Palin found to have abused power...

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dragonfly

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 8:33 pm

Palin found to have abused power...

Ethics investigation finds Palin abused power

BREAKING NEWS
msnbc.com news services
updated 1 minute 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.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27105917/

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pax

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 9:01 pm

Thanks dragonfly. I'm looking forward to reading the full report, if it's not too long.

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resigned

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 9:11 pm

The Branchflower Report:

263 pages

http://media.adn.com/smedia/2008/10/10/16/Branchflowerreport.source.prod_affiliate.7.pdf

Click your heels together...

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pax

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 9:13 pm

Thanks resigned. Fun weekend reading. Very Happy

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resigned

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 9:22 pm

The findings are on page 8.

There are 4 - to summarize basically -

Palin abused her power by violating an Alaska Statute

Monegan was not terminated for refusing to fire Trooper Wooten, however it probably was a contributing factor -but, Palin did have the authority to terminate him.

Trooper Wooten's workmens comp case was handled properly.

The Attorney General's office failed to comply with the request from Palin for information regarding the case in the form of emails.

Click your heels together...

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GeorgiaMom

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 9:52 pm

I just saw that on MSNBC. It said there would be no criminal investigation, so I hope it doesn't hurt the McCain - Palin ticket. It won't effect my vote, so hopefully others will see thru the witch hunt as well. I'm just glad it's over with.

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resigned

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:14 pm

GeorgiaMom wrote:

Right, she was found to have abused her power........no problem. Smile

Click your heels together...

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dragonfly

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:20 pm

I'm pretty sure the "witch hunt" was started by fellow Republicans.

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annie13

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:10 am

dragonfly wrote:

I'm pretty sure the "witch hunt" was started by fellow Republicans.

And McCain issued a statement, that Obama was behind it all Twisted Evil

Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 1586

wvgirl

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:20 am

annie13 wrote:

And McCain issued a statement, that Obama was behind it all Twisted Evil

Your kidding, right?

Well, Palin is bypassing stopping in our state. She'll be in Ohio and Pennsylvania, but ya know, the Republicans have WV wrapped up. Rolling Eyes

Update: Palin not touring W.Va. on Sunday
Contrary to previous reports, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will not take a bus tour of West Virginia on Sunday, according to the head of the state McCain-Palin campaign.
By Staff reports

Contrary to previous reports, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will not take a bus tour of West Virginia on Sunday, according to the head of the state McCain-Palin campaign.

Ben Beakes said Palin would fly into Huntington, then cross the Ohio River into Ohio and take a bus tour through that state on Sunday.

The Alaska governor is scheduled to hold a rally in St. Clairsville, Ohio, just across the Ohio River from Wheeling, at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Palin is scheduled to make a similar bus tour in Pennsylvania on Saturday, and was rumored to be making an appearance on the "Saturday Night Live" TV show in New York that night.

Most political observers expected Sen. John McCain and Palin to win West Virginia relatively easily, but an American Research Group poll out this week showed the Democratic candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, with a lead in the state.
Obama's challenger in the Democratic primary, Sen. Hillary Clinton, visited Charleston on Friday and urged state residents to vote for Obama and Anne Barth, who is challenging Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito.
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200810100564

Poll: Obama Closing on McCain in W.Va.
Posted: 10:45 PM Oct 10, 2008
Last Updated: 10:45 PM Oct 10, 2008
Reporter: Associated Press
Email Address: news@wsaz.com

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – It has been reported for months that John McCain would have a relatively easy time winning West Virginia, but a new poll shows Barack Obama has made quite the comeback.

The American Research Group reported that for the first time Obama has taken the lead here in the Mountain State. The poll shows that if the election were held today, Obama would capture 50 percent of the vote compared with Republican presidential candidate McCain's 42 percent.

This is a big turn around from previous polls, which showed McCain leading by a wide margin in West Virginia.

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/30826874.html

Laughing

My momma always said don't count your chickens before they hatch Laughing

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annie13

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:25 am

No, I wasn't kidding, Larry King read it! I'll find it and post it

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0810/10/lkl.01.html

KING: We have a statement from the McCain campaign on the Palin report.

Quote, "Today's report shows that the Governor acted within her proper and lawful authority in the reassignment of Walt Monegan. The report also illustrates what we've known all along. This 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,

Lacking evidence to support the original Monegan allegation, the legislative council seriously overreached and making a tortured argument to find fault without basis in law or fact.

The governor is looking forward to cooperating with the personnel board and continuing her conversation with the American people regarding the important issues facing the country."

Blamed it on Obama Shocked

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wvgirl

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:00 am

annie13 wrote:

I was gonna reply, but I don't even know what to say.

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yankee-in-france

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 4:15 am

Abused her power, eh, well, that explains her selection by McCain. The VP office can continue right along as it has under Cheney. Block those subpoenas, refuse to testify, etc. She'll fit in nicely.

YIF

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SavannahStar

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 5:49 am

resigned wrote:

Right, she was found to have abused her power........no problem. Smile

**SuperStar**

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dragonfly

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 9:31 am

The investigation was started before Palin was "tapped" to be on McCain's ticket. How on earth can this be Obama's fault? Laughing

It was not even started by Democrats. Too funny!

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dragonfly

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 9:36 am

annie13 wrote:

And McCain issued a statement, that Obama was behind it all Twisted Evil

It's funny, they can't even decide how to run the campaign in regards to Obama. Is he associating with terrorists or is he decent? Was he able to reach into Alaska and start an investigation on Palin before she was even picked by McCain? I don't understand what their stance is on Obama and I don't think they do either. My understanding is that Republicans started the call for this investigation, so if Obama is responsible then he really has the ability to cross party lines and make things happen. Whoo hoo! Another endorsement for him, I guess! Wink

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gwen

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 9:41 am

dragonfly wrote:

Yep...yet another example of McCain being out of control since he obviously did not vet her.

Another interesting point is that McCain said that the people should not trust Obama since he has not told the trust...looks like Palin has not been told the truth either... Wink

AKA Gagal_05

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GeorgiaMom

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 9:46 am

dragonfly wrote:

The investigation was started before Palin was "tapped" to be on McCain's ticket. How on earth can this be Obama's fault? Laughing

It was not even started by Democrats. Too funny!

I don't think Obama is behind it. That's silly, but I do think that once she became the VP nominee the investigation all of a sudden became important.

It's not going to effect the way republicans view her. The main reason people like her is because she's not afraid to go against the good ole boy network. Her excuse was they had issues with him and the budget. His excuse was he was fired for not firing the BIL.

Palin abused her power by violating an Alaska Statute-she abused her power in what way is what I'd like to know

Monegan was not terminated for refusing to fire Trooper Wooten, however it probably was a contributing factor -but, Palin did have the authority to terminate him. Looks like Palin was in the right here

Trooper Wooten's workmens comp case was handled properly.No problem here

The Attorney General's office failed to comply with the request from Palin for information regarding the case in the form of emails.Not Palins fault

So my only real question is what Alaskan statue was violated?

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resigned

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 9:50 am

GeorgiaMom wrote:

Investigator Stephen Branchflower has concluded that Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power when she fired Public Saftey Commissioner Walt Monegan. "I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch ethics act," Branchflower said in the 263-page report to the Legislative Council released Friday afternoon. "Alaska statute 39.52.110(a) provides ’the legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust,’" Branchflower continued.

Click your heels together...

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gwen

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 9:52 am

October 11th, 2008 9:46 AM Eastern
Governor Palin: It is time
by Greta Van Susteren

I like Governor Palin — but, I like all politicians from both parties - since I know how hard each works. It is not easy to be a politician. Liking a politician does not mean one agrees with everything the politician advocates. The work can be lousy - it is 24/7 and you have us (the media) watching you for every misstep and seemingly with a willingness to infer the worst even when unfair. Why do politicians want the jobs? Each I have met - and I have met hundreds - does it for the simple reason: wanting to make the country better. We never give them credit for that…we often look for mistakes, gaffes and imperfections and then harp on them.

But, now that the Alaska Legislature report is out about the firing of a state employee, Governor Palin needs to talk to us (this time the “us” is voters) and explain her side of this story. Maybe it is all politics and just a legislature gunning for her…maybe not…but we need to hear from her.

Full disclosure: I fired off an email last night asking the campaign for an interview with her. But, whether I get the interview or not, she has to sit down with someone and explain this.

You should hold off reaching a conclusion about her on this firing and legislative report about abuse of power until you hear her side. It could be all politics and just an effort to smear her. Politics can be very mean.

Note: if you don’t hear from her on this - it is fair to hold her silence on the topic against her. This election is important. She should know you want to hear from her.

One other thing - it is strategically wise for Governor Palin to give someone an interview and explain her actions since there are undecided voters. She wants the undecided voters to vote for her and for Senator McCain. The last thing a candidate wants to do is “give” a reason to a voter to NOT vote for the candidate. This could be a tipping issue for an undecided.

http://gretawire.foxnews.com/

AKA Gagal_05

Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 15229

K Hemingway

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 9:53 am

She violated Alaska Statute 39.52.110 (a)

http://www.legis.state.ak.us/cgi-bin/folioisa.dll/stattx07/query=*/doc/%7Bt16068%7D

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gwen

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 9:58 am

What the Troopergate Report Really Says

Friday's report from special investigator Stephen Branchflower to Alaska's Legislative Council answered some basic questions about the political and personal bog known as Troopergate.

Did Governor Sarah Palin abuse the power of her office in trying to get her former brother-in-law, State Trooper Mike Wooten, fired? Yes.

Was the refusal to fire Mike Wooten the reason Palin fired Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan? Not exclusively, and it was within her rights as the states' chief executive to fire him for just about any reason, even without cause.

Those answers were expected, given that most of the best pieces of evidence have been part of the public record for months. The result is not a mortal wound to Palin, nor does it put her at much risk of being forced to leave the ticket her presence succeeded in energizing.

But the Branchflower report still makes for good reading, if only because it convincingly answers a question nobody had even thought to ask: Is the Palin administration shockingly amateurish? Yes, it is. Disturbingly so.

The 263 pages of the report show a co-ordinated application of pressure on Monegan so transparent and ham-handed that it was almost certain to end in public embarrassment for the governor. The only surprise is that Troopergate is national news, not just a sorry piece of political gristle to be chewed on by Alaska politicos over steaks at Anchorage's Club Paris.

A harsh verdict? Consider the report's findings. Not only did people at almost every level of the Palin administration engage in repeated inappropriate contact with Walt Monegan and other high-ranking officials at the Department of Public Safety, but Monegan and his peers constantly warned these Palin disciples that the contact was inappropriate and probably unlawful. Still, the emails and calls continued — in at least one instance on recorded state trooper phone lines.

The state's head of personnel, Annette Kreitzer, called Monegan and had to be warned that personnel issues were confidential. The state's attorney general, Talis Colberg, called Monegan and had to be reminded that the call was putting both men in legal jeopardy, should Wooten decide to sue. The governor's chief of staff met with Monegan and had to be reminded by Monegan that, "This conversation is discoverable ... You don't want Wooten to own your house, do you?"

Monegan consistently emerges as the adult in these conversations, while the Palin camp displays a childish impetuousness and sense of entitlement.

One telling exchange: Deputy Commissioner John Glass, who worked under Monegan, told Branchflower he was "livid" after a Palin staffer, Frank Bailey, went outside the chain of command and called a state trooper in far-off Ketchikan to complain about Wooten. Why had Bailey called the trooper? Because, Bailey said, this trooper had gone to church with Sarah Palin back in Wasilla, so he felt "comfortable" talking to him about Wooten. Glass, too, tried to sound the warning that continuing to pressure anyone and everyone in the matter would end in "an unbelievable amount of embarrassment for the Governor and everybody else".

Another amateurish sign: Todd Palin's outsize role in the mess. Branchflower said it was out of his jurisdiction to pass judgment on the First Gentleman, but his report paints an extralegal role for Todd Palin that would have made the Hillary Clinton of 1992 blush. In the report, the head of Gov. Palin's security detail says that Todd spent about half of his time in the governor's office — not at a desk (he didn't have one), but at a long conference table on one side of the office, with his own phone to make and receive calls. It became a shadow office, the informal Department of Getting Mike Wooten Fired.

It was at that long table that Todd Palin first scheduled a meeting with Walt Monegan, days after his wife's administration began. He showed Monegan three huge binders of evidence against Wooten, including a picture of a dead moose that had been shot illegally. After Monegan came back saying that there was no new actionable information, Todd began a very visible campaign of stewing and fuming, trying to get access to personnel files, calling up and down the Public Safety org chart.

The report also raises the suggestion that the final incident that led to Monegan's firing was perhaps the most (unintentionally) hilarious part of the whole saga. In the run-up to Alaska's 2008 Police Memorial Day event, Monegan visited Palin in Anchorage and brought along an official portrait of a state trooper in uniform, saluting in front of the police memorial in Anchorage, for Palin to sign and present at the event. The trooper? Mike Wooten.

Palin signed the photo and didn't say anything, according to Monegan's testimony, but later cancelled her attendance at the event, sending Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell in her place. The head of her Anchorage office followed up with a call to Monegan berating him for his insensitivity. (Monegan swears he didn't know it was Monegan in the picture, and that he didn't even know what Wooten looked like.)

Shortly after that incident, Monegan's fate was cast. But even then, Palin's staffers were blithely adding more evidence to Troopergate. When Monegan's potential successor, Chuck Kopp, asked Bailey, the Palin staffer, why Monegan was being fired, he was told simply: "Todd is really upset with Monegan."

So what does this say about the possible Vice-President of the United States? Certainly not as much as her enemies would have hoped. She was only directly involved in a small bit of the pressure campaign — a meeting or two and a couple of emails. She can thank Monegan for not having her hands dirtier; it was he who told her to keep herself at "arm's length" from any Wooten conversations.

But even though she won't likely face any legal repercussions, the amateurism and cronyism of her brief administration hardly leaves Palin sitting pretty. Troopergate's final verdict may be even more damaging than a rebuke: her administration was, at least this regard, just as self-motivated as the Washington fat cats and lobbyists she hopes to unseat.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1849399-2,00.html

AKA Gagal_05

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dragonfly

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:04 am

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27105917/

The article is very long, so I'll just post some of the things I think show an abuse of power in general:

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

The report was made public the same day an Anchorage judge issued a temporary restraining order forcing the state of Alaska to preserve any government-related e-mails that Palin and top aides sent from private accounts in what critics contend was an effort to conceal that they were doing political business while working at state government jobs.

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.

There is much more to the article and obviously there are rights and wrongs on both sides of the story, but it sounds as if her husband Todd was granted a lot of access to use her office for personal reasons. I don't think this is about whether or not anyone was "lawfully terminated", but about Sarah and Todd's inquiries into a confidential employee matter and Todd's access to her resources as Governor.

Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 1506

gwen

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:30 am

Palin Denies Report’s Findings That She Abused Power

PITTSBURGH –-

The morning after an Alaskan legislative panel ruled that Sarah Palin abused her powers as Governor to get a state trooper, her former brother-in-law, fired Palin responded to a reporter’s shouted question about whether she did in fact abuse her power, Palin shook her head and said, “No.”

She added, “And if you read the report you’ll see that there was nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member. You got to read the report, Sir.”

Her denial of abuse of power puts her at odds with the findings of the report, which found her acting lawfully, but unethically. The report states that she violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act by allowing her to pressure subordinates to try and get Trooper Michael Wooten fired.

However, Palin’s response was within the report’s findings because it did conclude that Palin was within her right to dismiss her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, Wooten’s superior. The report stated, “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,” the report cites the Alaska Constitution in those findings.

In the 263-page report the legislative panel determined that Palin wrongfully allowed her husband, Todd, to use state resources as part of the attempt to fire Trooper Wooten.

Palin then boarded the Straight Talk Express with her children Willow, Piper, and Trig for a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Her husband Todd is campaigning solo for the GOP ticket in Maine.

http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/10/11/palin-denies-reports-findings-that-shes-abused-power/

AKA Gagal_05

Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 15229

GeorgiaMom

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:34 am

gwen wrote:

I agree with Greta. Palin does need to sit down with somebody and explain, but she doesn't need to sit down with somebody that's going to take what she has to say and rip her apart such as Katie Couric.

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