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Stonewalling By Key Witnesses Proved Effective
The Trooper-Gate report provides an answer to something we were asking ourselves earlier this week.
It was announced, just days before Steve Branchflower was scheduled to wrap things up, that several top Palin aides would reverse course and honor subpoenas issued in the investigation, after resisting them for weeks. But would Branchflower, we wondered, have enough time to depose those key witnesses and include their testimony in his report?
The answer: no.
Branchflower writes:
On October 6, 2008 Attorney General Talis Coberg announced that some of the ... employees have decided they wish to honor their subpoenas and provide information about this case to the Legislative Council. Given that last minute decision, and in view of the publication date of October 10, 2008 for this report, it has not been possible to inculde any such information herein. It is anticipated that the additional information will be submitted to the Legislative Council in a separate report prepared by the employees and/or the Attorney General.
It's impossible to know what additional information these witnesses would have provided Branchflower. And he made clear that, even without them, he had enough information to draw firm conclusions.
Still, it's certainly plausible that with input from Palin's top lieutenants about the pressure they may have been under to pursue the Wooten matter, the report would have been even more damning.
In that limited regard, the Palin camp's stonewalling appears to have worked.
Josh
Zachary
Thanks to Branchflower for reporting what he found out by the deadline he was given. That, in itself, is unusual for a special investigator - not allowing stonewalling to affect the production of a report.
I will look forward to his supplemental report incorporating their additional testimony.
October 11, 2008 11:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm curious how AK Republican politicians regard Palin and her crony Attorney General. The committee unanimously voted to conduct the investigation and again to release the results. I'm a pure cynic when it comes to politicians, but for some reason, unfounded I'm sure, most AK Politicians seem to put their State and good governance before the RNC and McCain. If they do, it doesn't bode well for Palin (especially since the per diem issue has just gotten traction)and AG Colberg (giving partisan legal advise to State employees not to honor legal subpoenas).
October 11, 2008 12:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
This doesn't appear to mean that they won't testify now that the report has been issued, however. Or am I reading this wrong?
I have very much been hoping to see their testimony on record, and I hope that part of the questioning is who approached them (and on what basis) about their earlier decision to refuse to honor the subpoenas. This all stinks of obstruction of justice at the hands of the McCain campaign, and I want those bastards nailed to crosses for it.
October 11, 2008 1:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, the report, no matter how incomplete, certainly does no harm to the cause of justice. And it can't be seen as an impediment to pursuing the matter further -- especially as it relates to abuses still to surface. (And they will, baby, they will.)
October 11, 2008 2:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
The report was damning to Palin and I, too, believe that her top staffers probably could have added fuel to the fire. Palin has probably skated on that point which is a real shame to the cause of justice.
It is not too late for the legislature to sanction those employees for refusing to appear on their subpoena date. This can't be done until the full legislature reconvenes in January. I hope the legislature takes action here. These people should not be allowed to get away with ignoring legal subpoenas.
Talis Colberg (AG) should be dismissed for counseling these same people legally to defy and disobey legal subpoenas. He should also be disbarred.
Unfortunately for justice, Alaska is one of 4 or 5 states where the AG does not get elected by the public. Colberg was hired by (and therefore reports to and can only be fired by) G0V. Palin. Alaska needs to amend their constitution to remedy this loophole in their government IMO.
Lastly, and I keep saying this, the good people of Alaska have one legal option open to them that the government cannot interfere with or completely control and that is to RECALL Palin now.
October 11, 2008 4:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Still, it's certainly plausible that with input from Palin's top lieutenants about the pressure they may have been under to pursue the Wooten matter, the report would have been even more damning."
Whether Palin's top lieutenants would have testified against the Governor, is doubtful, to me anyway. They're all still her employees, do you really think they would want to jeopardize their positions in her administration? Right now, it's looking like the McCain/Palin may lose the election on Nov 4th. If that happens, Palin will once again assume the job as Governor of Alaska and her employees will continue to work under her, right?
Am I implying they may have lied, and said she never did any of the things the investigation was attempting to prove? Yes. I could be wrong, but that's what I think.
October 11, 2008 4:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
It seems like it was a tactic to further delay the report. It just doesn't make sense that they decided to cooperate just days before the release.
October 12, 2008 12:04 AM | Reply | Permalink