Round 2 Of McCain Troopergate Stall: Part Karl Rove, Part Laurel & Hardy

Since Monday the McCain camp has stepped up its personal attacks against Alaskans. They've continued their D.C.-style tactics against neighbors in this small state. The game plan is to find an excuse to stop our Legislature's Troopergate investigation, and hide evidence McCain's folks really don't want to surface before November's election. It's been a little Karl Rove, and parts Laurel and Hardy. How else can you explain the following?

Friday the Attorney General's office promised state witnesses would comply with subpoenas the Legislature issued last week. Tuesday the Governor's Attorney General flip flopped, and announced that state witnesses wouldn't comply because, well, and I'm paraphrasing here - - he's changed his mind. And in what has to be an idea hatched after a 4th Martini at Chilkoot Charlies, Governor Palin's attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the ethics claim she filed against herself two weeks ago. Yup. She really filed a complaint against herself. Tuesday she said she's discovered, after a thorough investigation of herself, that she's done nothing wrong. Does anyone know how to get a hold of Jon Stewart and Tina Fey?

It's silly season up here in the far north, but this week's moves are aimed at one thing: John McCain's effort to find cover for being disingenuous. See, before Governor Palin's nomination for the Republican VP spot, she did the honest thing. She admitted the evidence -- of roughly 20 contacts between her staff and husband with Public Safety officials, seeking the firing of Governor Palin's former brother-in-law -- might lead a reasonable person to the conclusion that the she misused her office to fire a state employee. So when Alaska's Republican-led Legislature called for an investigation, she did the honorable thing and said she and her staff would comply. She denies any wrongdoing.

Things changed on August 29 when Governor Palin was added to the McCain ticket. Since then his handlers have told her she can't testify. They don't want the evidence in this case to come out. They don't want her to testify under oath. They don't want other witnesses to testify under oath. So they have engaged in daily maneuvers to attack, as disloyal to the McCain campaign, anyone who wants the investigation to move forward. They've now attacked two well respected prosecutors, and perhaps the state's most highly regarded law enforcement official -- the Public Safety Commissioner she hired, and then fired, Walt Monegan.

Every day this week McCain operatives have sung the same tune. Today a guy with an East Coast accent, who knows nothing about Alaska, stood in front of a McCain-Palin banner to lead the attacks against people he doesn't know. At press conferences on Monday and Tuesday campaign staffer Megan Stapleton spit vitriol to repeat her argument that this investigation is really a "Democratic" attack on Governor Palin. See, that's easier than just saying their VP has reneged on her promise to testify. It's easier than just saying they don't want anyone testifying before the November election. It's easier than admitting they are stonewalling a legislative investigation. Oh -- and I know they hate partisan stuff. Yesterday 5 Republican legislators -- all allies of Governor Palin, all supporters of the McCain campaign, filed a lawsuit against the Legislature to stop the investigation.

Here are a few things MCCain's operatives failed to say. There are a few small facts that make it hard to style this as a Democratic investigation. One is that Alaska is a Republican State. We have a Republican Governor and a Legislature of 34 Republicans and 26 Democrats. This summer the Legislature's Legislative Council voted 12-0 (8 Republicans and 4 Democrats) to hire an investigator, and appointed Democratic Senator Hollis French, a well-respected former prosecutor, to find an investigator.

Governor Palin stated she and her employees would comply with the investigation. French then hired Steve Branchflower, a former DA who most recently was hired by legislative Republicans to run the state's Office of Victims rights. And on Friday the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-2 (2 Democrats and 1 Republican in favor); and the House Judiciary Committee issued a 7 - 0 (5 Republicans, 2 Democrats) advisory vote, to issue subpoenas to witnesses the McCain camp had previously stopped from testifying.

Over the last two days McCain's outside operatives have vilified former prosecutor Hollis French -- as an Obama supporter who must have called this investigation to hurt the McCain ticket. But French was appointed to oversee the investigation by a 12 - 0 Legislative Council vote, and is probably the state's most respected legislator -- by Republicans and Democrats alike. He's so popular the Republican Party couldn't find anyone to run against him this year. They've called former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan -- a Native Alaskan who has served Republican and Democratic Administrations with honor, and put his life on the line in uniform- - "insubordinate." Odd, given that when Governor Palin fired him she offered him a different job. I guess being "insubordinate" was a job requirement for the new position. And they've challenged the independence of an investigator and former DA, who has no animus anyone can find.

Those Swift boat ads taught the McCain folks that if you say something untrue enough times, it can stick. My favorite moment of the week came when Governor Palin's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss Palin's ethics complaint against herself. Stay with me. Her attorneys have been buying the peyote, not me. See, on August 29 they needed to find a way to stop the Legislature's investigation. They tried asking the Republican leaders to call it off, and take one for the team. But the Senate President and others honorably said no. So they came up with an argument that the State Personnel Board -- 3 people appointed by Governor Palin and her Republican predecessor Frank Murkowski - had "exclusive jurisdiction" to investigate wrongdoing by the Governor.

The Legislature wasn't amused. So Governor Palin then filed a complaint against herself. That, they said, put "jurisdiction" in the hands of their friends at the Personnel Board. They argued that since the Personnel Board was now proceeding with an "investigation," the Legislature couldn't. To put icing on the cake, on Monday the Governor's attorneys moved to dismiss the Governor's case against herself. They said, and I loosely paraphrase again -- that they tried really hard and just couldn't find any evidence that the Governor did anything wrong. OK. I can't believe I just wrote that. And I wish it weren't true.

These are the things you have to do when your presidential candidate doesn't want his VP to honor a promise, and doesn't want evidence to come out before an election. These are the things you have to do if your folks aren't going to comply with a subpoena. That's because without spin the headline might read: "McCain Interferes With Investigation Palin Agreed To." How easy it is to re-write a headline. They learned that during the Swift boat campaign too.

All we can hope for is that members of the press will abide by what's taught in journalism school. Not to repeat the spin of political operatives without reporting the truth. Not to write "he said she said" stories, and pretend the truth is somewhere in the middle. But to report the facts. No matter how you spin it, Governor Palin promised to comply with this Legislative Investigation. McCain's folks got her to change her position. And the Legislature that voted for the investigation did so on a bi-partisan basis. End of story. End of headline.

Over the next few days McCain's folks will try to get local legislators to step in line, out of party loyalty, and reverse their vote to investigate Troopergate. But many local Republicans, like Senate President Lyda Green, have so far refused to play those politics. Stay for more from McCain's Campaign for "Change." They've tried to change the truth. They've succeeded at changing Governor Palin's promise to comply with this investigation. Let's see what they'll change next.

Rep. Les Gara, Anchorage, Alaska

Comments

[wordvarc]

Sarah has invoked her "Perhaps I'll be in the executive branch in a few months and be claiming executive privilege for destroyed e-mails, paring tickets, and setting foreign policy with oil execs." privilege.

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[mimple]

Todd Palin is NOT a party to the Governor's stewardship of her Cabinet. The Trooper was NOT fired and neither was this chooch, Palin wanted to transfer him to another position; he didn't like it so he QUIT. END OF STORY. Todd Palin does not have to testify and really neither does the Governor. It’s a Democratic Witch Hunt, and just another example of how Democrats will waste our tax dollars on meaningless, stupid crap, just so they can keep their power, maintain and promote their brand of low pay slavery on minority liberals.

[rwt1138]

You have no idea what you are talking about. The committee that launched this investigation was comprised of 8 Republicans and 4 Democrats and voted for it unanimously. That means that, if it's a witch hunt, it's a Republican witch hunt. And since when are subpoena's voluntary? Who told you you were qualified to comment on this? They were lying to you.

[wordvarc]

Sensitive and defensive!

[ThePublicRecord]

http://www.pubrecord.org/nationworld/337.html?task=view

Palin's Claim Ex Relative's Files Are Public Documents Untrue

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has denied claims that she and several of her senior staffers illegally accessed the personnel file of her ex-brother-in-law, Trooper Mike Wooten, and disseminated confidential information about the law enforcement official to his superiors.

Palin, Sen. John McCain’s running mate, her private attorney Thomas Van Flein, and McCain campaign officials, said the confidential medical and employment records became part of the public record during divorce proceedings between Wooten and Palin’s sister, Molly McCann.

In defending Palin, the McCain campaign and Palin's attorney have said Wooten’s employment and medical files are public documents. But that assertion is untrue.

[proudoldlefty]

For all the macho (and fem-macho) posturing by Alaskans about moose hunting and sled dogging, etc., - oooohhh, we're such TOUGH people, not cawsmawpolitan like those "others" LOL - Alaskans must actually be a pretty weak bunch. If not, why are they allowing Washington DC to control their state so much? Why aren't they angrily demanding that the investigation continue? Why aren't they in the streets protesting, holding sit-ins on the steps of the state Capitol, getting on the talk-shows to spread the word that Alaskans won't be over-run? Tough guys. Yeah, right.

[rwt1138]

Who says Washington is controlling the state? Last I saw, none of these desperate maneuvers is getting much traction, the investigation continues, and the report will still be released in October, which is contrary to the wishes of the McCain camp. If Washington were in control, these desperate and flailing gestures wouldn't even be necessary.

I don't think you understand just how alien this kind of crap is in Alaska. In the movie Borat, there is a scene where Sacha Baron Cohen, in character, brings a plastic baggie of poo to the dinner table of an etiquette teacher. She is initially stunned and shocked, as this is far beyond the pale of anything she would have expected or been prepared for. Alaska is kind of like that right now: McCain showed up in the state with a plastic baggie of poo and started insulting people's wives, and it's taking Alaskans a little time to figure out how to respond--not because that's normal or intimidating, but because it's just not the kind of nonsense they are used to putting up with.

Judge by the results. If the investigation is successfully derailed, then you can complain that their tactics worked. Until then, I'd take a wait and see approach. If you notice, the McCain camp has been throwing every punch in their arsenal at this thing so far, and to date hit nothing but air.

[proudoldlefty]

I could be wrong, but...nobody showing up to testify after being subpoena'd...(did I spell that correctly?)...seems like a good derailment.
Wait and see? How many days are left until the election? Not a good idea, IMO.
www.community-organizer.com

[Jingo]

Alaskans better get in line and obey the next President of the United States. Otherwise, McCain might drain all your oil and sell your land back to Russia.

[ladycubsfan]

This investigation began before Palin was even picked for VP so how can it be the Democrat's' fault? If she was innocent as she claimed, she would welcome the investigation and see that it proceeded quickly. She's guilty. Period. Just remember, Republicans, we're watching you. If you think you can steal another election by sweeping things under the rug, think again.

[greencat]

I HAVE A QUESTION THAT I WISH SOMEONE COULD ANSWER. WHAT IF McCAIN WERE TO STROKE OUT OR SOMETHING WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WITH THE ELECTION? WOULD PALIN BE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, OR WOULD THE REPUBLICANS HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER CANIDATE?

[rwt1138]

The RNC would have to decide who was taking over the ticket; Palin is not automatically the choice. In fact, they could also decide to remove her and start with a completely new ticket.

[AJ55]

Does this mean if I 'm served with a supeona I can cite Rove and Palin as examples for not appearing in court as they're hauling me off to jail?

[mimple]

I am not sure anymore. I think you have to ask Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco. I do believe, Liberals have decided you don't have to follow the law anymore if you don't like the law. At least that is what they have been doing for a number of years now. I guess if Liberals have decided it is OK to lie, cheat, and break federal law all the time, Republicans can occiasionally ignore a supeona handed out by some Liberal judge.

[edgemo]

occiasionally ???? Spelling aside, Republicans are ignoring subpeonas from everyone. All levels of law enforcement and government. They are useless scum who should be the first against the wall when the revolution comes. And then those that voted for them.

[JayInDallas]

From my view, I haven't seen any "Liberals" being hauled off to jail for engaging in or soliciting homosexual sex. Where do you get this "liberals have decided" crap? Where have you been the past 8 years? The NEOCONS are the ones who claim "executive privilege". The NEOCONS are the ones who are thumbing their noses at the law whose infrastructure was rotted out from within by Bushco. They filled the ranks with empty, incompetent, partisan suits and that's why they know they can get away with it.

[apeman637]

Todd it's a matter of national security won't testify. wow what other perks come with sleeping with the Govener. Delay's wife gets rich asking what charities the wives are involved with, maybe they can rent Todd out for parties since he can tell the government to you know stick supeona somewhere ! Guess supeona power just ain't what it used to be huh? just ask Rove.

[PrairieDog]

Todd it's a matter of national security
-------
Yeah, someone might ask him what he saw over there in Russia.

[AmericanVoice]

The big GOP legal machine has went to Alaska and reviewed every doucment & email, and the review has revealed the information contained in those doucments & emails, isn't good news for Sarah & Todd Palin, and henceforth we have the political roadblock "cover-up" machine in full drive. They in affect will try and stall this out past November, and decieve the American public. Which is a disgrace, especially at point and time when this well could be our most important election in the history of our nation. This speaks to every man & women who has fought, died, suffered, and paid taxes to our Great Nation, and to have the American people blindfolded to the facts and information isn't "Country First" nor is it "America First", it is "Me First", and that isn't "Real American", thats called "Selfish".

[stevorama]

Please vote O / Joe, we don't need N i x o n in l i p s t i c k as VP.

[WasillaLady]

For me, an Alaskan resident, the issue is not what the trooper did or did not do nor is it whether the Governor did or did not want to fire him. The issue is that our Governor, who espouses personal and professional transparency,is failing to follow through on her initial willingness to speak with investigators on this subject. She hired an attorney that is costing the taxpayer about 90k. Why? If she has nothing to hide, why isn't she talking? Very disturbing to put it mildly.

[PrairieDog]

What the trooper did or did not do is irrevant to this. There are proper channels to remove someone who has exhibited malfeasence or some impropriety. But Palin is not some freakin queen who has a divine right to wiggle her little finger (ala Joe Stalin) & make someone disappear.

[Speakupper]

Thanks for a great chronicling of this complicated situation. Who books the Rachel Maddow show? How do we get Les on asap!

[epmahc]

just out of curiosity If I am served with a supeona does that mean that I can blow it off too.

[MargB]

Yes, if you want to be hauled off to jail!!! That IS the injustice of it!!

[MargB]

I think anyone that blew off a subpoena could be jailed, that IS the injustice of this whole thing.

[Stella42]

Troopergate should be fully investigated before the elections!! Refusing to testify ??What are they lying about ???

Palin clan thought she could out smart and lie her way out...now tax payers have to pay for defending her lies.....what a joke

[ubroc]

Just more fodder for the Alaskan Independence Party