch, another October surprise? Could exchange Palin for Condi Rice... I wouldn't rule that out, either.
If Mccain at this point and up to the election drops Palin, regardless of who he picks, this will only confirm that Mccain is indeed erratic. And picking Condi Rice would almost certainly backfire even more because then even Mccain's lame attempts to distance himself from Bush will be crushed. Condi Rice is just as unpopular as Bush and there's no way women and minorities will even bother with her. Mccain should have thought about his VP pick earlier on. In any case, VP picks generally don't make a difference although I guess Quayle was an unusual except. Papa Bush still won in 1988 but not in 1992 and I can remember how Gore kicked Quayle's ass even harder than Lloyd Bentson did in 1988. In fact, if it weren't for Palin, the staunch conservatives would most likely have been ready to stay home unless Huckabee were to be Mccain's pick back in September. I'd say it's all too little too late. Mccain's candidacy will collapse no matter what given the long term major economic failures and the failures on foreign policy.
I've often thought the same thing, but there are too many racists in the Republican base. Furthermore, Rice represents ties to the Bush Administration, and her selection would not be consistent with McCain's "change" theme.
Besides, McCain probably does not have the hots for Ms. Rice.
So does she go to jail now? Does the RNC suggest Mccain remove her from his ticket? Whatever happened to accountability for your actions? I havent heard anything on the news about this. Is this to be silenced in the media as everything else has for the past 8 years? Wheres the Obama ad campaign and their commercials about this....this is like throwing up a pass into the end zone and getting a pass interference call. First and goal to go, don't decline the penalty take it and run with it....
Are you kidding me? Of course she doesn't
go to jail. She will make a great Republican politician, she already has
the abuse of power thing down. Most of them have to spend some time in
training before they become corrupt.
They can't remove her from the ticket as absentee ballots are already being voted.
Nah, just let her stay on the ticket and drag Mccain down even further. Palin was already under investigation and knew about this even before Mccain picked her. Mccain obviously doesn't know how to vet his picks.
Not according to the right wing spin machine. I listened to some talking head
on CNN (a female) today saying it was all instigated by the Obama people. It
never occured to her that Palin was under investigation BEFORE she was picked by
McSame. Why doesn't the news media question these people on their obvious lies?
She's definitely VP material, since Cheney has added screwing people to the job description. These things will be harder to investigate once she is in office and enjoys the legal immunities of the executive (or legislative or teflon or whatever) branch.
I'm with bottomrail. I'll miss her if they lose the election. A phantasmagoric vision looms like a delicious walnut caramel sundae up in the murky future. The world economy collapses into smoking ruins, Russia and China level their missiles at us and demand all the mideast oil, hungry rioters set fire to Washington, al Qaeda sets up headquarters in Ciudad Juarez and Nogales, President McCain dies of melanoma and Sarah Palin becomes Commander in Chief of the Free World. For those of us too lazy to learn world history and were waiting for the funny book.
The next step in trooper-gate is for Monegan and Wooten to file civil suits in the Alaskan courts alleging civil rights violations - You betcha! As for the Palins, as the Credence Clearwater Revival would have put it, I See A Bad Moon Arisen! If the McCain/Palin ticket does not prevail November 4th, and all of the polls predict that they will not, then McCain and the mainstream republican party are going to blame the defeat on them and drop them like a hot hockey puck. The result being that they will return to Alaska to face the ire and revenge of their political enemies both from the democrats and the republicans. What she brags about doing to the Alaskan republican leadership in street language is called informing (snitching)and in the corporate world is frowned upon and called "whistle blowing". Are her national aspirations for higher office over? I hope not because some of the best comical relief on SNL, the late shows, and the MSM came from her, and without her and her zaniness the comedian industry will starve.
Palin will not be dropped like a hot hockey puck, I fear. No matter what the outcome, the Repubs will be looking at her as potential candidate for 2012 because of her apparent popularity with many Republicans and because of her superb public speaking skills and because of her high profile. She is well-known now which counts for a lot in campaigns.
The insanity will continue. Even with the wars, foreclosures, extreme weather, failed economy, etc. etc. the neo-cons will take full advantage to pursue their ideological plans because the public will be in a state of shock.
"The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein connects the dots how laissez faire capitalism ran riot and the "empire builders" have been getting away with literally murder, while the general public has been hoodwinked during times of crisis.
Just one more McCain mistake. He has had the worst advice I've seen or he is not that bright, just determined.
Mccain should have stayed somewhat independent just like 2000 and challenged Bush in 2004. Mccain's rusting and so is the GOP whose rot is growing.
If the Governor does it, it's not illegal there, you see. It's called the Unitary Governor Theory there, and the old guys who wrote that Constitution, you know, were kinda smart enough to leave a lot of flexibility in that they were knowing that liberal terrorists might try to you know attack all that is good and exceptional with the executive who would be Russia watchin and stuff with the mavericks there with the God and the future (wink.)
Polin is christian, ehh? Well over on Reuters, Rev. Tom Reese, a Jesuit, said: "Putting Christian values into politics means many things -- promoting life, avoiding war, working for peace, helping the poor and immigrants, supporting economic justice and promoting the common good" Thanks, Common Dreams for providing us this opportunity to hear from our christian brothers and sisters, in support of the progressive platform, far to the left of the Demok platform, ehh?
Great GOP ticket
Real Family values
McCain (cheater):
Involved in Keating Five
Involved with deregulation that created the credit mess
Palin (bully):
Abused power to settle scores
Are these are the family values they preach
That isn't the worst of the GOP. I'd add that their platform appears to be bombing innocent civilians and shooting from helicopters !
I wonder what planet McCain was on when he decided to pick Palin as his VP. This kind of stuff could happen to anyone, including Obama and Biden. I'm glad it was Palin this time.
"It is not true that it's one damn thing after another - it's one damn thing over and over." Edna St. Vincent Millay
The secretive fundamentalist Right Wing Council for National Policy, headed by "Focus on the Family" James Dobson, author of The Jesus Machine, had a hand in selecting and vetting Sarah Palin. Allegedly not too happy with McCain's sort of luke-warm brand of Christianity, they orgasmed over the attractive Palin and her Religious Right Wing fundamentalist views and biblical literalism, her good Mommy, good wife, governor credentials ... anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, and totally supportive of Israel, etc. Allegedly McCain was given an ultimatum about Palin's candidacy: Pick her or forgeddabout our support.
Obviously, the Council members' vetting fell a bit short.
The whole McCain/Palin campaign and connection gets more pathetic and disgusting as the weeks go by.
What a bad joke the U.S. of A.'s over-all election process has become -- McCain/Palin equals hypocritcal, mean and undignified. We shall find out how corrupted our voting mechanisms are on November 4, 2008, and hopefully the sizeable point spread between M&P and O&B will be even wider than it is now. If not, we may have a November surprise again, at which point I'll take a slow boat to Polynesia.
McCain didn't 'decide to pick Palin' . . . she was William Kristol's pick and the neocon's wet dream . . .
McCain may have thought he 'chose the maverick' at the last minute but this was all choreagraphed behind the scenes
See article on Friday Oct. 10th at lewrockwell.com about Sarah and the neocons
This "kind of stuff" didn't happen to Palin, it's the direct result of Palin's choices and actions. If Obama or Biden engaged in abuses of power, could there be any doubt that the Republicans would jump on it and make certain the book was thrown at them? It's not for nothing they resort to guilt by association. There's no other guilt there.