Palin-Appointed State Personnel Board finds her not guilty of ethics violations on election eve

[ProgressiveEconomist]

WHAT'S YOUR OPINION?

From http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/11/03/2nd_alaska_probe_finds_palin_d.html?hpid=topnews

"2nd Alaska Probe Finds Palin Did Not Violate Ethics Rules

By James V. Grimaldi

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin ..., did not violate state ethics rules in allegedly trying to fire her former brother-in-law from the state troopers, an investigator for Alaska's State Personnel Board concluded in a report released on the eve of the election. The finding of the State Personnel Board is the opposite of that found by an investigator for the Alaska legislature. He found last month that Palin abused executive power when she and her husband engaged in a campaign to oust Mike Wooten, her former brother-in-law, from the state police force.

The investigations began when Walt Monegan, the state police commissioner, alleged in July that he was fired by Palin for failing to oust Wooten. Palin denies that Monegan's firing had anything to do with whether Wooten remained on the force. ...

After McCain selected Palin as his vice presidential nominee, her attorneys attempted to take the investigation out of the hands of the legislative investigator by asking the State Personnel Board to intervene. At a routine meeting this afternoon, the State Personnel Board, which is appointed by Palin, surprised attendees by announcing that its investigator would release his findings today. Petumenos, an independent investigator hired by the State Personnel Board, released the bulky report at a news conference that began at 7:30 p.m. EST.

The legislature's investigator, Stephen Branchflower, found evidence that Palin actively joined her husband, Todd, in pursuing a personal vendetta against the trooper and that she used state employees to try to settle a score in a bitter family feud. "Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: To get Trooper Michael Wooten fired," said the report released by a bipartisan legislative committee."

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

1. Too little too late

like peas in a pod.

[robertpaulsen]

2. BREAKING: Fox Exonerates Self in Henhousegate. n/t

[ProgressiveEconomist]

3. IMO the timing of the report IS a bit suspicious

[bdamomma]

4. someone gave them an offer they couldn't refuse.

[Essene]

5. what a whitewash. that guy oughta be ashamed...

this Petumenos spent like 2 weeks on this and produces a report the day before the election?

give me a break.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

6. IMO it's reasonable to suspect he got a bonus, with all the money the Republican Party

must have spent on this coverup.

They had a team of lawyers up in Alaska for weeks. And they must have had a three-part plan: Bribe anybody necessary to--
--get exoneration for Palin before the election;
--delay any negative report until after the election;
--minimize press coverage of any negative report before the election.