« previous | MUCK HOME | next »
Lawmakers To Release Trooper-Gate Report
The legislative council voted 12-0 to release the Trooper-Gate report, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
Legislators had been in a closed door meeting all day.
We'll let you know about its findings once we have a copy.
Update: Here's the report.
Advertisement
Josh
Zachary
"... except for certain parts they consider confidential."
October 10, 2008 8:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Zachry why isn't this thread NOT linked to the "TPM Election Central"?
Please do. This is the bi deal for second week of Oct.
October 10, 2008 8:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oops!!! I mean why is this thread not linked to the election central?
October 10, 2008 8:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy.
October 10, 2008 8:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
You can actually look at the 263 page report here
http://download1.legis.state.ak.us/DOWNLOAD.pdf
found on www.adn.com
Anchorage Daily News
October 10, 2008 8:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
AP headline: Panel finds Palin abused her power in firing of Monegan (from NY Times and WSJ).
October 10, 2008 8:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Finding #1 (p.8): "I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating" the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.
Can't get much more straightforward than that.
October 10, 2008 8:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Something smells fishy.....Unanimous? There's got to be a catch.
October 10, 2008 8:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, but those 10 Republicans on the committee were abducted and replaced by liberal pinko alien terrorist treasonous Arab pod people.
October 10, 2008 8:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oops, only 8 pod people, not 10.
October 10, 2008 8:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, it says she abused her power, but the firing was legal.
October 10, 2008 8:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
She has abused her power.
October 10, 2008 8:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes...
October 10, 2008 8:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, that is why is heading for West Virginia! Good hiding in them parts..........
October 10, 2008 9:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
It can't be too juicy - all 8 Republicans voted to release it, and at least a few of them had flip-flopped on releasing the report once she got the VP nomination. I'd say if anything, this is a decent sign that the report is NOT damaging to Palin, which means it is either incomplete or a whitewash.
October 10, 2008 8:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
It IS damaging just from the public relations and image point of view, even if the say she had a right to fire Monegan. It says she cannot be trusted with power. What don't you understand about that?
October 10, 2008 8:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
OF COURSE it's damaging.
The Republican majority Legislature commissioned the investigation in the first place because they thought Palin might have done something wrong. It turns out she did do wrong by breaking Alaska State law - that's not good for Palin!
October 10, 2008 10:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can you say LANDSLIDE??????
October 10, 2008 8:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
She is toast:)
October 10, 2008 8:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
And the Red Queen said, "Off with her head!"
October 10, 2008 8:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
So the report says she unlawfully abused her power, but I don't see any recommendation for a Special Prosecutor?
What am I missing?
October 10, 2008 8:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am watching MSNBC, is it mentioned on other networks?
October 10, 2008 8:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now that McCain knows that he has been associating with someone who has violated the public trust with the abuse of her power, I guess he'll have to find a new running mate??
October 10, 2008 8:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, Mainstream media. Take this and do what should/needs to be done...
October 10, 2008 8:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
She abused her power but fired him legally. Good enough. It should dominate the news cycle for 3 or 4 days. That's all I really care about at this point.
October 10, 2008 8:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
But they(the media) needs to talk about the power that was given to "First Dude"...this is where the ethical problem comes into play. He had no authority to call ANYONE about firing the trooper and he did make calls from the GOV's office. What's up with that?
October 10, 2008 8:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Will McWar replace Pitbull by Mitty the Pig?
October 10, 2008 8:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
How low can she go? Palin has already dropped from +17 a month ago to -18 today in the Research 2000 net favorability ratings. Kos may have to add some more negative numbers to the scale on the chart.
October 10, 2008 8:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Today grampy McSame says that "you don't have to be scared of President Obama", and now this.
Bye bye Grampy and Caribou Barbie!
October 10, 2008 8:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Caribou Barbie. lol.
October 10, 2008 8:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bad day for the Original Mavericks.
At the very least, McCain is going to have to go on major defense with this, defending Palin against the media, again, for the questions raised by the finding of her ethics violation. I think it is up to the AK Legislature to determine the proper action for the breach, but as far as the McCain campaign goes, Palin's liability factor just doubled. You just can't run a platform of 'reform' with an executive found guilty by her own party of abuse of power. Not unless you have a huge sense of humor, anyway. What makes it all the more salient is that it was a majority Republican legislature that issued this report and will have to dole out whatever appropriate punishment. At the very least her future political career in Alaska is terribly jeopardized.
October 10, 2008 8:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Plus it raises anew all the questions about McCain's judgment in picking her in the first place.
October 10, 2008 8:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Indeed, McCain doesn't know that he should be vetting his selections!
October 10, 2008 10:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
talk your shyt now!!
October 10, 2008 8:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Hello? Sarah? This is Karma calling. Just thought you'd like to know I'm dropping in for a visit and I'll be staying awhile."
Thanks. Buh-bye now.
October 10, 2008 8:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOVE IT!
October 10, 2008 8:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
HA!
October 10, 2008 8:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
No wonder she agrees with Cheney about the VP role.
October 10, 2008 8:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't get it. This means that those Republicans on the committee are willing to have her lose the election and return to their State?
October 10, 2008 8:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
not sure if it will make a difference. 50% of the American popn were pretty content will Dick Cheney allowing Americans to be wiretapped and the Constitution to be shredded. that same lunatic right wing 50% will be happy to learn that Dick Cheney now has a protege.
October 10, 2008 8:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ethics? We don't need no stinkin' ethics.
October 10, 2008 8:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Which is to say, the report released this morning is the yin to this report's yang. Fair and balanced. Even Steven. .500 will keep ya in the majors. Sarah remains on the ticket, soiled in the eyes of many but a hero to her base. Yup!
October 10, 2008 8:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
McCain just got a fourth quarter break. Now he has a perfect excuse to dump Palin. Romney up next. The right wing will never accept Lieberman. But can McCain/Romney turn it around in three weeks? Only if he fires Schmidt (McCains biggest problem all along) and Davis, and even then it is a long shot, because the clock is running out. Not to mention the huge pall this throws over McCain's credibility as potential CiC -- f**cks up his first major decision, picking a VP.
October 10, 2008 8:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think he'll drop Palin. He'll argue usual B.S. How the report was politically driven and shit. But if he does, I don't think Mitts will accept.
October 10, 2008 8:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
If he wanted to dump Palin they wouldn't have exonerated her in their own report this morning. McCain's not calling the shots anyway.
October 10, 2008 8:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think this is a nothing-burger politically. I mean, it shows what we already know generally: that she is ruthless (yawn) unethical (yawn) and plays dirty (yawn).
Among blue-collar whites, what some people call "rednecks" and what to me are half my family, any effort she used to wipe out a pain-in-the-ass destructive sociopath in the family is fair game, up to and including field-dressing him like a deer.
No, firing the superintendent for insubordination or whatever wouldn't satisfy a group of jurors polled exclusively from parliamentarian officers of executive boards of New England Unitarian congregations. But this is redneck rules of procedure, not Robert's Rules on the Town Green.
My bet: if Obama is stupid enough to play this one, it helps McCain close the gap, as she proves she can get stuff done, even if it means playing hard-ball. It may be enough to seal my mother's vote for Palin.
October 10, 2008 8:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hello there transparent concern troll. Have you had a busy day? You certainly have a busy night ahead of you.
The Depends aisle is 3rd on your left.
October 10, 2008 9:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
She didn't get stuff done. Wooten is still a state trooper.
October 10, 2008 9:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Basically from what I can figure, she mainly does the same things as governor she would have done if she'd won the Miss Alaska Pageant - opens supermarkets, etc. The Alaska governor is a kind of do-nothing governor, like the Texas governor.
October 10, 2008 10:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
And imagine all the power she could abuse in the West Wing! Yeah, it's small-town stuff now, but just think what she could do with an entire Justice Department!
October 10, 2008 10:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
What part of BREAKING THE LAW do you not understand?
And you probably thought Nixon was a great guy who got a raw deal too. Dork.
October 10, 2008 10:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
McCain can not remove her from the ticket. Once she has been confirmed by the delegates, and she has accepted the nomination, he no longer has the power to remove her, and just pick someone else. She would have to withdraw, and then they would have to convene a special party council to confirm a new pick.
I do not want her off the ticket. I much prefer to have this Barracuda, with a big hook stuck in her mouth, than to have McCain get a chance to capture a huge chunk of press coverage with all the drama involved with selecting a new running mate.
Stay Sarah Stay. Never blink. You betcha, yup yup.
October 10, 2008 8:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
So when do the impeachment proceeding begin?
October 10, 2008 8:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, that's I want to know too. The report was out, and where are we headed for from here? I mean politically and legally speaking.
October 10, 2008 9:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Palin is a LIAR, HYPOCRITE and FRAUD.
Palin is a LIAR, HYPOCRITE and FRAUD.
Palin is a LIAR, HYPOCRITE and FRAUD.
Palin is a LIAR, HYPOCRITE and FRAUD.
Palin is a LIAR, HYPOCRITE and FRAUD.
Palin is a LIAR, HYPOCRITE and FRAUD.
October 10, 2008 8:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
What is the punishment for this abuse of power? I've trying to find out...
October 10, 2008 8:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Shame, and humiliation, would be my first guesses.
October 10, 2008 8:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I do not think Palin is susceptible to shame or humiliation. Those powers have no effect on her shameless, hubris-filled psyche.
October 10, 2008 10:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
correction- that's: I've been trying to find out.
(so much happening so fast!)
October 10, 2008 8:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
In Wasilla they gave her a city manager when she had problems as mayor. Maybe they will give her a 'director of state affairs' when she gets back after November 4. Those AIP guys really like her and want her to stay in her job.
I just hope McCain keeps her around since she is a gift that keeps on giving.
The state of Alaska is scrambling to retrieve her emails from those private accounts now. There is no telling what that will yield.
October 10, 2008 9:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Probably the same penalty Rove, Bolton, and Miers were hit with when they blew off Congressional subpeonas. This is over. Relax and enjoy.
October 10, 2008 9:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
I believe there's a tiny Aleutian island to which she will be banished for a period of not less than 12 months and maybe longer depending on her rehabilitation progress, with her potential release administered and decided solely by a committee of gay African-American Wiccan socialist members of Defenders of Wildlife, who have full discretionary powers to dictate the conditions of her release and the terms of her lengthy parole.
Oh, and I think she'll have quite the nice view of Putin's giant head and soulful eyes peeking at her from jussssst over the horizon.
October 10, 2008 9:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't you think the McCain/Palin report has more credibility? They are mavericks after all, and the governor's office is so close to the Alaska Supreme Court building, she must know a lot about the gosh darn law .
October 10, 2008 8:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yup, yup, a little ethics lapse and abuse of power...well, that's just extra mavericky.
October 10, 2008 9:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
If think the big impact is on the undecideds. Obviously the Palin minions are going to love her even more. But if a small fraction of the undecideds move against Palin on this, it might even be the margin of victory. I don't see how this can be considered good for Palin or McCain.
McCain's judgment is also in the toilet on this. He did not vet her before choosing her.
This hurts no matter how you paint it.
October 10, 2008 9:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
she is now definitely qualified for VP!
Hello Dick Chenney without a DICK!
October 10, 2008 9:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Correction:
She does have a newly found dick. You are forgetting about that redneck that did not keep his Johnson in his Levis.
October 10, 2008 9:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
and it means that the Ayers story is going to be buried...
Another great week for Senator Obama next week...
October 10, 2008 9:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
From Maverick to Outlaw in a day! Bottom line is she broke the law. It doesn't matter that the (hypocritical) ultra right wing still loves her because most of the US still gives a crap, especially now after Bush/Cheney. Talk about more of the same.
See ya Sarah, don't let the door hit 'ya where the good Lord split 'ya!
October 10, 2008 9:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is easier to dismiss than holding the report. So she abused power a little. Who hasn't? We're Christians, gosh darn it, and we know how to forgive.
Unless you're "not like us".
October 10, 2008 9:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
What a newsday even for a late Friday. Can't wait to see how todays news play out with the pundits on Sunday morning.
October 10, 2008 9:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Amazing day.
October 10, 2008 9:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is GREAT news for McCain!
October 10, 2008 9:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Barbiecuda defense:
Good golly, I just must have picked up a little abuse of power bad habits, from all that time I spent keepin an eye on that Putin fella. yup yup, that's the ticket.
October 10, 2008 9:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why does God love BO so much?
October 10, 2008 9:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Seriously. Free advice to all politicians: Do NOT run against Obama unless you want to end your career in bizarre, painful and even publicly humiliating fashion.
October 10, 2008 9:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here is a link to an AP report. It contains a fair amount of juicy details. I can only provide the link, because of their copy right rules.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081011/ap_on_el_pr/palin_troopergate
October 10, 2008 9:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
The web is buzzing with this story.
October 10, 2008 9:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
To see real videos of real women discussing their reactions to Sarah Palin & the misuse of gender issues in this year's presidential race, please take a look at the following blog (& forward to all your friends, family & open-minded folk at large): www.speakoutonpalin.blogspot.com
October 10, 2008 9:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
McCain must have confused "vetting" with "Vette-ing" - as in driving a Corvette rapidly around in circles and then driving off a cliff.
October 10, 2008 10:17 PM | Reply | Permalink