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Background

Background In September of 2008 Aram Roston, then at NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, made several public records requests to the governor of the State of Alaska. Roston sought e-mails dated from January 2007 to September 24, 2008 that were copied to, directed to, or from Todd Palin and seven members of then Governor Sarah Palin's staff, including Governor Palin. The records provided by the governor's office consist of 2,544 pages and were subsequently provided to Bill Dedman, an msnbc.com investigative reporter. In collaboration with msnbc.com, Crivella West Incorporated, a knowledge discovery company, digitized, analyzed and arranged this Palin e-mail collection. Further, Crivella West categorized these documents into Special Collections for easy review. Bill Dedman detailed his findings from this production in an article published on February 5, 2010 which you can find at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35238034/ns/politics/
The State of Alaska's Response to Roston's requests, as well as a listing of records the governor's office withheld or redacted, can be accessed on the links below.


Further Information on the request

State of Alaska Response
Privilege Log

How to search the Palin E-mail 01/25/2010
1. Click on Search link located under Public Access Collections.
2. Enter desired search term(s) into search bar and click the "Search" button.
3. Select desired document and click on document link - example, "Subject: RE: schedule".
4. Search term(s) can include single terms or phrases.
5. When searching for a phrase, surround with double quotes - example "Anchorage office".
6. Advanced operators that can be used while searching include AND, OR, and NOT.

Crivella West

Another Ethics Complaint Filed Against Sarah Palin. Cat Gate?

Another ethics complaint has been filed against Governor Sarah Palin today. The list of Palin’s “gates” is long, but this complaint swings open a new one. Cat Gate. And this cat has teeth.

It all began when Governor Sarah Palin lowered the start flag at this year’s Iron Dog Snowmachine race. More than 30 teams race 1971 miles from Big Lake to Nome tracing the northern Iditarod route on “snowmobiles,” as those outside Alaska call them.

Last year’s champions? None other than Alaska’s “first dude” Todd Palin and his teammate Scott Davis as the famous Team #22. Everyone knows that. John McCain even talked about it on the campaign trail!

Palin’s sponsor? Arctic Cat - a brand of snowmachine and related gear. Arctic Cat really wanted to sponsor team Davis-Palin this year. For obvious reasons that go above and beyond Todd’s defending champion status, they knew that “Team Palin” was getting lots of attention from Alaskans, and the national media. All eyes would be on that bright green Arctic Cat logo. Turns out there was even a photo shoot and article in Sports Illustrated this year focusing on the “first dude.” That’s some nice exposure; exposure that was worth $5000 for Arctic Cat to get permission to “brand” Todd Palin and his team.

But, as anyone who has taken time to consider “conflict of interest” or anyone who has read the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act (like, hopefully, our governor) knows, there’s a line that can’t be crossed. If the governor’s family benefits directly from a private sponsor, (like getting a $5000 check from them) and the governor shows up to take an official role at an official event, representing all Alaskans, it’s a big fat no-no to show up plastered like a billboard with the official “gear” and giant flaming logo of the company that’s been paying you money.

It might look like…..you’re for sale. Now don’t get me wrong, as far as Alaska politicians selling themselves, $5000 isn’t a bad price. We’ve had state legislators sell themselves for far less than that. But haggling over the price aside, this is just not within the bounds of the rules of the state of Alaska. Period.

If not, I have the feeling Juneau would be hosting the Pepsi Legislative session, and we’d have the 3M Speaker of the House and the Napa Majority Leader. There would be meetings of the Kinkos Judiciary Committe, the Fedex Budget, and the Veco Senate President. (Yes, I know we’ve had one of those already.)

And imagine you owned the competing Polaris dealership. You might be tempted to think…”Hmmm. If I offered Team #22 a couple thousand dollars more than they’re getting from Arctic Cat, maybe I’ll get Sarah Palin to wear my flashy logo suit in front of the cameras next year!” You see where this is leading.

Thus, the reasoning behind the ethics complaint filed against the governor today by activist and local blogger Linda Kellen-Biegel of Celtic Diva’s Blue Oasis. This will be the 11th complaint filed against the governor during her term in office. Other complaints have been filed by Anchorage resident Frank Gwartney, Wasilla resident Zane Henning, Anchorage resident Andree McLeod, and one or more who did not go public before filing their complaints.


[So, for those of you who have been playing at home since yesterday, speculating as to the specifics on "Implosion #5" I'll finish the cliffhanger sentence.

Today Governor Sarah Palin was stunned by.....the fact that people still haven't stopped paying attention to her unethical wardrobe choices.]

Read More

Palin's husband and all her aides found in contempt

By SEAN COCKERHAMmailto:%20scockerham@adn.com
Published: February 6th, 2009 11:31 AMLast Modified: February 6th, 2009 02:38 PM
JUNEAU - The Alaska Senate voted today to find Gov. Sarah Palin's husband, Todd, and nine Palin aides in contempt for failing to show up when ordered by subpoena to testify in the Legislature's "Troopergate" investigation of the governor.


http://www.adn.com/monegan/story/681638.html
But the Senate resolution also said there should be no punishment because Todd Palin and the others did eventually submit written statements to the investigator, Steve Branchflower.
"People kept saying 'You've got to do something about the subpoenas -- what are you going to do about the subpoenas?" said Anchorage Democratic Sen. Hollis French, who sponsored the resolution. "And while there was practically no support for doing anything further about the findings regarding the governor, a lot of people were upset that the subpoenas were ignored.
"It memorializes their contempt and it balances that wrongdoing against their compliance once the suit was resolved," French said.
Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg had sued to kill the subpoenas but lost in court. It was after he lost that the witnesses cooperated.
Colberg did not have an immediate comment on the Senate resolution, saying he needed to go through it. The governor's office said it had no comment on the resolution.
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The resolution passed the Senate on a 16-1 vote. Anchorage Republican Sen. Con Bunde was the only senator to vote against it. Sens. Fred Dyson, Gene Therriault and Tom Wagoner were excused.
"We rehash an old issue and then decide to do nothing about it," Bunde said on the Senate floor. "I hope that's not our best."
Anchorage Republican Sen. Kevin Meyer said he sees the resolution as a way to move on from the battles over the investigation.
"It's to bring closure to the whole issue," he said in an interview after the vote.
The subpoenas were issued by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which French chairs. French said it's not necessarily his view, but a lot of his colleagues in the Legislature see what happened as akin to driving 56 mph in a 55 mph zone.
"You can say you broke the law, you went 56 miles an hour, but not every violation of the law gets punished," he said.
French, pressed on his own view, said he believes the resolution struck the right balance. But he left open the possibility of future action against the state attorney general.
"I don't want to get sidetracked by the attorney general's performance in this episode, but it's worth pointing out that this resolution does not resolve questions - significant and serious questions - about his actions during this time," French said in a speech on the Senate floor.
French said in an interview afterward that he's not sure exactly what more is to be done.
"The difficulty is coming to any conclusion about what he did because none of us were in the room. ... It would be very difficult," he said.
French said Colberg broke a deal to cooperate with the subpoenas. Lawmakers also question the attorney general's advising state employees that they didn't have to honor subpoenas lawfully issued by the Legislature.
Colberg, a Palin appointee, has said he doesn't believe he did anything wrong. He said he just gave legal options to the seven state employees he was representing in the matter and they decided how they wanted to proceed.

The Power to Arrest

The AG’s action will likely stoke the partisan fervor further. Almost certainly, this will wind up being handled by the judiciary, which will have to determine whether the AG can actually block the legislative subpoenas, and whether the probe has run off the rails. Since that is a political rather than legal question (unless I missed something in the state constitution), the judiciary will probably throw it all back to the Legislature.
The Legislative Council needs to meet to take back control of this issue from Hollis French and Kim Elton. Either they need to appoint less-partisan special masters from among their own ranks, or they need to end the probe altogether. They could also shift the probe to the State Personnel Board, as Palin’s team has suggested, although that has its own issues; it would have the executive branch investigating the head of the branch, and while they could do that with little problem, it may not satisfy concerns over the potential lack of independence of the probe.
These are the vital safeguards, the core democratic functions, which the Bush administration and now the McCain/Palin campaign are flagrantly subverting.

Anyone with doubts about the seriousness of this abuse of power investigation should just listen to the audio recording of Gov. Palin's top aide, Frank Bailey, calling the Police Commissioner's office and badgering them about firing Palin's ex-brother-in-law, repeatedly suggesting he was doing so on behalf of Palin. The sleaze and impropriety oozes off the audio. That was but one of dozens of similar communications made by close Palin associates, including her husband, prior to the time Palin fired the Police Commissioner. Palin quite implausibly denies that they did so at her behest, and has offered an endless series of shifting explanations for the firing. That's what the Legislature is trying to investigate by questioning her husband and top aides -- and that is what the Palins are now overtly impeding by breaking the law: i.e., refusing to comply with legislative subpoenas.
Wonder what would happen if the Legislative Council began asserting itself? Does the Alaska constitution give them the power to reconvene the legislature?

Section 2.9 - Special Sessions.

Special sessions may be called by the governor or by vote of two-thirds of the legislators. The vote may be conducted by the legislative council or as prescribed by law. At special sessions called by the governor, legislation shall be limited to subjects designated in his proclamation calling the session, to subjects presented by him, and the reconsideration of bills vetoed by him after adjournment of the last regular session. Special sessions are limited to thirty days.

Or what if they held a contempt vote anyway? And issued their own arrest warrants under their inherent authority to enforce their own subpoenas? A subpoena isn't a subpoena if there's no independent power to enforce it. It's inherent in the authority to issue them, which the Legislative Council has by law. Gosh, wouldn't that be interesting for the Alaska State Troopers? (h/t to bmaz at emptywheel's corner of Firedoglake for the tip on the statutes.)

Sure it would end up in court. But it will anyway, since the Palins are already testing a novel legal theory. So why not join them? Let's make it a he said/she said story. Make full use of the Republican-developed "some say" framing. "Some say" the governor and her coterie are absolutely immune from all legislative oversight.

And "some say" Todd Palin is a fugitive from justice.

Get out of town....

McCain-Palin campaign accused of co-opting department of law



Todd Palin refuses to testify
by The Associate Press
Thursday, September 18, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Todd Palin says he will not testify about abuse of power allegations against his wife, Gov. Sarah Palin.

Todd Palin no longer believes the Legislature's investigation is legitimate, said McCain-Palin spokesman Ed O'Callaghan.

Independent investigator Stephen Branchflower subpoenaed Palin, who was to appear Friday before Alaska lawmakers on the firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.

The Palins and the governor's staff are under investigation because some suspect Monegan was fired for refusing to dismiss an Alaska State Trooper who had gone through a bitter divorce with Sarah Palin's sister.

A key lawmaker also said Thursday that the stonewalling of witnesses is likely to stall the probe until after Election Day.

Sarah Palin welcomed the investigation at first, but she has opposed it since becoming the Republican candidate for vice president.

This is a breaking story.

Alaska Lawmakers Vote To Subpoena Todd Palin

Alaska lawmakers voted Friday to subpoena the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, in a move that transformed a messy state personnel issue into a national campaign controversy.

The lawmakers acted at the request of Stephen Branchflower, who is in the midst of an investigation into the governor's dismissal of the state's director of public safety.

Branchflower said he also wants to interview the governor, but omitted her from the 13-person list of subpoena targets he presented to the lawmakers overseeing his investigation.


Branchflower said Todd Palin is "such a central figure. ... I think one should be issued for him."

Thomas Van Flein, a private attorney hired to represent the governor, did not immediately return calls for comment.

Two Democrats and one Republican voted for the subpoenas, rejecting attempts by the other two Republicans on the panel to delay them until after the November election.

Sen. Charlie Huggins, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla, appeared in camouflage pants on a short break from moose hunting to cast his vote. He lamented the political maneuvering that he saw as trying to interfere with the investigation.

"I see all this duck-foot action under the water," Huggins said. "Let's just get the facts on the table.

The Legislature hired Branchflower to examine whether Palin ousted her public safety commissioner in July because he had refused to fire state trooper Mike Wooten. Wooten went through a messy divorce from Palin's sister, and the investigation essentially is looking at whether Palin used her power to try to settle a personal score.

One member of Palin's administration was caught on tape discussing personal information about Wooten, raising questions of how he knew those details.

The investigation -- known as "Troopergate" -- began before Palin was chosen as Sen. John McCain's running mate. Since then, Palin's supporters have argued that the investigation is politically motivated, and urged lawmakers to turn the matter over to the three-member State Personnel Board, which is appointed by the governor and charged with handling ethics complaints.

Palin has said she fired the commissioner, Walt Monegan, over disagreements about budget priorities. Monegan said he received repeated e-mails and phone calls from Palin, her husband and her staff expressing dismay over Wooten's continued employment.

Branchflower also asked for a subpoena for the phone records of one Palin administration official, Frank Bailey. Bailey was recorded calling an Alaska State Trooper lieutenant and discussing confidential information about Wooten, including his job application and worker's compensation claim. In a deposition taken by Palin's attorney, he testified that he never saw Wooten's file, but instead received the information from Todd Palin.

Alaska Governor To Be Investigated ...WSJ

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- When Sarah Palin was elected governor as a Republican outsider in 2006, she didn't just take on an incumbent from her own party. She took on Alaska's Republican establishment.

Ms. Palin vowed to clean up a long-cozy political system that had been sullied by an FBI corruption investigation. She endeared herself to Alaskans by making good on her reform promises and showing homey touches, like driving herself to work. Palin get into an accident, not paying attention is my call.
Now, one of the bright new stars in the Republican Party has suddenly become tarnished. The state legislature this week voted to hire an independent investigator to see whether Ms. Palin abused her office by trying to get her former brother-in-law fired from his job as an Alaska state trooper.

"This is a governor who was almost impervious to error," says Hollis French, a Democratic state senator. "Now she could face impeachment/recall, in a worst-case scenario."

WARNING: This original article has been changed, the statement by Senator french and much more have been removed. The request came to the author by way of a Palinbot, lil' Jimmy Lottsfeldt. Request was granted to change the whole scope of the article. Shameful, Deceptive, Bad Journalism...

Read More in WSJ

Sarah Palin, "Abuse of Power" Investigator to be retained...

Grab some popcorn, take a listen....

Gavel to Gavel; Retain Investigator in response to Sarah Palin and "Abuse of Power"




Sarah quote-

"We would never prohibit, or be less than enthusiastic about any kind of investigation. Let's deal in the facts, and you do that via investigation."

Come on' Palinista crowd let's see your enthusiasm, Princess P has issued you her edict. Check out my show on date 7/23/2008 audio documented.