Todd Palin has lawyered up separately in Troopergate?

[deminks]

Buried in a Newsweek article:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/157439/output/print

discussed in LBN here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3473777&mesg_id=3473777

Here is the snip that caught my attention:

As a further sign of the sensitivity of the probe, a lawyer for Palin told NEWSWEEK Friday that Todd Palin, the governor's husband, was in the process of hiring his own separate counsel to represent him in the legislature's probe. Thomas Van Flein, Governor Palin's lawyer, would not identify who is now representing the governor's husband. But he sought to deflect charges that Todd Palin, a commercial fisherman and oil company worker, had improperly intervened in state business by inviting Monegan to the governor's office and asking him to look into Wooten's status on the state police force. (For his part, Wooten has acknowledged that he "made mistakes," but that he was "punished appropriately" when he was suspended from the police force for five days in 2006.)

end snip

emphasis mine

[leftofcool]

1. If the rumors are true, one might question why Plain wanted

Wooten fired in the first place

[FreakinDJ]

2. Now that is Very Interesting

must be some dirt to be had up there

[malaise]

3. Do you think anything else connected to Palin

could jump out at the Stevens' trial.

[deminks]

4. Aside from the earmark gravy train that Palin jumped on,

I am not sure, but it does now seem possible that more will come out.

[malaise]

7. Thanks

:hi:

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. More stonewalling: Adding separate lawyers multiplies complexity of the case.

[radfringe]

6. more smoke being sighted?

how soon before we see the fire?

the more that comes out, the more wonders just how well she was vetted

mccain wanted either lieberman or ridge, pawlenty was also high up on the short-list... so why Palin? moral value dirt aside - I'm sensing there's more behind his palin pick than just because she's a woman and/or evangelical...

there are deeper reasons for picking palin than just pandering to special religious interest...

[Fla Dem]

8. That's not unusual. The lawyer for the governor, paid out of state funds cannot

represent a private citizen. If he has been named in the investigation, then he needs a lawyer.

[Jim Lane]

15. I agree. I'll bet the Governor's lawyer strongly recommended it.

There'd be a tendency for the Palins to see their interests as common, and both of them would look to the Governor's lawyer for advice. That lawyer would be aware of the point you make, that the State wasn't paying for Todd's representation, and would also be aware of the potential conflict of interest between Todd and Sarah.

If I were in Todd's situation and I were absolutely completely 100% innocent of any wrongdoing, I would still want a lawyer. It shouldn't be taken as the slightest bit of evidence that something's up.

[stillcool]

9. I don't understand why...

they didn't lawyer up before.

http://www.andrewhalcro.com/monegan_speaks_says_todd_palin_pressured_him_to_fire_wooten

MONEGAN SPEAKS: Names Todd Palin & others

Tonight on KTUU Channel 2 News, former Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan broke his silence and admitted that he was pressured on numerous occasions by Todd Palin to fire State Trooper Mike Wooten.

Monegan said he met with Palin numerous times to talk about Wooten as well as Frank Bailey from the governor's office and Commissioner of Administration Annete Krietzer who also pressured him to fire Wooten.

http://community.adn.com/node/127769


Todd Palin's role

Posted by Alaska_Politics

Posted: July 25, 2008 - 8:06 pm

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

It's not uncommon for Gov. Sarah Palin's husband, Todd, to be included on governor's office e-mails, a fact raising questions about how much influence the "First Dude" has in state government.

Palin critics recently put in a public records request for the state e-mails that Palin special assistant Ivy Frye and Frank Bailey, the governor's director of boards and commissions, sent this spring. They were trying to find proof the staffers had worked on state time to try and get Randy Ruedrich replaced as chair of the state Republican Party. They hadn't found any, last I spoke to them, but were still going through the boxes of e-mails.

Much of the Frye/Bailey e-mail traffic, though, was either blacked out or denied altogether by the state on the basis of "deliberative process" or "privacy/personnel." (UPDATE: Andrew Halcro, on his blog, has posted the whole spreadsheet listing the e-mails that were denied, with subject lines, recipients and dates.)

That includes many e-mails Todd Palin exchanged with members of the governor's staff - e-mails with subject lines like "re: PSEA (Public Safety Employees of Alaska) Ads", "re: PR campaign" and "re: Parental consent abortion bill." It's impossible to know what they are about, since the state refuses to say.

[xiamiam]

10. I was struck by the audio of one of her aides conversation with the person who was fired

for not firing wooten...the aide said that Todd and Sarah, or the Palins ..couldnt understand why it had taken so long ..this has lingered in my mind for the past few days...the aide was pressuring on behalf of Todd and Sarah...I think there is something to this and the role he plays in her political decisions...will try to find the audio of the conversation..

[xiamiam]

11. here is the link to the page with the audio...worth listening

http://www.adn.com/monegan/story/492964.html

[itsrobert]

12. Lawyered Up!!! Read to Go!!!

GOP 2000-2008 Slogan.

[davidwparker]

14. LOVE this post. Kudos to you.

:hi:

[williesgirl]

13. Just like *, she's a fucking slimebag, maybe worse. rec'd