Troopergate Report: Palin Abused Power

[Joseph T. Burkeson]

Troopergate Report: Palin Abused Power
Unanimous but Contentious Vote to Release the Report to the Public

By JUSTIN ROOD
Oct. 10, 2008

Sarah Palin abused her power when she fired her Public Safety Commissioner this July, a state investigation has concluded.


An Alaskan state investigation concluded today that Gov. Sarah Palin had abused her power when she fired her Public Safety Commissioner in July.
(AP Graphic)

The Alaska legislature voted to release the several hundred page report on the "Troopergate" scandal, a state kerfuffle which has come to haunt Gov. Sarah Palin's vice presidential bid. The scandal centered around her firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. Monegan and others believed Palin fired him because he refused to take action against Mike Wooten, a state trooper under him who had been involved in a messy divorce with Palin's sister, Molly.

The investigator, Stephen Branchflower, found that Monegan's refusal to fire Wooten "was not the sole reason" but was "likely a contributing factor" to his firing.

Branchflower also said Palin's attorney general failed to provide him with emails of Palin's that he had requested as part of the probe.

Click Here for the Investigative Homepage.

[Nick Gromicko]

Joe writes:

An Alaskan state investigation concluded today that Gov. Sarah Palin had abused her power when she fired her Public Safety Commissioner in July.

Wrong. Read it slower. The report says she was within her rights to fire the Public Safety Commissioner.

[Nick Gromicko]

She abused her power by allowing her husband to use the resources of the Governor's office. That's all.

[Christopher B. Currins]

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.

Investigator Stephen Branchflower, in a report by a bipartisan panel that investigated the matter, found Palin in violation of a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.

[Michael Larson]

Political payback?

Stephen Branchflower info and article

"Steve Branchflower is a highly respected prosecutor and public servant," said Sen. Hollis French, D-Anchorage. "If there were wrongs committed, he will find them. If there were not, he has the professional experience and good judgment to say so."

French will supervise Branchflower. French, also a former prosecutor and colleague of Branchflower, has told the council that the investigator will go to work gathering evidence and could come back to lawmakers if "some people just won't talk." The House and Senate Judiciary Committees could then issue subpoenas to compel testimony.

[Joseph T. Burkeson]

I'm laying 9/5 the closest Palin ever gets to the Oval Office is on a school sponsored class trip with trig, any takers?

[Randy D. Stufflebeem]

I would not only have fired the drunken kid tasering geek but I would have fired his boss as well! Even tasered their sorry *****es as they walked out!

[Michael Larson]

That's hardly a scandal.

Your original post called it "kerfuffle".

Aptly named IMHO

Sarah has made enemies among the pols in Alaska. That's a good thing

[Joseph T. Burkeson]

Originally Posted by mlarson

That's hardly a scandal.

Your original post called it "kerfuffle".

Aptly named IMHO

Sarah has made enemies among the pols in Alaska. That's a good thing

I knew you were too chicken to put your money where your mouth is, Palin (aka Bible Spice) is toast and you know it.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by jburkeson1

I knew you were too chicken to put your money where your mouth is, Palin (aka Bible Spice) is toast and you know it.

It won't last the weekend.

It's the economy stupid.

[James H. Bushart]

In all seriousness...this reflects very poorly on McCain's judgment. It appears that his peers in the Senate who reprimanded him for his "poor judgment" knew what they were talking about.

To bring in to your campaign a person who, less than a month before the election, will be named in a scandalous abuse of power investigation...reflects poorly upon his research and judgment.

This is absolutely moronic. If I were a contributor, I'd be demanding a refund right now.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by jbushart

In all seriousness...this reflects very poorly on McCain's judgment. It appears that his peers in the Senate who reprimanded him for his "poor judgment" knew what they were talking about.

To bring in to your campaign a person who, less than a month before the election, will be named in a scandalous abuse of power investigation...reflects poorly upon his research and judgment.

This is absolutely moronic. If I were a contributor, I'd be demanding a refund right now.

Serious indeed.

An opposition party hack hires his buddy to investigate. I'm sure he was absolutely unbiased.

Of course you would bother to question Obama's judgment no would you?

Wright
Ahers
ACORN
Johnson
Reins
Fannie mae
Freddie mac
etc.
etc.
etc.

[Randy D. Stufflebeem]

Originally Posted by jbushart

In all seriousness...this reflects very poorly on McCain's judgment. It appears that his peers in the Senate who reprimanded him for his "poor judgment" knew what they were talking about.

To bring in to your campaign a person who, less than a month before the election, will be named in a scandalous abuse of power investigation...reflects poorly upon his research and judgment.

This is absolutely moronic. If I were a contributor, I'd be demanding a refund right now.

Of course you would Jim If McCain stays on the attack and turns up the noise I will float them a couple more bucks in your name okay? After all, they have red meat in Wright, Resko, Raila Odinga, Ayers, Fairykahn, ACORN, Khalid al-Mansour, etc, etc! They should bring it & bring it hard because their is no comparison to this little gig with Palin which by the way means squat!

[Joseph T. Burkeson]

Originally Posted by jbushart

In all seriousness...this reflects very poorly on McCain's judgment. It appears that his peers in the Senate who reprimanded him for his "poor judgment" knew what they were talking about.

To bring in to your campaign a person who, less than a month before the election, will be named in a scandalous abuse of power investigation...reflects poorly upon his research and judgment.

This is absolutely moronic. If I were a contributor, I'd be demanding a refund right now.

This should be good for at least another 6-8% boost in the polls for Obama before the weekend is over. It is ironic that McCain choose the VPILF simply as a sideshow stunt, and now she will be the albatross hung around his neck in defeat.

It becomes very difficult to convince the public that you are a Maverick when all of your life all you have ever been is a sidekick - Joe Biden.