Free Republic

A well-placed source in the Alaska Department of Public Safety informs me that Mike Wooten, the Alaska State trooper who was disciplined for various violations of the law and placed on desk duty, has now been turned loose back on the street. Wooten, Sarah Palin's ex brother-in-law, who was disciplined for various infractions, including using a Taser on a child, shooting a moose out of season, and driving a police vehicle after consuming alcohol, whose misdeeds ultimately led to the dismissal of the former Commissioner of Public Safety by Governor Palin, has been returned to street duty with the Alaska...

You may remember Trooper Mike Wooten from the whole "Troopergate" fiasco, which was pushed hard by the media and the Democrats in an attempt to smear Governor Palin. Alaska Senator Hollis French promised an "October surprise" to close out the investigation and Alaska Senator Kim Elton was later rewarded by the Obama administration for his role as the hatchet man in charge of the Legislative Council that oversaw the investigation.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The lawyer for Gov. Sarah Palin's husband fired back at Alaska state senators Saturday, disputing that Todd Palin and others "ignored" subpoenas issued last fall during the Troopergate investigation of the governor. Attorney Thomas V. Van Flein said that immediately after a judge's decision refusing to intervene, all subpoenaed witnesses, including Todd Palin, filed detailed written responses to lawmakers. "These are not the actions of contemptuous witnesses, rather, they reflect a studied and deliberate invocation of law and due process, and in accord with the rule of law, once the court issued its decision, the parties then...

A Mat-Su drug investigator and the union representing Alaska State Troopers are alleging political meddling in the Sherry Johnston drug case, including a delay in serving the search warrant because of the November election. Johnston is the mother of Levi Johnston, who became nationally known in September when Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd, announced their daughter, Bristol, was pregnant and he was the father. Palin was running for vice president while Sherry Johnston was under investigation. Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Joe Masters and troopers director Col. Audie Holloway vigorously dispute that there was anything irregular in how this...

Walt Monegan just answered a phone call and confirmed he plans to file a letter of intent Friday with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. A longtime Anchorage cop who rose to become chief of police, Monegan said people have been talking to him about running for office since before he left the city.

Sarah Palin did nothing wrong in firing Walt Monegan, the Alaskan State Personnel Board has concluded.  Their independent investigator criticized the legislature’s investigator for applying the wrong law.  They also said that Todd Palin did nothing wrong in pressing for action against the governor’s former brother-in-law: A new report just released — hours before the polls open on Election Day — exonerates Gov. Sarah Palin in the Troopergate controversy.The state Personnel Board-sanctioned investigation is the second into whether Palin violated state ethics law in firing her public safety commissioner, and it contradicts the earlier findings by a special counsel hired...

Timothy Petumenos, an independent investigator hired by the Alaska Personnel Board, addresses the media on Monday, November 3, 2008, in the Hotel Captain Cook A new report just released -- hours before the polls open on Election Day -- exonerates Gov. Sarah Palin in the Troopergate controversy. The state Personnel Board-sanctioned investigation is the second into whether Palin violated state ethics law in firing her public safety commissioner, and it contradicts the earlier findings by a special counsel hired by the state Legislature. Both investigations found that Palin was within her rights to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan....

A new report just released -- hours before the polls open on Election Day -- exonerates Gov. Sarah Palin in the Troopergate controversy. ... Both investigations found that Palin was within her rights to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. But the new report says the Legislature's investigator was wrong to conclude that Palin abused her power by allowing aides and her husband, Todd, to pressure Monegan and others to dismiss her ex-brother-in-law, Trooper Mike Wooten. Palin was accused of firing Monegan after Wooten stayed on the job.

Findings from the Personnel Board report: 1. There is no probable cause to believe that Governor Palin violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act by making the decision to dismiss Department of Public Safety Commissioner Monegan and offering him instead the position of Director of the Alaska Beverage Control Board. 2. There is no probably cause to believe that Governor Palin violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act in any other respect in connection with the employment of Alaska State Trooper Michael Wooten. 3. There is no basis upon which to refer the conduct of Governor Palin to any law enforcement agency...

Just heard it on CNN Lou Dobbs. Sarah Cleared by the officials conducting the Troopergate inquiry.

A report detailing whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power by firing her public safety commissioner will be released on the eve of the election. Timothy Petumenos, an independent investigator hired by the Alaska Personnel Board, says he will release the report during a news conference 7:30 p.m. EST Monday....

...My conclusion is that the Wooten and Monegan matters reveal an Alaska scandal, but one very different from what has been reported by the national press. The scandal — and it is a serious one — involves the conduct of the managers of Alaska’s police agencies and the political officials who have sought to defend them and attack Governor Palin... Excerpt: See the whole opinion at http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2008/10/25/opinion/columnists/doc49014ba09bfbe185314041.txt

The Troopergate saga continues. Though GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has already been found to have abused power in firing Alaska's public safety commissioner, Palin is giving a deposition on the matter today. As the Associated Press notes, the deposition marks the first time the Alaska governor has addressed the controversy at length or under oath. The deposition is the result of a second investigation into the Troopergate affair. This time around, the probe is being run by an independent investigator. Palin herself requested the new probe, having deemed the legislature's initial investigation, which she had welcomed at its...

Ex-Official: Palin Lied, Threw Me Under Bus Fired by Palin, Walt Monegan Says He Wants to Clear His Good Name By JUSTIN ROOD October 14, 2008— The man at the center of the Sarah Palin "Troopergate" scandal says the Alaska governor lied about him, and he wants his reputation back. Last month, Palin called her former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan "insubordinate" and accused him of having had a "rogue mentality" while he was part of her administration. She leveled those charges in a filing to the state Personnel Board, justifying her dismissal of Monegan. Now Monegan has formally complained...

Network polls put McCain-Palin ten-plus points behind Obama-Biden and Brian Williams introduced Thursday's NBC Nightly News by asserting “some senior Republicans are getting edgy at the prospect of a long up hill climb in a short amount of time,” but Williams and other journalists may not be so confident of an Obama victory -- how else to explain NBC's decision to air hit piece Thursday evening about Sarah Palin's husband Todd? Or maybe it just reflects continued animosity. With “Palin abused her power” on screen with a picture of Todd and Sarah Palin, from Alaska reporter John Larson related that...

"Troopergate" Report: "A Proper and Lawful Exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority"by Mark Rhoads If you are surprised that a committee of partisan Democrats and anti-Palin Republicans from the good-old Alaska legislature would release a report critical of Gov. Palin, then you must have been astonished that the sun came up this morning. If this is the worst that they have on Palin, it is not going to sway many voters one way or another. There are four findings. Two are inconsequential and one of those deals with a workman's compensation case for Trooper Wooten, Gov. Palin's ex-brother-in-law. The...

Lawyers for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin assailed the legislative inquiry released Friday that found the governor abused her authority in a campaign to remove her former brother-in-law as a state trooper, saying the report misconstrues the state ethics law in an attempt to "smear" the Republican vice-presidential nominee. In a biting response to the report by investigator Stephen Branchflower for Alaska's bipartisan Legislative Council, Anchorage attorney Thomas Van Flein and his partners said the ethics law that Branchflower says was violated is intended to address cases in which a public official has a financial interest, not merely a personal one....

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A month after she became governor, Sarah Palin's staff ushered Alaska's public safety commissioner into her private office. But Palin wasn't there. Her husband, Todd, had called the meeting. He was frustrated that his former brother-in-law remained on the job as a state trooper, and he prevailed upon the commissioner to get rid of him.

In Pittsburgh for a fundraiser Friday night, Sarah Palin defended her firing of an Alaska official shortly before a report was released alleging her action was an abuse of power and a violation of state ethics law. The Republican vice presidential candidate spoke to the Tribune-Review after the fundraiser, but before the Alaska Legislature released an investigator's report into whether the governor acted improperly in the firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan. Critics said Palin fired Monegan because Monegan would not fire Palin's ex-brother-in-law Michael Wooten, a state trooper.

STATEMENT FROM MCCAIN-PALIN SPOKESWOMAN MEG STAPLETON Friday, October 10, 2008 ARLINGTON, VA — McCain-Palin 2008 spokeswoman Meg Stapleton issued the following statement on today’s release of Stephen Branchflower’s report: “Today’s report shows that the Governor acted within her proper and lawful authority in the reassignment of Walt Monegan. The report also illustrates what we’ve known all along: this was a partisan led inquiry run by Obama supporters and the Palins were completely justified in their concern regarding Trooper Wooten given his violent and rogue behavior. Lacking evidence to support the original Monegan allegation, the Legislative Council seriously overreached, making a...

(snip) Today, however, in an episode of political theater that would make Josef Stalin blush, French gave it his very best shot: The investigator he hired and directed, Steve Branchflower, has labored mightily and given birth to a bloated and redundant 263-page report which boils down, for purposes of the ongoing presidential campaign, to two paragraphs that completely contradict one another. And the one of them that's unfavorable ignores the most important — indeed conclusive — evidence on point, but goes on to provide Branchflower's guess as to whether Gov. Palin has done anything improper. Please understand this, if you...

The chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday that Governor Sarah Palin broke no laws when she tried to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper. The inquiry looked into her dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, who said he lost his job because he resisted pressure to fire trooper Mike Wooten. However, Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute, and the panel said his firing was lawful.

The results of the investigation into Sarah Palin's firing of Walt Monegan, her Commissioner of Public Safety, are out. (pdf) Here is what Investigator Stephen Branchflower wrote: As Flap noted in his post on the report, Sarah Palin's abuse of power stems from her INACTION, meaning she did little or nothing to stop her husband Todd from pushing the issue. However, a sworn affidavit, Todd Palin says Sarah told him to "drop it": In his sworn statement to legislative investigators, released yesterday, Mr Palin is unapologetic about his efforts to get Mr Wooten fired, but denied his crusade had anything...

The media is obviously partisan towards the left. Analysis proves it, it's obvious to the observer, and surveys show that most Americans know it to be true.The degree to which the MSM has gone openly, nakedly pro-Obama is, however, truly striking. They are now more obviously in the tank than ever before in modern memory. The most recent example is exceptionally disgusting, even for them.The findings of the Palin "Troopergate" probe allowed the press to feel as though they should use the opportunity to come out with headlines like . . .and Unlawfully? UNLAWFULLY?Check out this analysis by Bill Dyer....

This is the biggest witch hunt I have ever seen in politics. The MSM had no problem with all the lies, corruption, selling secrets, stains, et al of the Clintons. So now, Sarah Pain is the wicked witch of the west because she fired some incompetent state employee who supported a cop who threatened her father and such??? Geeze, I would have fired him too in NY minute. What's the big deal?

Today's news is Sarah Palin according to Investigator Branchflower; she had abused her power. Of course the press as usual will go with the headline that she abused her power. But there is more to that in Branchflower's findings. He states in his first findings that Palin had violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Branchflower quoting: "The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds offices as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust." Now in the purest form of interpretation, the law means Palin...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A legislative committee investigating Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has found she unlawfully abused her authority in firing the state's public safety commissioner. The investigative report concludes that a family grudge wasn't the sole reason for firing Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan but says it likely was a contributing factor. The Republican vice presidential nominee has been accused of firing a commissioner to settle a family dispute. Palin supporters have called the investigation politically motivated. Monegan says he was dismissed as retribution for resisting pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce with the governor's...

Moreover, assuming Trooper Wooten was ever inclined to attack Governor Palin or a family member, logic dictates that getting him fired would accomplish nothing to eliminate the harm to her or her family. On the contrary, it might just precipitate some retaliatory conduct on his part.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) -- Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her power as Alaska's governor in the firing of her former public safety commissioner, but violated no laws, a report for the state Legislature concluded Friday. Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan's refusal to fire Palin's ex-brother-in-law from the state police force was "likely a contributing factor" to Monegan's July dismissal, but Palin had the authority as governor to sack him, the report by former Anchorage prosecutor Stephen Branchflower states.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A legislative committee investigating Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has found she unlawfully abused her authority in firing the state's public safety commissioner. The investigative report concludes that a family grudge wasn't the sole reason for firing Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan but says it likely was a contributing factor. The Republican vice presidential nominee has been accused of firing a commissioner to settle a family dispute. Palin supporters have called the investigation politically motivated. Monegan says he was dismissed as retribution for resisting pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce with the governor's...

Conclusion "The framers of Alaska's Constitution vested the office of the governor with very broad discretion to fire the head of any department, for virtually any reason, without preapproval or review by the legislative branch of government. Governor Palin has not submitted to an interview with me, or provided any written explanation of the reasons' she fired Commissioner Monegan. There are indications in the record that there was not universal support for Commissioner Monegan among other department heads. Comments in the press linked the governor suggest there was a feeling within the governor's office that he was not a team...

Corruption: Wooten - Tip of the Iceberg Oct 2 Written by: Seth Church 10/2/2008 1:31 AM My turn: "Troopergate" allegations expose new corruption By Jim Crawford - I've known and respected many Alaska State Troopers in my 60 years in Alaska. But amazingly, now it appears that the most corrupt 'Good Old Boy' network is Alaska's Department of Public Safety. "Troopergate" allegations that Gov. Sarah Palin, her staff, or husband, Todd, used undue influence to get Trooper Mike Wooten fired were unfounded since he wasn't fired. The "Troopergate" investigation, however, documented the reasons why he should have been. I believe...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.

<p>ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A state legislative panel has concluded that Sarah Palin abused her power in the firing of the state's public safety commissioner.</p> <p>The findings were released after lawmakers emerged Friday from a private session in Anchorage where they spent more than six hours discussing a politically charged ethics report into the firing by Gov. Palin.</p>

Won't discuss and spread the info, but it's available at link. :::sigh:::

McCain - Palin Rally in Anchorage at 10 a.m.(11 a.m. pacific) in front of the Legislative Building at 4th and 11th St. Expected to appear are Todd Palin and Chuck, Sarah's brother. Alaska is excited for their Governor! A crowd of 50 people have gathered early in the wind and rain with their signs shouting SARAH! SARAH! SARAH! Freeper Issaquah King is on hand and will report the events via telephone. CBS affiliate Channel 11 and several radio stations are present. Eddie Burke of KBYR will report live. http://www.kbyr.com/ebs/

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Legal Newsline)-The Alaska Supreme Court has cleared officials to release to the public a much-anticipated report on the abuse-of-power investigation against Gov. Sarah Palin. On Thursday, the state's high court rejected a last ditch appeal by a group of Republican lawmakers to block the report's release to the public. Today, the 14-member Alaska Legislative Council is expected to vote on whether to make the 263-page report public.

On the eve of a report on a legislative panel's abuse-of-power investigation into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, campaign officials released their own report clearing her of any wrongdoing. Palin, running mate to Republican presidential nominee John McCain, is the subject of two inquiries into whether she abused her power by firing her public safety commissioner. The commissioner says he was dismissed for resisting pressure to fire Palin's former brother-in-law, a state trooper. Lawmakers are expected to release their findings Friday. The report the McCain-Palin campaign released Thursday night says the firing was based on a budget dispute. Since then, the...

The Alaska Supreme Court today rejected an attempt by a group of six Republican legislators to shut down the Legislature's investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin. The ruling means that Steve Branchflower, the investigator hired by the Legislative Council, will release his report as scheduled on Friday. Branchflower is looking into Palin's dismissal of her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, and whether she improperly pressured him to fire a state trooper divorced from her sister.The state Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Texas-based Liberty Legal Institute and Anchorage attorney Kevin Clarkson, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Alaska Republican...

The 2007 state fair was days away when Alaska's public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, took another call about one of his troopers, Michael Wooten. This time, the director of Gov. Sarah Palin's Anchorage office was on the line. As Mr. Monegan recalls it, the aide said the governor had heard that Mr. Wooten was assigned to work the kickoff to the fair. If so, Mr. Monegan should do something about it, because Ms. Palin was also planning to attend and did not want the trooper nearby. Somewhat bewildered, Mr. Monegan soon determined that Mr. Wooten had indeed volunteered for duty...

Alaska's Supreme Court has refused to shut down an ethics investigation into Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee. The decision Thursday sets the stage for state lawmakers to release a report on their investigation Friday. The report could prove to be an embarrassment for Palin and a distraction for John McCain's presidential campaign in the final weeks of the race....

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin remained in the dark while her husband repeatedly asked top state officials to help get his former brother-in-law kicked off the state police force, Palin's husband and top aides said in affidavits provided to The Associated Press. Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, is the focus of a legislative investigation into whether she abused her authority by firing the state's public safety commissioner to settle a long-standing family dispute. The commissioner says he was fired after resisting pressure to fire Mike Wooten, a trooper involved in a bitter divorce with Palin's sister....

Sarah Palin's husband Todd repeatedly told Alaska officials to fire his former brother-in-law from the police force but his wife, the state's governor, was unaware of what he was doing, according to affidavits. The sworn statements were released as part of the "Troopergate" investigation into the dismissal of Walter Monegan, Alaska's public safety commissioner, allegedly for refusing to dismiss Mike Wooten, an Alaskan state trooper who had been involved in a messy divorce from Mrs Palin's sister. A report on the case, which could damage the Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who chose Mrs Palin as his vice-presidential running mate,...

The investigation into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's dismissal of a state official moved forward on two fronts Wednesday. Palin's husband, Todd, said in a sworn affidavit released Wednesday night that he never pressured the state's public safety commissioner to fire Palin's former brother-in-law, a state trooper who had divorced the governor's sister. And Alaska's Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on an appeal by Gov. Palin's allies to block the Legislature's probe but did not immediately hand down a decision. Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan was not fired this summer because he wouldn't dismiss the trooper, Todd Palin said in his...

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin remained in the dark while her husband repeatedly asked top state officials to help get his former brother-in-law kicked off the state police force, Palin's husband and top aides said in affidavits provided to The Associated Press.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband and seven aides will answer questions from a legislative inquiry into abuse-of-power allegations against the U.S. Republican vice presidential candidate, state and campaign officials said on Monday. Palin is being investigated for her dismissal in July of the state's public safety commissioner, a move that critics of Palin allege was part of a personal vendetta against a state trooper who is the governor's former brother-in-law. Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg said Palin's chief of staff and six other aides will stop fighting subpoenas that were issued last month by the state's...

Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg announced today that seven state employees will now honor subpoenas to testify in the legislative investigation of the Troopergate affair. Colberg said the decision comes in light of a judge's ruling last week rejecting an attempt to quash the subpoenas.... The Legislature's investigator, retired state prosecutor Steve Branchflower, is expected to complete his report by Friday into whether Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power by trying to force the firing of a state trooper involved in a child custody battle with her sister.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Legal Newsline)-The Alaska Supreme Court has decided to hear an appeal that would block the release of findings of an abuse of power investigation that could prove damaging to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. The state high court will review a decision by Anchorage Superior Judge Peter Michalski, who Thursday dismissed a request by a group of Republican legislators to block the investigation.

Supreme Court to hear Troopergate appeal By SEAN COCKERHAM (10/03/08 18:00:56) The Alaska Supreme Court has agreed to hear an emergency appeal from lawyers seeking to shut down the Legislature's Troopergate investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin. The action comes the day after Anchorage Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski threw out their lawsuit attempting to halt the Legislature's investigation of what's known as Troopergate. The suit was filed on behalf of a group of Republican state legislators who oppose the investigation. In a written order issued about 4:30 p.m. today, the Supreme Court said it would hear oral arguments on the...

An Alaska judge has refused to block a state investigation into whether Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power when she fired her public safety commissioner this summer. Judge Peter Michalski in Anchorage said in his ruling Thursday that much of what was raised in a lawsuit seeking to halt the probe was business left to the legislative branch. Five Republican state legislators asked the judge to order a temporary restraining order. They said the investigation has been tainted by partisan politics. An independent investigator hired by the Legislative Council, which authorized the probe, is expected to have his report completed...