Palin Probe Expanded Beyond Troopergate

The Anchorage Daily News reports:

The state Personnel Board investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of Walt Monegan has broadened to include other ethics complaints against the governor and examination of actions by other state employees, according to the independent counsel handling the case.

The investigator, Tim Petumenos, did not say who else is under scrutiny. But in two recent letters describing his inquiry, he cited the consolidation of complaints and the involvement of other officials as a reason for not going along with Palin's request to make the examination of her activities more public.

Newsweek reported on Saturday that the Personnel Board probe, which both the McCain campaign and critics expected would be more favorable to Palin, hasn't turned out that way:

McCain campaign spokeswoman Meg Stapleton dismissed the report as the product of "a partisan-led inquiry run by Obama supporters." But there could be more land mines ahead. Some weeks ago, the McCain team devised a plan to have Palin file an ethics complaint against herself with the State Personnel Board, arguing that it alone was capable of conducting a fair, nonpartisan inquiry into whether she fired Monegan because he refused to fire Wooten, who had been involved in a messy custody battle with her sister. Some Democrats ridiculed the move, noting that the personnel board answered to Palin. But the board ended up hiring an aggressive Anchorage trial lawyer, Timothy Petumenos, as an independent counsel. McCain aides were chagrined to discover that Petumenos was a Democrat who had contributed to Palin's 2006 opponent for governor, Tony Knowles. Palin is now scheduled to be questioned next week, and the counsel's report could be released soon after. "We took a gamble when we went to the personnel board," said a McCain aide who asked not to be identified discussing strategy. While the McCain camp still insists Palin "has nothing to hide," it acknowledges a critical finding by Petumenos would be even harder to dismiss.

On Tuesday, the Anchorage Daily News also printed a blistering editorial on Palin, calling her response to the State Legislature's Troopergate report "Orwellian."

Sarah Palin's reaction to the Legislature's Troopergate report is an embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation.

She claims the report "vindicates" her. She said that the investigation found "no unlawful or unethical activity on my part."

Her response is either astoundingly ignorant or downright Orwellian.

Page 8, Finding Number One of the report says: "I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act."

In plain English, she did something "unlawful." She broke the state ethics law.

Perhaps Gov. Palin has been too busy to actually read the Troopergate report. Perhaps she is relying on briefings from McCain campaign spinmeisters.

That's the charitable interpretation.

Read the whole thing. Read the full text of the Troopergate report here.

Comments

[Mysticalsister]

like George Bush, Palin looked good on the surface, and isn't that what the GOP is really all about? Unfortunately, she'd been in office all of 18 months as governor, more than enough time for a unqualified candidate to make some stunningly stupid mistakes.

The attacks on Obama are all surface as well -- thin lies they can sell only because they look damning on the surface. The repugs aren't about reality -- if something or someone looks bad or good on the surface, than that's all they need to sell it.

[Routemaster]

John Cleese says Michael Palin isn't the funniest Palin around anymore. He describes Sarah Palin as just an attractive parrot that parrots words the meaning of which she doesn't know. (Diplomatically he refused to comment on whether Sarah was a Norwegian Blue or not.)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/oliverburkemanblog/2008/oct/14/uselections2008-sarahpalin

[Biffmeister]

That sir is a late parrot!

[Noogie]

"[John Cleese] describes Sarah Palin as just an attractive parrot that parrots words the meaning of which she doesn't know."

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Hubris" anyone?

[curioussoul]

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=_NK2sFJebGc&feature=related

Palin's openly support these people

[Jo Manning]

She should be drummed out of office. Ethics is ethics and ethical behavior is ethical behavior. End of discussion.

[1differentdrummer]

Ethics? We don't need no ethics.

[TAIsabel]

No amount of styling and highlights in her hair can hide how despicable this woman is. I am amazed that PETA has not called her on the shooting of wolves and the carcasses of many animals that surround her in her office. Everything that surrounds her are just tools that are useful on the way to her desire for fame and glory. She started with the beauty competitions and hasn't stopped since. Her children, her husband, and even McCain are just stepping stones for her to climb. Ethics, what ethics??!!

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

Double whammy!

Both unethical AND unlawful! ouch!

[xrepublican]

So......................... even if she managed to help get McSame elected, Sarah might end up facing indictement back home in Alaska for things done as gov? Didn't that happen with Agnew? Had to step down as VP, didn't he?

They say "Where there's smoke, there's fire..." only here we've got a forest already ablaze....

Howon earth can ANYONE vote for someoone when there's ALREADY ethics violations and clear violations of law on their record - along with evidence of even more? And let's not say 'partisan withhunt' when there were more repubs than dems on the investigting panel......

[mysterygirl18]

Ahhh aren't these two America's favorite couple...awwwwwww...on the serious side, this is a bad woman...who needs to be stopped. To tell you the truth, and I'm sure I'm not alone I don't understand why she isn't in jail already.


http://www.myspace.com/wakeupnowpeople

[pearl89]

I bet she wishes she had never filed that complaint against herself.

I must admit about the Palins tho, I have never known two people who do so many different things. Altho, it doesn't seem that they do any of them very well except breed.

[thinkworklivelove]

Will the Republican base turn out for a ticket that have ethic violations on their records? It definitely shows that when these two have power, they like to use it to enrich themselves FIRST!! And they both had the nerve to talk about the story on Wall Street.

The McSame ticket is WRONG for America.

[Ignatz88]

She is just setting herself up for The Sarah Palin Report on Fox, premiering November 5th. She's gonna shake the ice crystals from her boots and head to the Big Time. Palin is made for the scorch and burn tone that masquerades for political thought now ... so the more outrageous she can be, the better for her future. We need to understand the she doesn't want to be VP; she is auditioning right now for the tv show circuit.

[Indedave]

Could be interesting -- I've never seen a talk show run from a jail cell.

[ronnierayjenkins]

There is something deep and dark about Sarah Palin, I just can't figure it out.

http://www.ronnierayjenkins.com/topics/education/The_Ballad_of_Caribou_Barbie/

[Satch]

They are now investigating whether the Palin's home was built for "free" by the same construction co. that was awarded the contract to build the 12 million dollar ice arena in Wasilla. Maybe this is why she pushed thru that you do not now need a building permit in Alaska.. It does away with the paper work. hence... no paper trail here!!

[btanner]

Is this the way that Sarah Palin and her cohorts see America - a place where you can be found guilty of violating ethics laws and still lie through your teeth by declaring egregiously that you've been cleared of any wrongdoing? We can all put an end to all this falsehood, delusion, deception, and dishonesty, and vote for Obama.