UPDATE: The Palin's Meme Has a Crack
This just in from the ADN:
An independent investigator has found evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated ethics laws by accepting private donations to pay her legal debts.
The report obtained by The Associated Press says Palin is securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust, set up by supporters.An investigator for the state Personnel Board says in his July 14 report that there is probable cause to believe Palin used or attempted to use her official position for personal gain because she authorized the creation of the trust as the "official" legal defense fund.
After driving home the Palin meme of vindication and the partisan "whiners" who file complaints, there is a crack in the lunacy mask. Palin's supporters have hammered into talking points, her "unanimous innocence" and victimization of the left. They are wrong.
The governor, in an attempt to derail the legislative sanctioned investigation into Troopergate, filed the most costly -- by a country mile -- ethics complaint to date. She was forced to reimburse the state for the unofficial travel of her children; $8,100.00.
The ethics complaint system has, at times, been abused by both sides and by both parties. Access to ethics complaint findings are controlled by the governor through her Personnel Board rather than an independent Ethics Board.
So much for open and transparent; open when it suits her, closed when it doesn't.
UPDATE: Since the AP story broke, Palin has responded through a tweet: "Re inaccurate story floating re:ethics violation/Legal Defense Fund;matter is still pending;new info was just requested even;no final report"
According to the AP, Palin has known of the potential of ethics violation of the legal defense fund for a week yet continued solicitation.
Follow Shannyn Moore on Twitter: www.twitter.com/shannynmoore
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Shannyn, unless Sarah Palin is now known as "The Palin," I think you meant to say that "the Palins' Meme Has a Crack." Plural possessive, that is.
Kristen Cole, a high school friend of Palin's who is employed by Palin.
"I find the notion that I have taken any action pertaining to the legal defense trust fund misguided and factually in error," she said. "I have not 'acted' relative to the defense fund, and it is misleading to say I have."
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From the report:
http://med
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According to the funds website, it was created by Kristen Cole and other supporters of the governor who believe the governor should not have to personally pay for legal fees incurred in defending against a series of ethics complaints.
I interviewed Ms.Cole, who confirmed that she and other supporters of the governor came up with the idea of soliciting contributions to pay the governors legal fees.Ms.Co
She also stated however, that THE GOVERNOR GAVE HER APPROVAL TO CREATE THE TRUST as the "OFFICIAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND for the governor and AUTHORIZED THE USE OF HER PHOTOGRAPH ON THE TRUST'S WEBSITE.
In light of THE EVIDENCE that the GOVERNOR EXPRESSLY AUTHORIZED THE CREATION OF THE TRUST and the FACT that THE WEBSITE QUITE OPENLY USES THE GOVERNORS POSITION TO SOLICIT DONATIONS, there is probable cause to believe that;
GOVERNOR PALIN USED, OR ATTEMPTED TO USE, HER OFFICIAL POSITION FOR PERSONAL GAIN ........IN VIOLATION OF ALASKA STATUTE...
I guess the cash is going to now start to pour in and erase her legal debt in now time.
Do we know what network her talk show will air on? I read that talks with Jake Steed's production company are stalled at the moment but are expected to resume.
Did she start working on her memior yet?
She looks a lot older
Yeh pressures of the office especially if you are over your head.
I'm glad this is over.
I am a great fan and admirer of Sarah Palin. All this mud throwing, is national publicity for Sarah.
So go ahead have a wonderful mud fight. Isn't it great to have wholesome, intelligent, driven, and morally grounded Sarah Palin? Her critics are envious of (and threatened by) her magnetism.
Sarah Palin: Inspiration for the future of the United States, and hope for mankind.
Huh? "Wholesomeness" and "morality" aside - and I'll definitely grant you "driven" - but where do you get "intelligent" from? Compared to our current president and even the previous, her academic record is dismal and her communication skills are terrible. Her judgement is questionable - who resigns as governor of a state for no real reason, for god's sake?
You know, I really wish her "fans" would just get honest with us and say: "yes, we know she can't talk off the cuff and she's doesn't seem all that bright but we like it that she's really religious and we want this country to be a theocracy so this is our candidate".
have you ever listened to her speak?
If so you cannot claim any of the above....
oh, I get it you are being sarcastic!
And yet another candidate for a robust national mental health care option!
I AGREE.... Sarah P. does not understand complex issues!
If she did, she never would have thought of resigning her position as Alaska's Governor! Now that state must scramble to replace her with the Lt. Gov, etc., causing a major (move-up the ladder) replacement situation for the state when they were not prep'd for such a thing to happen. Sarah Palin really does not belong in any position, that a body of people would be depending on her actions and judgment. She really does not understand that snap, non-thinking decisions could cost major disasters.
I am just very glad she did not get a chance to do such a thing to the nation, and pray she never does.
Give her a TV show. Show her to be the self-serving fame-hungry opportunist that she is.
She either has no sense of what is moral and legal or she is bush with lipstick. I think it's both.
I'd contribute to pay her legal debts. Palin' 2012~
I hope she runs in 2012 also. It will clearly demonstrate the lack of ideas, talent and ethics in the Rushpublicant party.
And people such as yourself, deriving their "knowledge" from faith-based sources and holding to them against all real evidence, are just the kind of supporters they want, and the only ones they actually appeal to.
Since Sarah, or her eveil twin, is herself the continuing source of the need for these funds, how can she be divorced from knowing that the fund is raising money with her, at least, tacit consent.?
I know how.
She can refuse the money and insist the fund be disbanded, by her good friend who runs it, and all the donations returned.
Then.
Since the recipient has publicly refused the funds, the fund can continue to raise funds for the recipient who refused to receive them.
Your right lets,forget about her just like Senator McCain did on the night of the election.j
You are kidding, right? While I'm no Palin fan - in fact, McCain's selection of her as a running mate sealed the deal for me that there was just no way I could vote for him - I find it beyond that pale that one can now accuse her of corruption for attempting to figure out a way to pay for her personal legal defense from over a dozen spurious ethics complaints. It's Kafkaesque. My understanding is that since the Alaska governor does not have an office of legal counsel, unlike most governors, she's on the hook for all legal services to defend herself. That seems a bit unfair since these are clearly politically motivated charges that add up to nothing (travel expenses for her kids, per diems - give me a freaking break). Apparently no Alaska governor has had this number or kind of ethics charges brought against them so there is no precedent for funding the defense of such a high volume of them. What is clear is that this tactic is straight out of the radical left play book and is nothing to be proud of.
Live by small government, die by small government.
"Apparently no Alaska governor has had this number or kind of ethics charges brought against them..."
And it's not her fault - right? Maybe no Alaska governor has had this many ethics charges filed against them because no other Alaska governor has been as unethical as Palin. Typical Republican boilerplate: it's always someone else's fault.
Protip: Want to see numbers of Democrats drop dead of a heart attack? Just have any Republican accused of wrongdoing state publicly, "I did it. I knew it was wrong and I accept full responsibility for my actions."
wow isn't this funny how everyone knocks the republicans, now the rebuplicans are just like the demorats blame everyone else when they get caught with their hand in the cookie jar, ok for them to take bribes, ACORN HELP, but that is different isnt it?
a number of the ethic violations were filed before she became vp running mate. look it up. in 1984 this country had a female running for vp but she was a true professional
Uh, right. I watched her true professional behavior during the 08 presidential campaign.
She'll get another slap on the wrist, told to write a check and she will be on her merry way, you betcha.
The things she did, do not seem such a big deal to me. The RNC bought her clothes. So, it's their money. She flew her family with her sometimes. So, lots of politicians do (O came back from overseas alone while MO and kids and MIL flew to Paris and London (on a WH plane) to do some shopping). She wore a logo. So, MO goes on tv plugging JCrew. She opened a legal fund because people are filing these stupid complaints so she had to hire a lawyer and it is costing her money. So, it is a common thing for politicians to do!! Are these really things that should keep you up at night?
Anyway, I hope you are right.
But it is ok for the anoited one(obama) to fly to new york with the peoples money for date nite, ok for him to take acorn money to get him into the office, only to turn around and pay them back with the pork that he has flying all around the country, and what about the mrs anoited ones 500.00 purse, the 200. dollar sneakers, who do you think is paying for that? Sure isn't the anoited one,.. what are you demorats going to do when you cant blame the republicans for all the trouble we are in?
I absolutely love Sarah.
Make a good dancer...
Well OK Shannyn, so as a result of this revealing piece of expose journalism, we can expect Sarah to be arrested, indicted and sent to prison immediately? Right? No?
Maybe you could explain why not in tomorrows column and perhaps add that list of yours with every disgusting comment about the Palin family by every so-called comedian in those bastions of the american heartland: New York and Hollywood.
Who can blame Palin for quitting the Monkee show in Alaska rather than deal with this kind of nonsense.
what's disgusting is that she is taken seriously - and also, and, also i read everything but can't name one newspaper, wha aaa aaaa
Just wait...you will see the BIGGEST CONSERVATIVE movement in your lifetime..
Ah....your Presdient too, Obama, was called a terrorist and worst. So, spare me the pity party for Palin.
Right, because shes being picked on ? Shes the only politician to ever have people taking shots at her? People always make fun of Biden as a gaf machine but Sara is prone to diarrhea of the mouth herself. If she cant cut it in Alaska what makes you think she can become president?
Population of New York City: 8,300,000 +/-
Population of Los Angeles: 9,900,000 +/-
Population of Alaksa: 686,293 +/-
What's that about bastions of America?
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