ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) – Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her power as Alaska’s governor 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.
“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.
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.
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.”
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Monegan said he was fired after refusing pressure to fire State Trooper Mike Wooten, who had gone through an acrimonious divorce and custody battle with Palin’s sister.
Palin has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, describing Wooten as a “rogue trooper” who had threatened her family. Wooten denied the allegations.
At a campaign stop Thursday, Palin told reporters that she has “absolutely nothing to hide” in the investigation.
The governor 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 when she became Sen. John McCain’s running mate, her advisers began painting the investigation as a weapon of Democratic partisans.
Ahead of Friday’s hearing, Palin supporters wearing clown costumes and carrying balloons denounced the investigation as a “kangaroo court” and a “three-ring circus” led by supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
The state senator managing the investigation, 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
I wonder if McCain will drop her? The initial surge in polls after her nomination is gone.
No, you pitch propaganda, instead of discussion. Thanks for posting a news article this time instead. :smile
Too late to drop her and running without a VP would be worse. They’ll spin it, the disgusting negativity between both parties will escalate, I will hate all of them more, etc etc etc.
Maybe I’ll take a page from his book and say you are full of lies. Yea, that’s it. :lol
This seemed to be positioned at just the right time. Similiar to the movie W that will not exactly paint GWB in the best light. It’s opening night is like 3 weeks before Nov. 4th.
Every point you make is only half based in truth (read: propaganda). It’s stretched to support an agenda that is usually pretty blatant. Everyone else is discussing politics, but Rev. Shawn Jackson has to pull out his soap box and smash his opinion into everyone’s face. :nono :angry2 :nana
You take it how you take it. I can say the same for anyone who is discussing politics: to get their point across. I do listen which isn’t what I can say for some who sit there and say: “you have an agenda” “you lie” but have nothing else.
im not a big follower of politics, reason is simply because i dont like it. politics was one of hte reasons i got out of the military, politics surrounds everything and dictates alot of what is going on, and the higher in rank you get in the military the more you have to deal with the top brass and the political aspect of it.
All I hear is: I am right you are wrong. It’s crappy that you don’t listen to any other opinion other than your own.
As much as I disagree with much of your political veiws, I still think you are a cool cat. It’s a shame that you are so critical of other people’s beliefs. Oh well.
In the end, the GWB era is over and hopefully we can recover from it.
I am not critical of your belief, I am critical of your intentional or unintentional hard slant toward socialism. My parents and grandparents and great grandparents fought to get to this democracy, a Capitalist Society, and a place where hard work is rewarded. I can’t separate that from personal life.
Ya see, America is resilient, but I watched the rights be taken away one step at a time, to , in many cases, make rules to control the headcases and idiots that abused them. You paint me as a Bush lover (think Patriot Act), and a core republican and some far right winger. I will vote for the team most likely stave off the inevitable damnation of Capitalism in this country.
If your so down the middle, then why do you defend, and not point out some of the Obama atrociousness. Your agenda driven, and seemingly to me, in a direction that is the core of my love for the land we live in.
That all said, nothing you do or say will effect the outcome, I currently feel Obama will take this, and i fear that, but don’t for a minute think I wouldn’t fear the alternative. You can bash Bush all you want, that’s NOT the discussion I brought on in my post. Many of your replies continue to be boastful, inaccurate, media garbage that sounds good when you say it as point of fact and in a factual manor. Your skilled there, but skill and presentation do nothing for accuracy. Skin deep.
Do I dislike people over alternate views to mine, no way…
\ I am endlessy annoyed when is someone PURPOSELY filtered and claims not to be. That means your a liar, a cheat, OR possibly, here we go, just blind!
