Remember, McCain knew about this BEFORE he picked her for VP.

It's a stain on her for showing a vindictiveness that's been on full display this week anyway and a stain on him for the poor judgment in picking her.

Game. Set. Match goes to Obama.

I don't think that Sarah will be talking about terrorists tomorrow.

THIS

Ironically, Sarah may have just given Monegan a GOLDEN PARACHUTE because a substantial improper purpose, even though other reasons exist for the termination, may give him the ability to sue for damages.

It is enough to make out a case for Monegan if the refusal to terminate the trooper was a "substantial" or "motivating factor" in her termination. Methlin v. Bartholomew (Alaska 1998) 971 P.2d 151 at page 154. Ant there are lots of similar cases.

IS

It'll mean one more day McCain-Palin ticket won't get any traction in the polls. And there isn't that many more left.

I don't trust Palin.One heartbeat away from the Presidency if something happens to McCaine,NO WAY for Palin.What more dirt will we find out about her since she wasn't properly vetted?I hope she goes back to Alaska and stays there.Obama is the right choice.Biden is awesome too!!!

Fox News summary:

"Monegan firing proper exercise of executive authority."

This is rich. From CNN:

"Ahead of Friday's hearing, Palin supporters wearing clown costumes and carrying balloons denounced the investigation as a 'kangaroo court' and a 'three-ring circus' led by supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama."

It has to be pounded into the national consciousness that the first finding of the report is that Sarah Palin as Governor broke the Alaska law (statute) against abuse of power. She is a lawbreaker, according to the investigator.

She did not break the law by the mere act of firing Monegan. But her other actions and motives were a true abuse of a power.

She also did not break the Alaska laws against drunk driving, littering, speeding, assault, murder, ..., but you only have to break one law to be called a lawbreaker.

The crucial parts

The evidence supports the conclusion that Governor Palin, at the least, engaged in "official action" by her inaction if not her active participation or assistance to her husband in attempting to get Trooper Wooten fired [and there is 65 Branchflower Report to the Legislative Council Page 66 of 263 October 10, 2008 Vol. One - Public Report evidence of her active participation]. She knowingly, as that term is defined in the above cited statutes, permitted Todd Palin to use the Governor's office and the resources of the Governor's office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired. Her conduct violated AS 39.52.110(a) of the Ethics Act. That statute provides that: "The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust." 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. She had the authority and power to require Mr. Palin to cease contacting subordinates,but she failed to act. Such impermissible and repeated contacts create conflicts of interests for subordinate employees who must choose to either please a superior or run the risk of facing that superior's displeasure and the possible consequences of such displeasure. This was one of the very reasons the Ethics Act was promulgated by the Legislature. That such a conflict of interest arises in such circumstances was best summarized by John BitneY,who summed it up when he testified: MR. BITNEY: I seem to recall that I said "I'll check it out," or "let me see what I can do." I mean, you know, that was, you know. My recollection of my own sense was, you know, "here's a friend and" if you will "the Governor's husband", who's got into office who's got a problem, you know, and someone that seems to be a serious problem for him, from my perspective. You know, when the First Gentleman comes into your office and says you got a problem, you sort of feel compelled to look into it and see if something can be done. In this case, Governor Palin has declined to provide an interview. An interview would have assisted everyone to better understand her motives and perhaps help explain why she was so apparently intent upon getting Trooper Wooten fired in spite of the fact she knew he had been disciplined following the Administrative Investigation. She also knew that he had been permitted to keep his job, and that the disciplinary investigation was closed and could not be reopened. Yet she allowed the pressure from her husband, to try to get Trooper Wooten fired, to continue unabated over a several month-period of time. 66 Branchflower Report to the Legislative Council Page 67 of 263 October 10, 2008 Vol. One - Public Report Governor Palin has stated publicly that she and her family feared Trooper Wooten. Yet the evidence presented has been inconsistent with such claims of fear. The testimony from Trooper Wheeler, who was part of her security detail from the start, was that shortly after elected to office, she ordered a substantial reduction in manpower in her personal protection detail in both Anchorage and Juneau, an act that is inconsistent with a desire to avoid harm from Trooper Wooten or others. Moreover, assuming that Trooper Wooten was ever inclined to attack Governor Palin or a family member, logic dictates that getting him fired would accomplish nothing to eliminate the potential for harm to her or her family. On the contrary, it might just precipitate some retaliatory conduct on his part. Causing Wooten to loose his job would not have de-escalated the situation, or provided her or her family with greater security. Finally, it is noteworthy that in almost every contact with subordinate employees, Mr. Palin's comments were couched in terms of his desire to see Trooper Wooten fired for reasons that had nothing to do with fear. His comments were always couched in terms that he was a bad Trooper, that he was not a good recruiting image for AST, that his discipline amounted to nothing more than a slap on the wrist, that nothing had happened to him following the administrative investigation, and so forth. According to interview notes from the Attorney General who interviewed former Chief of Staff Mike Tibbles, Mr. Palin even sought to obtain information about Trooper Wooten that was confidential by law ["T. Palin asked for Wooten's file," "wanted Grimes report," "refused to give it him"]. The words selected by Mr. Palin, and his actions, give insight into his motivation and that of his wife, Governor Palin. I conclude that such claims of fear were not bona fide and were offered to provide cover for the Palins' real motivation: to get Trooper Wooten fired for personal family related reasons. While it is true that in the absence of an interview with either Governor Palin or Todd Palin, the specific answers to questions such as these are left unanswered, it is likewise true that their apparent motives can be inferred from the circumstances, their actions and their comments. For all the above reasons, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power as Governor in that her conduct violated AS 39.52.11 D(a) of the Ethics Act.

Notice that they didn't find that she "associated with" or "knew of" or "palled around with" an abuse of power - they said that she "abused her power." This is not guilt by association - this is just plain vanilla guilt. Wonder if it will give JM a chance to pick another running mate - just something the maverick might consider given all the negativity surrounding her and his potential loss of his base after being forced today to defend Obama from attacks by the base at his campaing rally today. Time to energize that bunny again.

DOES ANYONE THINK THIS A WAY TO GET PALIN OFF THE TICKET AND HAVE MCCAIN PULL ANOTHER RAZZLE-DAZZLE?

think about it

Palin will absolutely have to step down from the ticket now. There is no other possibility in light of these charges. The country cannot risk another Spiro Agnew crisis like we had in the crisis plagued year of 1973. The nation is already going through the historic trauma of the market collapse, and we need a plausible vice presidential nominee in case Senator McCain becomes president. This is why the nominees have to thoroughly vetted prior to being selected. This has been an amazing development!

It is so SHAMEFUL for Sarah Palin, and so disappointing for REAL Conservatives like me, but then again, this is NOT the first time she has been disappointing, nor do I suspect it will be the last. OsiSpeaks.com

here's a copy of the report with selectable text I made
http://rapidshare.com/files/152841412/Branchflowerreport.source.prod_affiliate.7.pdf.html

I don't understand how they can find she abused the power of her office but recommend NO form of punishment at all.

Remember the important Republican Spinning Points for tomorrow morning:

This was a "partisan" investigation. Obama was behind it.

So far behind it, in fact, that he started this investigation before she was even on McCain's short list. He's sneaky like that.

And he did it through the Republican Alaska Legislature ... AKA ACORN!!!

Monegan may get himself a "golden parachute" Sarah may have given him a cause of action for damages for wrongful termination. It is enough to make out a case for Monegan if the refusal to terminate the trooper was a "substantial" or "motivating factor" in her descision to terminate him. Methlin v. Bartholomew (Alaska 1998) 971 P.2d 151 at page 154. And there are lots of similar cases.

Palin will never step down nor will McCain ask her to do so. It would be such a huge mistake to admit a blunder (selection of VP) that big this late in the game. My guess is that they will continue to rant and rave about the usual nonsense and hope for the best. I'm sure they wouldn't mind starting a few riots along the way. After Bush was elected, I thought he would enter history as the worst president ever to be elected. The thought of McCain and Palin just makes me outright scared. I believe they would be worse.

Saturday's headlines:

New York Times: Inquiry Finds Palin Abused Power: Efforts to Oust Trooper Found to Violate Law

Washington Post: Alaska Probe Finds Palin Abused Executive Power

Wall Street Journal: Alaska Probe: Palin Abused Authority
Alaska Gov. Palin broke state ethics law. . .

Chicago Tribune: Panel: Palin abused power
Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor. . .

Los Angeles Times: Sarah Palin investigation cites unlawful abuse of power

McClatchy: Palin abused power in 'troopergate,' probe concludes

AP: Alaska panel finds Palin abused power in firing

USA Today: Panel: Palin misbehaved

CNN: Palin abused power in firing, Alaska panel finds

CBS: Palin Abused Power, Ethics Report Finds
"Troopergate" Probe Finds GOP Vice Presidential Candidate
Unlawfully Abused Authority In Firing State Employee. . .

MSNBC: Probe: Palin abused power
A legislative committee's investigation concludes GOP VP nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her authority. . .

ABC News: Troopergate Report: Palin Abused Her Power

Fox News: Panel: Palin 'Abused Her Power' in Trooper Case

BBC: Palin abused power, probe finds

NPR: Panel: Palin Abused Power Of Office

No matter how McCain spins it, it all comes back to his poor judgment in picking her with an open ethics investigation against her in progress.

Can we repeat? Poor judgment, Poor judgment, Poor judgment.

Obama needs to make that the mantra for the next three weeks.

Let me get this straight.

The report tries to make it look like Palin gave the "First Dude" way too much leeway to pursue his vendetta. So she didn't do anything legally wrong, she just abused the power of the office by not reigning him in.

Give me a break! What a white wash. I think they are letting the First Dude be the fall guy, when it was Palin who truly abused the power of her office.

Whatever. The message is clear. McCain is "Failin with Palin". Game.

Philn,
I laugh out loud every time I read that post. For me, the first sentence is a sort of homage to McCain2008. Pure genius.

Palin says in the race. Her official response blamed the Obama camp. Those socialists in Alaska are out to get her!

CW before today was McCain loses and Palin becomes rising star in Republican party for 2012. Now what
is the CW?

Nothing about Troopergatet on Drudge, of course.

I have never seen him so biased as I have on this campaign.

What we have to make very clear here is that the firing of Monegan and the efforts to get him to fire Wooten are treated as two entirely separate acts in the report.

1. Palin abused her power by trying to get Monegan to fire Wooten. This was a violation of Alaska law in and of itself, irrespective of whether she fired Monegan or not.

2. The firing of Monegan, although it was partially motivated by Monegan's failure to fire Wooten in response to pressure from Palin, was, nonetheless, a legitimate exercise of her authority as governor.

Josh, Greg, David & Co. -- don't let the Repugs get away with their inevitable attempt to cause her innocence on Count 2 to overshadow her guilt on Count 1.

Sarah Palin, the gift that keeps on giving.
Seriously though, if McCain had picked Crist,Huckabee, Romney, Pawlenty, Rice, Powell, or even that idiots Giuliani, this rice in all likelihood would be a lot closer.
So big THANK YOU to the McCain and his team for their abject failure of judgement, and complete lack of strategy and tactics.

Well, Mr. & Mrs. Joe Six-Pack, what do you think of those Palins now? It's the ethics of the thing that comes through immediately. Forget the legalities since that takes time to work out conclusively. No republican will be able to play the ethics card from now to Nov. 4 without reminding everyone of these she-nanigans. Even questionable Dems like Congressman Wm. Jefferson in LA may get a lucky break due to this. Landslide? Do I smell a landslide?

I agree with Lars on his view of the impact of the Alaskan Legislature's report. Unfortunately, this report will not make a big difference because the McCain/Palin campaign is already losing. The report will take away some of the baseless allegations the M/P campaign can raise about Obama because she opens herself up for a return smack-down.

IMHO Palin will return to Alaska after losing in the November election, she will survive an ethics hearing but is a lame duck as Governor. She is done in Alaska politics because she is out of her depth and lacks the basic political science training and experience to really run a large (geographically) state which has a lot of natural resources. The oil/gas people now realize the empress has no clothes and will run roughshod over her.

She has shit on the floor too many times to be given another shot in local politics (unlike McCain, she is not a legacy and her bonehead mistakes have consequences.) McCain cannot and will not help her locally after the election. Sarah will get a job, after resigning as Governor or at the end of her term, with some conservative think tank or as an executive for an oil/gas company. Her rabid, hard core, take no prisoners mentality does have a following in some dark, scary parts of our society.

First Dude will revert to being just "Todd" and will have to earn a living working in the oil & gas field, oh, and tune up the snowmachine for the next Iron Dog run. Start making an honest living dude.

Track Palin, if he is smart, will re-up once or twice until he earns enough credits to join the Blackwater team. Bristol and her baby daddy will get married and he will proceed to cheat on her (or vice versa).

Hey, this story is all over the cable news cycle....NOT.

You know what happens to stories that are released on Friday night of a holiday weekend?

Richard, your a real psychotic freak. Anyway,

Palin was well withing her rights to dismiss Monegan. Senator Hollis French who spearheaded this political smear campaign is a staunch Obama supporter and Walt Monegan and him are close friends. In fact French had stated that he promised his party he would do whatever he could to bring down Palin. Senator Hollis French is also known in Alaska as the "phony soldier" for lying about his so-called service record by falsely stating that he was a Marine. As far as the conclusion of the legislative panel, when questioned stated that its opinion was based on an assumption by the lead investigator. The problem with the investigators case on ethics is that Palin did not negligently or accidentally violate the law or do so for personal gain. This case should have been handled by
the state's personnel board and Palin could now press for a procedure violation suit against the
state.

If Hatch Act violations were criminal nobody would be left in the Bush WH. This is what the Bush administration has been engaging in for the past 8 years. I hope this story stays out front and is picked up my the big Media. If she abuses her power as a small-time governor imagine what she'll feel entitled to do as VP!