[mattdev]

Panel: Palin abused power in trooper case - CNN.com

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) -- Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her power as Alaska's governor and violated state ethics law by trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from the state police, a state investigator's report concluded Friday.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is under investigation for the firing of her public safety commissioner.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is under investigation for the firing of her public safety commissioner.

"Gov. Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda," the report states.

Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan's refusal to fire State Trooper Mike Wooten from the state police force was "likely a contributing factor" to Monegan's July dismissal, but Palin had the authority as governor to fire him, the report by former Anchorage prosecutor Stephen Branchflower states.

However, it states that her efforts to get Wooten fired broke a state ethics law that bars public officials from pursuing personal interest through official action.

Monegan has said he was fired in July after refusing pressure to sack Wooten, who had gone through an acrimonious divorce and custody battle with Palin's sister. View a timeline of the investigation »

Palin and her husband, Todd, have consistently denied wrongdoing, describing Wooten as a "rogue trooper" who had threatened their family -- allegations Branchflower discounted.
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"I conclude that such claims of fear were not bona fide and were offered to provide cover for the Palins' real motivation: to get Trooper Wooten fired for personal family reasons," Branchflower wrote.

The Branchflower report states Todd Palin used his wife's office and its resources to press for Wooten's removal, and the governor "failed to act" to stop it. But because Todd Palin is not a state employee, the report makes no finding regarding his conduct.

The bipartisan Legislative Council, which commissioned the investigation after Monegan was fired, unanimously adopted the 263-page public report after a marathon executive session Friday. About 1,000 more pages of documents compiled during the inquiry will remain confidential, the council's chairman, state Sen. Kim Elton, said.

A spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign responded by calling the investigation "a partisan-led inquiry" run by supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, but hailing its finding that Monegan's firing broke no law.

"Gov. Palin was cleared of the allegation of an improper firing, which is what this investigation was approved to look into," campaign spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said.

She said the Legislature exceeded its mandate in finding an ethics violation. "Lacking evidence to support the original Monegan allegation, the Legislative Council seriously overreached, making a tortured argument to find fault without basis in law or fact," she said.

Rep. John Coghill, a Republican who criticized the handling of the investigation, said it was "well-done professionally."

But he said some of the conclusions were judgment calls by Branchflower, and recommended readers should view them with a "jaundiced eye."

Palin originally agreed to cooperate with the Legislative Council inquiry, and disclosed in August that her advisers had contacted Department of Public Safety officials nearly two dozen times regarding her ex-brother-in-law.

But once she became Sen. John McCain's running mate, her advisers began painting the investigation as a weapon of Democratic partisans.
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Ahead of Friday's hearing, Palin supporters wearing clown costumes and carrying balloons denounced the probe as a "kangaroo court" and a "three-ring circus" led by supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The state senator managing the probe, Sen. Hollis French, fueled those complaints with a September 2 interview in which he warned the inquiry could yield an "October Surprise" for the GOP. But Palin's lawyers already had begun pushing for the state Personnel Board to launch its own investigation, calling it the proper legal venue for the matter.

So, how will this affect the campaign? Will she end up stepping down and Liebermann will take her place?

[ivwshane]

It's too late for a replacement.

McCain needs to let his whole campaign staff go and start fresh!

[ninefivezero]

Man, the Republican ticket is falling apart quite badly. I have to say, it is rather amusing to watch.

[Chris]

I wonder when Tacdriver is going to delete my quote from his sig? Cause it seems I was right on the money

Congrats, Mr. Obama.

[Juballharshaw]

Originally Posted by Chris

I wonder when Tacdriver is going to delete my quote from his sig? Cause it seems I was right on the money

Congrats, Mr. Obama.

As much as I'd love to agree with you, I don't think we can count a victory until the 5th. (Or longer with the inevitable recounts)

The presidential race is still too close to call and could come down to the very last weekend before voters decide if they like or distrust Barack Obama, a national pollster predicts.

“I don’t think Obama has closed the deal yet,” pollster John Zogby told the Herald yesterday.

Zogby’s latest poll, released yesterday in conjunction with C-Span and Reuters, shows Obama and John McCain in a statistical dead heat, with the Illinois Democrat up 48-45 percent.

Zogby said the race mirrors the 1980 election, when voters didn’t embrace Ronald Reagan over then-President Jimmy Carter until just days before the election.

“The Sunday before the election the dam burst,” Zogby said of the 1980 tilt. “That’s when voters determined they were comfortable with Reagan.”

Pollster: Don’t believe the Dem hype - BostonHerald.com

[Chris]

Seriously though, even if McCain were to make a highly doubtful comeback and actually win at this point, every single person around the world (minus the singleminded conservatives) would be scratching their heads. Even close McCain advisors were painting a grim picture for him all over the news last night. It was pretty enjoyable to watch.

[Juballharshaw]

I don't deny it's a long shot at this point, but this entire election has been back and forth for months. I'm not counting a win until it's official.

[Goofus Maximus]

The race is much closer than it appears because of a trend noted previously in other elections: People lie about whether they would vote for a black man, so the poll results get skewed.

[MSP]

The failing of the economy has torpedoed the McCain campaign, and I'm no longer predicting a victory for him. I agree with the above that it's going to be a lot closer than anyone believes, but at this point I'm just glad nobody took me up on my $100 bet a few months ago.

As for my Obama signature, Jubal you better get working on it!

[mistawiskas]

Wanna see a kettle calling the fry pan black? The current situation is not the result of one administration as each party would manipulate us into believing. Case in point:
Ex-president Carter slams Bush on market crisis | U.S. | Reuters
what's more, it isn't the prez that passed the bills for spending, he approved it with a signature, but ultimately the congress put it on the desk in the oval office.

[Goofus Maximus]

Originally Posted by mistawiskas

Wanna see a kettle calling the fry pan black? The current situation is not the result of one administration as each party would manipulate us into believing. Case in point:
Ex-president Carter slams Bush on market crisis | U.S. | Reuters
what's more, it isn't the prez that passed the bills for spending, he approved it with a signature, but ultimately the congress put it on the desk in the oval office.

Yup, and to get those bills through congress, lubrication, in the form of bridges to nowhere and off-topic riders for lobbyist's concerns, were applied. In many cases, it is the riders, rather than the bills themselves, that did the actual harm. Phil Graham's Credit Default Swap non-regulation rider to the last budget bill of the Clinton Administration, signed by Clinton and passed by the Senate 97-0, is a case in point.

This problem has been brewing since Reagan, and has spanned Republican and Democrat administrations (as well as Republican and Democrat Congresses) with equal enthusiasm. The "surpluses" of the Clinton years were fabrications, as they just fiddled with the budget so all the bad news occurred after they were safely out of office, so (where have I typed this before) it wasn't their problem!

Edit: to MSP's post below mine. Yup. The President is basically a mouthpiece, who's function is to lead by speech, while his staff and cabinet do the actual grungework of the executive branch.

This brings me to a point I've been mulling over for quite a while now: Shouldn't we break up "The Presidency" into a "Presidential Cabinet", so we vote for FBI, State Dept, Treasury, and the like, separately? Voting for a one-size-fits-all executive doesn't make sense for me, since I have different mix-n-match preferences for different aspects of the executive branch. The traditional job of the vice president could be split off into a new position, as part of the congress, where the majority party puts up a "President of the Senate" who would then be in charge of lording it over the executive cabinet, resolving disputes between cabinet members using "the will of the Congress" or some such frippery...

I'm aware that I'm playing mix-n-match with our system and the Parliamentary system of Government.

[MSP]

The president always gets too much credit and blame. But as Obama has so eloquently demonstrated it's all about style and showmanship. Both candidates are making a lot of promises they won't be able to deliver, but he's doing it with style.

[SoulAssassin]

I can't believe what I heard McCain say last night and it's probably going to lose him a few votes...this week is reeaaaaaaly bad for him. On 700wlw they played a quote from him (missed where and exactly when) stating that Obama is a good and decent man and would make a great president. I think most ppl were stunned but they did manage a few boos in the short audio clip they played.

McCain booed after trying to calm anti-Obama crowd - Yahoo! News

"I don't trust Obama," a woman said. "I have read about him. He's an Arab."