[Vision2020] Palin Under Independent Counsel Investigation In Alaska

[Ted Moffett]

If this issue has already been parsed on this list, excuse the redundancy.

Regardless of the outcome of this investigation regarding Palin's alleged
ethical misconduct as Governor of Alaska, I find it peculiar that she would
be chosen as a VP candidate, given the potential negative impacts of this
problem.  Perhaps McCain's crew determined they could minimize the political
impacts of this investigation.

As the article below reveals, the Palin camp is in hard line defense mode
regarding this investigation, when before she was chosen as VP running mate,
Palin was expressing a more open and non-defensive approach to these
charges.

And why is the media more concerned about lipstick, pit bulls and pigs, than
about the fact Palin is facing investigation by an independent counsel in
Alaska?   We have a media that is "for the State" not "the Fourth Estate,"
as Amy Goodman phrased it.  Or rather, we have a news media so profit driven
that the most critical issues are often downplayed or ignored in favor of
ratings driven infotainment:

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/090608.html

consortiumnews.com

Palin's 'Trooper-gate' Cover-up

By Robert Parry
September 6, 2008

Ripping a page from George W. Bush's playbook on obstructing investigations,
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her senior aides are maneuvering to thwart an
abuse-of-power investigation that Palin initially vowed to assist.

Now, rather than cooperate with an independent counsel assigned to examine
whether Palin fired the state's public safety commission because he refused
to fire her ex-brother-in-law from the state troopers, Palin, her husband
and seven witnesses close to Palin are resisting giving testimony.

Moreover, on Tuesday, just one day before giving her widely acclaimed speech
to the Republican National Convention, Palin took the unusual step of filing
an ethics complaint against herself – to move the investigation to the state
personnel board whose three members are appointed by the governor.

Palin's decision to, in effect, turn herself in so she could get a hearing
before more sympathetic investigators was known by the U.S. news media
before Palin's speech, but was rarely, if ever, mentioned by TV pundits
filling hours of air time with chatter about her charisma, her moose hunting
and her 17-year-old daughter's pregnancy.

Back in Alaska, state Republicans also took on the role played by
congressional Republicans in Washington, attacking the fairness of any
investigation that might put a GOP leader in a negative light.

John Coghill, a Republican state legislator from North Pole, Alaska,
demanded that Democratic Sen. Hollis French, who has been overseeing the
probe, resign because French suggested that Palin's alleged abuse of power
could lead to her impeachment.

"These statements cause me to think that the report is already written even
though the investigation is only just begun and the most important witnesses
have not even been interviewed," Coghill said in a letter. [NYT, Sept. 6,
2008<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/06/us/politics/06trooper.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin>
]

However, Palin and her administration appear determined to make sure that
those witnesses don't get interviewed, at least not in a way that might
cause political embarrassment before the November elections.

State legislators have set a goal of issuing a report by Oct. 10 on Palin's
firing of state public safety commissioner Walt Monegan, but it now appears
that the legislature will have to issue subpoenas to compel the testimony of
the seven witnesses, including Palin's top aide, her personnel director and
the commissioner for administration.

A subpoena battle could eat up time both in getting approval from Republican
legislators and in overcoming objections from lawyers for the witnesses.

*Balking at Depositions *

Palin and her husband, Todd, also are balking at giving depositions to
independent counsel Steve Branchflower, who was picked by the legislature to
investigate whether Monegan's firing was retaliation for his refusal to fire
trooper Mike Wooten, who has been embroiled in a bitter divorce/custody
battle with Palin's sister for several years.

Palin's lawyer, Thomas Van Flein, indicated that Sarah and Todd Palin would
likely rebuff any request by Branchflower for a deposition and insist that
the investigation only be handled by the state personnel board.

Palin's legal team also appeared to be following another favorite tactic of
the Bush administration – putting the investigator on the defensive by
lodging complaints against him for supposed wrongdoing.

Attorney Van Flein complained that independent counsel Branchflower had
sought to reach Todd Palin directly "on a secure and confidential line,"
which Van Flein called "a serious security breach that we may be obligated
to report to the Secret Service." [Anchorage Daily News, Sept. 3,
2008<http://www.adn.com/monegan/story/514163.html>
]

Palin's recent attempts to frustrate the legislative investigation reverse
her assurances in late July that she was "happy to comply, to cooperate."

After her surprise selection as John McCain's running mate, she began
traveling with the national Republican crowd, which has many years of
experience in fending off legislative oversight of controversial actions by
the Bush administration.

For instance, Bush has made broad executive privilege claims to block
testimony from his subordinates about a White House drive to politicize the
Justice Department, including the firing of nine federal prosecutors who
were not considered "loyal Bushies."

The case of Palin's firing of public safety commissioner Monegan is somewhat
different because the allegations are that the governor was abusing her
power to carry out a personal -- rather than a political -- vendetta, but
many of the tactics for thwarting an investigation would be similar.

*Family Vendetta*

When Palin was sworn in as Alaska's governor in December 2006, she was
enmeshed in a messy family feud with her sister's ex-husband, trooper
Wooten. Through complaints to his superiors, Palin already had helped
engineer Wooten's five-day suspension from the state police earlier in 2006
for various examples of personal misconduct.

In January 2007, a month into Palin's term, her husband, Todd, invited
Palin's new public safety commissioner Monegan to the governor's office,
where Todd Palin urged Monegan to reopen the Wooten case. After checking on
it, Monegan informed Todd Palin that he couldn't do anything because the
case was closed.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Monegan said that a few days
later, the governor also called him about the Wooten matter and he gave her
the same answer. Monegan said Gov. Palin brought the issue up again in a
February 2007 meeting at the state capitol, prompting a warning that she
should back off.

However, Monegan said Gov. Palin kept bringing the issue up indirectly
through e-mails, such as comparing another bad trooper to "my former
brother-in-law, or that trooper I used to be related to."

Monegan said he also began getting telephone calls from Palin's aides about
trooper Wooten, including from then-chief of staff Mike Tibbles;
Commissioner Annette Kreitzer of the Department of Administration; and
Attorney General Talis Colberg.

Colberg acknowledged making the call, after an inquiry from Todd Palin about
"the process" for handling a threatening trooper, and then relaying back the
response from Monegan that the issue had been handled and nothing more could
be done.

Monegan also told the Post that he warned each caller about the risk of
exposing the state to legal liability if Wooten filed a lawsuit.

However, Todd Palin continued collecting evidence against Wooten and
lobbying for his dismissal. The governor's husband acknowledged giving
Wooten's boss, Col. Audie Holloway, photos of Wooten driving a snowmobile
while he was out of work on a worker's compensation claim.

Alaska's Deputy Attorney General Michael Barnhill told the Post that a
member of the governor's staff, personnel director Diane Kiesel, also made
at least one call to Col. Holloway about the snowmobile incident. [Washington
Post, Aug. 31, 2008<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/30/AR2008083002366.html>
]

On July 11, 2008, Palin abruptly fired Monegan, saying only that she wanted
to take the public safety department in a different direction.

Monegan then went public with his account of the mounting campaign against
Wooten from the governor's family and staff. Monegan told the Anchorage
Daily News that Todd Palin showed him the work of a private investigator,
who had been hired by the family to dig into Wooten's life and who was
accusing the trooper of various misdeeds, such as drunk driving and child
abuse.

Though Palin insisted she wasn't involved in the pressure campaign, a review
by the Attorney General's office found that half a dozen state officials had
made about two dozen phone calls regarding Wooten.

A tape recording of one conversation – between Palin's chief of boards and
commissions Frank Bailey and police Lt. Rodney Dial in February 2008 –
revealed Bailey saying, "Todd and Sarah are scratching their heads, 'Why on
earth … is this guy still representing the department?'"

Facing mounting evidence of improprieties, Palin now appears determined to
sidetrack the investigation, much as President Bush has delayed and
obstructed probes into his alleged wrongdoing for seven years.

Gov. Palin has a well-worn GOP playbook to draw from.

*Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the
Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Neck Deep: The Disastrous
Presidency of George W. Bush, was written with two of his sons, Sam and Nat,
and can be ordered at neckdeepbook.com <http://www.neckdeepbook.com/>. His
two previous books, Secrecy & Privilege: The Rise of the Bush Dynasty from
Watergate to Iraq and Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project
Truth' are also available there. Or go to
Amazon.com<http://www.amazon.com/Neck-Deep-Disastrous-Presidency-George/dp/1893517020/ref=ed_oe_h/105-6934069-6141258?ie=UTF8&qid=1189519378&sr=8-1>
. *

*--------------------------------------------*

*Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett*
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