What happened to Troopergate?

I'm surprised by the lack of coverage on the Sarah Palin Abuse of Power story.
Friday, when the report was released, CNN seemed to be confused by the findings. Obviously, they didn't read it, but relied on the spin of their 'political contributors' (instead of a legal analyst) to tell the story... and it seems they didn't read it either. Since that embarrassing evening, CNN has been strangely quiet; making no almost no mention of it. It seems they'd already blocked their time with the 'Race on Race' story, and weren't going to cover breaking news after flubbing the story out the starting gate.

Rachel Maddow on MSNBC got it right that night.. she read findings directly from the report on the air. Unfortunately, others didn't seem to pick it up. The other news sources were tying this whole thing into one neat package the way the McCain campaign was spinning it; focusing on the 2nd finding's one sentence saying firing Monegan was within her discretion even if the Trooper Wooten issue played a part in the decision.

It seems the Republican spin machine has managed to cloud the issue sufficiently that the weekend news shows didn't even make MENTION of it. WHAT'S GOING ON ???

Here's the specifics - and this is completely clear to anyone who reads the actual report:

There were 2 major findings:
1st - That Governor Palin was guilty of Abuse of Power, and violating the public trust (a violation of state law; ie. criminal) by pressuring, and allowing her Husband to use the office of the Governor to pressure various members of the Alaska State Troopers, and various state officials and personnel agencies to fire Trooper Mike Wooten, her sister's ex-husband.

2nd - That the firing of Walt Monegan was legal, in spite of the fact that his refusal to fire Trooper Wooten likely contributed to the decision.

Now, the McCain campaign and Gov. Palin keep pointing to the 2nd finding - and claim that this exonerates Palin of any wrongdoing. They intentionally combine this with the Abuse of Power finding, to confuse the issues. They are clearly spelled out in the report as separate issues.

The 1st finding is a violation of Alaska State law, and is an impeachable offense. Abuse of Power is a very serious charge. No matter how much the McCain spin team ignore and refuse to address this issue, it is a fact.

Palin's lawyers know it's serious. They issued a 3 page document contesting the findings, claiming that the ethics statute requires financial gain. The report already addresses that point, specifically refuting the 'financial' aspect as a requirement of the law.

The funny thing is looking through the deposition transcripts, it was so heavy handed that it's almost comical. There was NO consideration for what might happen if it were to come to public light; even though the Palin's and others acting on their behalf were warned of the possible legal issues with their continuing to press about a closed case.

Finally there is an article on Time Online now that covers thing pretty well.

I'm waiting to see if the Alaska legislature decides to take further action. Don't be surprised if they wait until after November 4th. If McCain/Palin win, it becomes moot, as she will no longer be Governor. If not, Alaska will be able to clean up the embarrassing mess without the glare and scrutiny the national spotlight.

Where do I start? Troopergate Marchs Forward

On this day when the stock market dropped another 675 points, there is so much in the news, it's hard to know where to start. I'm just going to hit some points in no particular order.

The Alaska Supreme Court declines to stop the 'Troopergate' investigation. Hopefully all those big Texas Republican lawyers can now get out of town and far away from the report that's scheduled to be released tomorrow. In a last ditch effort to suppress, there is pressure being put on the republicans on the legislature's committee to vote against releasing the results. If any of them have felt Palin's wrath, or seen others who have, hopefully they'll be smart and do everything they can to end her career while she's out of town. Since it's pretty clear that she's not going to to Washington, when she gets back to town, retribution will be a bitch otherwise (no lipstick required). Certainly, there are plenty of additional issues - mis-use of state funds, use of private email for government use with intent to subvert recordkeeping requirements, etc.

In predictable Palin-Republican style, she and the McCain campaign released her own 'investigation' and proclaimed herself 'Innocent' although it looks like Todd has admitted making calls and now the clain is that Sarah didn't know anything about it. That's gonna be hard to sell, since it's documented that Todd was working in her office all the time, at least when she was there.

Palin - Troopergate explanation falls apart, Mr. Hockey Mom?

Palin's latest justification for firing her State Police commissioner, unauthorized travel to Washington D.C. just fell apart - ABC uncovered a travel authorization signed by... the Governor's chief of staff.

By the way, he was going in order to raise money to fight sexual violence. I guess Palin doesn't believe in supporting that effort any more than paying for forensic Rape Kits used to collect evidence from rape victims. They had to pass a state law banning the practice she put in place in Wasilla of making the victim pay for the kit.

CNN reports that Republican campaign officials indicated they are done answering questions about an investigation into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of her public safety commissioner Tuesday. Palin has dropped an earlier pledge to cooperate with a probe by the state Legislature.


Here's another video from Rachel Maddow. Starting mid-way is an interview with Lyda Green, President of the Alaska state Senate, and a Republican who represents Wasilla.
Sometimes I just love quoting Republicans.