Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home

[krawhitham]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090803088.html?hpid=topnews


ANCHORAGE, Sept. 8 -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.

Palin, who earns $125,000 a year, claimed and received $16,951 as her allowance, which officials say was permitted because her official "duty station" is Juneau, according to an analysis of her travel documents by The Washington Post.

The governor's daughters and husband charged the state $43,490 to travel, and many of the trips were between their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the capital city 600 miles away, the documents show.

MORE AT
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090803088.html?hpid=topnews

[FrenchieCat]

1. Now that's ugly, and ain't gonna play too well for the "Mavericks"!

[TheKentuckian]

3. She's freaking Porky Pig

That's not a maverick, that's a con-artist.

[me b zola]

6. Need someone to photoshop a pig wearing lipstick...

...and a tiera that says queen of pork. :)

[KingFlorez]

2. Not good at all

Waste at it's worst.

[ladjf]

17. Most businesses would call that fraud.

[berni_mccoy]

4. Grand Larceny! A FELONY.

[NotThisTime]

7. I read the article, unbelievable enough, it's legal there!

[berni_mccoy]

8. Only according to the AG's opinion... the AG under corrupt Murkowski

Other's have suffered politically for this type of scandal:

From the article:

In the past, per diem claims by Alaska state officials have carried political risks. In 1988, the head of the state Commerce Department was pilloried for collecting a per diem charge of $50 while staying in his Anchorage home, according to local news accounts. The commissioner, the late Tony Smith, resigned amid a series of controversies.

"It was quite the little scandal," said Tony Knowles, the Democratic governor from 1994 to 2000. "I gave a direction to all my commissioners if they were ever in their house, whether it was Juneau or elsewhere, they were not to get a per diem because, clearly, it is and it looks like a scam -- you pay yourself to live at home," he said.

Knowles, whose children were school-age at the start of his first term, said that his wife sometimes accompanied him to conferences overseas but that he could "count on one hand" the number of times his children accompanied him.

"And the policy was not to reimburse for family travel on commercial airlines, because there is no direct public benefit to schlepping kids around the state," he said. The rules were articulated by Mike Nizich, then director of administrative services in the governor's office, said Knowles and an aide to another former governor, Walter Hickel.

[Miss Chybil]

10. Paying yourself to live in your own house is not quite kosher even in Alaska.

Don't think this is going to go over too well. Nope. Not at all.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

5. Ouch, I think this one is gonna hurt the Republishits

[Miss Chybil]

9. Finally, scandalously juicy prime rib - rare! nt

[orestes]

11. Not that juicy

not nearly enough sex to interest the hoi polloi. I'll be surprised if this registers as more than a blip on the radar.

The only good thing is that this is yet another in an increasingly large amount of blips showing up.

[Miss Chybil]

12. Sex would be good, but for someone who is supposed to be the ethical princess

this is a pretty big blip.

[Life Long Dem]

13. That has to be pretty good money for Alaska.

It looks like she is a crook. Should be charges.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

14. Does Alaska have a Governor's mansion? nt

[tammywammy]

16. Yes

[Teaser]

15. So is this getting any play this AM?

I'm stuck watching Higglytown Heroes with my son.

ugh.