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New ethic’s complaint filed against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

By Michael Webster: Investigative Reporter Sept 3, 2008 10:30 AM PDT

New ethic’s complaint is being filed against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin today before the end of the business day. The complaint outlines misconduct by the Gov. and her office staff alleging records where improperly made pubic.

John Cyr of Wasilla, Alaska the Executive Director of Public Safety Employees (PSEA) told the Laguna Journal that “our attorney Steve Sorenson of Juneau Alaska will file the compliant before the end of the business day today.” The grievances will include the illegal release of records of Alaska State Trooper Michael Wooten the former brother-in-law of the governor, according to Mr. Cyr.The police officers' union complaint

Attorney Sorenson said that the filing will be with Alaska State Dept. Of Law ethic’s attorney Judy Bockmon.

In her two executive jobs in Alaska, Palin ousted top law-enforcement officials because they were insufficiently loyal or not malleable enough.

Gov. Sarah Palin

One of those firings has already put Gov. Sarah Palin at the center of an ongoing legislative investigation that presumably will require her to testify about whether she was behind efforts by her husband and senior staff to pressure the state’s public safety commissioner to fire her ex-brother-in-law from the state troopers.

When the commissioner, former Anchorage police chief Walter Monegan, refused to go along, he was summarily ousted by Palin without any explanation.

If Palin did use her government office to punish a personal enemy – or that she fired the public safety commissioner because he refused to join in her family feud – the Republicans may have trouble continuing to sell Palin as a reform-minded governor and may have to dropped her as McCain‘s V.P.

Alaska newspapers and other media say it now appears that Sarah Palin shares the Bush administration's view about putting cronies in key law-enforcement jobs. As mayor of the tiny town of Wasilla 10,000 population and in a state of only about 300,000 folks she managed as mayor and then as governor of Alaska, to fired two top law-enforcement officials when they didn’t show sufficient loyalty or obedience to her.

Ousting the Chief

In 1996, after winning the election to be mayor of Wasilla then with a population of about 5,000, Palin sought to oust six department heads because they had signed a letter supporting the previous mayor, their old boss. Palin ultimately fired two of them, including the police chief.

Wasilla’s ousted police chief, Irl Stambaugh, sued Palin in 1997 for alleged contract violation, wrongful termination and gender discrimination The police chief claimed Palin fired him not for cause but for being disloyal and because he was a man whose size – 6 feet and 200 pounds – intimidated her.

However, a federal judge dismissed Stambaugh’s lawsuit.

So, having escaped any serious damage for punishing Wasilla’s police chief for a supposed lack of political loyalty, Palin had little reason not to throw her weight around when she became Alaska’s governor in December 2006.

By then, Palin was deeply involved in her family’s vendetta against her sister’s ex-husband, trooper Michael Wooten. Through complaints to his superiors, Palin already had helped engineer Wooten’s five-day suspension from the state police earlier in 2006 for various examples of personal misconduct.

In January 2007, a month into Palin’s term, her husband, Todd, invited Palin’s new public safety commissioner Monegan to the governor’s office, where Todd Palin urged Monegan to reopen the Wooten case. After checking on it, Monegan informed Todd Palin that he couldn’t do anything because the case was closed.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Monegan said that a few days later, the governor also called him about the Wooten matter and he gave her the same answer. Monegan said Gov. Palin brought the issue up again in a February 2007 meeting at the state capitol, prompting his warning that she should back off.

However, Monegan said Gov. Palin kept bringing the issue up indirectly through e-mails, such as comparing another bad trooper to “my former brother-in-law, or that trooper I used to be related to.”

Monegan also began getting telephone calls from Palin’s aides about trooper Wooten, including from then-chief of staff Mike Tibbles; Commissioner Annette Kreitzer of the Department of Administration; and Attorney General Talis Colberg.

Questioning ‘the Process’

Colberg acknowledged making the call, after an inquiry from Todd Palin about “the process” for handling a threatening trooper, and then relaying back the response from Monegan that the issue had been handled and nothing more could be done.

Monegan also told the Post that he warned each caller about the risk of exposing the state to legal liability if Wooten filed a lawsuit.

However, Todd Palin continued collecting evidence against Wooten and lobbying for his dismissal. The governor’s husband acknowledged giving Wooten’s boss, Col. Audie Holloway, photos of Wooten driving a snowmobile while he was out of work on a worker’s compensation claim.

Alaska’s Deputy Attorney General Michael Barnhill told the Post that a member of the governor’s staff, personnel director Diane Kiesel, also made at least one call to Col. Holloway about the snowmobile incident. [Washington Post, Aug. 31, 2008]

On July 11, 2008, Palin abruptly fired Monegan, saying only that she wanted to take the public safety department in a different direction.

Monegan then went public with his account of the mounting campaign against Wooten from the governor’s family and staff. Monegan told the Anchorage Daily News that Todd Palin showed him the work of a private investigator, who had been hired by the family to dig into Wooten’s life and who was accusing the trooper of various misdeeds, such as drunk driving and child abuse.

Though Palin insisted she wasn’t involved in the pressure campaign, a review by the Attorney General’s office found that half a dozen state officials had made about two dozen phone calls regarding Wooten.

A tape recording of one conversation – between Palin’s chief of boards and commissions Frank Bailey and police Lt. Rodney Dial in February 2008 – revealed Bailey saying, “Todd and Sarah are scratching their heads, ‘Why on earth … is this guy still representing the department?’”

Expanded Investigation

On Aug. 2, the state legislature launched its own investigation into whether Palin “used her public office to settle a private score.” A bipartisan panel appointed special prosecutor Steve Branchflower to investigate and report back in a few months.

After Palin learned of Branchflower’s appointment, she questioned whether the investigation would be fair and objected to a comment from Democratic state Sen. Hollis French about the possibility that the case might lead to the governor’s impeachment.

Palin’s spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said, "Publicly elevating this to 'impeachment' raises doubts as to how fair a process some senators may intend for this to be." [Anchorage Daily News, Aug. 2, 2008]

Palin talks about Bailey's call

Gov. Sarah Palin talks about the phone call her aide, Frank Bailey, made to a trooper lieutenant, pressuring him to fire a state trooper.

 

Audio: Phone call from Palin aide to troopers

 

VIDEO

Kopp resigns

Public Safety Commissioner Charles Kopp announces he is stepping down after just two weeks on the job, citing scrutiny of a 2005 sexual harassment complaint.

 

Video: Palin's statement about Kopp's resignation

 

SECTION

Gov. Sarah Palin

Get past and current coverage of Alaska's Governor as she battles to become the next vice president.

 

Photo galleries

Reader-submitted Palin photos

Comments

No wonder Sarah Palin's so touchy about any digging into her past performance. Kudos to the Laguna Journal for keeping voters informed.
I found it interesting that regarding her stance on hunting the polar bears, environmentalists have nicknamed her the "Killa from Wasilla"

s. langley (Thursday, September 04, 2008 8:44 PM)

I'd warn you to be careful, you might actually be accused of doing your job by reporting this... I mean, accused of being sexist.

deliziosa orlando, florida (Thursday, September 04, 2008 8:44 PM)

Mike Wooten has been publicly proclaimed by Palin and by republican spinners as "a very bad man".  I wonder if he really is.  If not, does he have any protection from slander by the governor? He must be feeling mighty uncomfortable.

Lynne Greco Quincy, Florida (Thursday, September 04, 2008 8:46 PM)

"When you're a real reformer like Sarah Palin, who isn't afraid to take on entrenched political interests, scurrilous attacks and empty allegations come with the territory."

What kind of comment is that?

She was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it.  She asked for record levels of earmarks while mayor of Walissa.  As givenor, Alaska has been distinguished as receiving the highest per capita level of federal earmarks in the nation.

This narrative is B.S.

Scott Wahlstrom, Jefferson, MA (Thursday, September 04, 2008 9:33 PM)

Sounds like a non-story. Much more interesting to find out about the college hopping -- go fish, guys!

John Doe, Seattle, Wash. (Thursday, September 04, 2008 9:47 PM)

hey he signed the paper!

besides if he were a cop in my town i would want him fired also.

air (Thursday, September 04, 2008 9:52 PM)

This just amazes me how the "maverick" chose to pick someone that the base demanded of him and now they are both paying for it. Instead, John could have truly changed the Republican Party, but, alas...

PJ, Alaska (Thursday, September 04, 2008 10:09 PM)

I'm just tickled pink to hear that Sarah Palin is a reformer who is taking on "entrenched political interests," including, presumably, the Republican administration that has been entrenched in Washington for the past eight years.  It's nice to know that the Republicans are finally ready to throw the Republicans out of office.

R. Willis, Manvel, Texas (Thursday, September 04, 2008 10:19 PM)

To me, the GOP spin on Palin is embarrassing - they're trying to push so hard to make her into some miraculous 'reformer,' when her record clearly establishes heavy use of earmarks, support for Ted Stevens, and Cheney-like use of the levers of power (as in this troopergate case). The reformer tag doesn't ring true to me at all - wish the GOP would focus more on issues that matter to ordinary people and less on pushing their talking points.

Tom, Ohio (Thursday, September 04, 2008 10:23 PM)

Its very interesting how logical scenarios against a republican candidate is a scurrilous attack.  However if you are a democratic candidate, you are crucified just by association.  Also, if you do not wish for your dirty family laundry to be aired in the public eye.  Try not to prance your family around as a model, picturesque "Holier than though" family.

KD, Winston-Salem, NC (Thursday, September 04, 2008 10:32 PM)

I truly hope we get to the bottom of this. Based on reports in the Anchorage Daily News, Wooten was reprimanded for his offenses BEFORE Palin became Governor. It was Gov. Palin who sought to re-open the case AFTER it had already been closed. She put pressure on Monegan to "see what he could do" and he repeatedly told her the case was closed, and that was that. After becoming increasingly frustrated, she came up with an excuse, and fired him.

After watching her catty, disrespectful speech last night, is it any surprise that she likes to throw her weight around (unethically) as Governor?

Leigh, Austin, Texas (Thursday, September 04, 2008 10:38 PM)

You guys are really getting to a new low to stoop to digging this kind of mud up and printing it.

John Davis, Clipper Mills, Ca (Thursday, September 04, 2008 10:50 PM)

Seems like the usual mudslinging propeganda to me! Whenever there is a real leader that lives as an example there will always be someone trying to silince them in whatever form they can. Its a shame that people would stoop so low....never mind that the behaviour of the trooper in question has been documented. Seems to me if you are already in hole...you should stop digging!

J Smith Joshua, Texas (Thursday, September 04, 2008 10:51 PM)

 

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