New Palin Legal Defense Fund: Ethics Complaints Against Illegal Fund Just Part Of A 'Massive Witch Hunt'
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The administrators of a new legal defense fund set up for Sarah Palin have sent out an e-mail that downplays the outcome of ethics complaints against the former Alaska governor and accuses her political enemies of waging a "vicious campaign" to ruin her.
The unsigned e-mail by the Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund also blasts the Alaska Democratic Party, saying it has sponsored more than two dozen ethics complaints against Palin – charges the party called outright lies.
"They put out all this misinformation, half-truths, assumptions and innuendoes, and at the end they make a conclusion based on a house of cards. It's ridiculous," party chairwoman Patti Higgins said Monday.
The fund was set up last week when an ethics investigator found an earlier fund was illegal. Under a settlement agreement Palin made with the state Personnel Board, the nearly $390,000 collected before her July 27, 2009, resignation as governor will be returned within 90 days.
In releasing his findings Thursday, however, personnel board investigator Timothy Petumenos said the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee acted in good faith and relied on a team of attorneys.
The new fund sent out an e-mail that calls last week's action a victory for Palin's enemies "in their vicious campaign to smear, bankrupt, and force this dedicated public servant and conservative leader out of politics!"
The e-mail also contends Palin has had to personally foot millions of dollars in legal bills to defend herself from a "massive witch hunt" by left-wing activists. Palin, who has reportedly made at least $12 million from her best-selling book and other media deals in the past year, has repeatedly said she has racked up more than $500,000 in legal bills.
Fund trustee Tim Crawford said Monday the response from donors has been very good, but he declined to say how much has been raised since the e-mail went out Thursday to tens of thousands of people. Many are saying they want donations to the old fund transferred to the new one, according to Crawford, the treasurer of Palin's political action committee. He said the fund is independent of SarahPAC and only needs to file reports with the Internal Revenue Service because it involves a private citizen.
Crawford also declined to identify the e-mail's author.
"Who wrote it? It doesn't matter," he said.
The e-mail states the Alaska Democratic Party is behind the multiple ethics complaints filed against Palin. It adds that 26 of 27 complaints have been dismissed.
In reality, not all the complaints were dismissed outright.
One complaint – also investigated by Petumenos – focused on state-paid trips Palin took with her children as governor. That case, which found vague regulations but no wrongdoing, concluded with a settlement agreement by Palin to reimburse the state about $8,000 for costs associated with nine trips taken by her children.
Another complaint that alleged Palin and some staff members used their influence to get a supporter a job in state government was dismissed with a recommendation of ethics training for a Palin staffer who made questionable comments in e-mails.
An investigation by state lawmakers over Palin's firing of her public safety commissioner in the so-called Troopergate scandal concluded that she violated a state ethics law prohibiting public officials from using their office for personal gain. The firing itself was deemed lawful since the commissioner was an at-will employee. In a separate investigation prompted by Palin, Petumenos said she violated no ethics laws.
The e-mail also contends the Democratic National Committee – referring to it as the National Democratic Committee – used its Alaska chapter to create a website whose goal is to keep Palin out of public office. "To this day, the Democrats are using this web site to publicly seek donations for funding bogus" legal challenges involving Palin, it states.
Alaska party leaders posted a response on their Palin website, sarahwatch.org, denouncing the e-mail's allegation as a fabrication. The DNC had nothing to do with the site, according to the post, which also denies sponsoring any ethics complaints.
"For the sake of the nation, this charade needs to stop," the post states.
(This version CORRECTS CHANGES to `downplays' in ld; corrects name of Democratic National Committee in 16th graf)
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RACHEL D'ORO 06/28/10 10:25 PM ET Associated Press