Obsessed Anklebiter Files Another Frivolous Ethics Complaint

During an interview with Greta Van Susteren last month, Governor Palin discussed some of the reasons behind her resignation:

Because it was the best thing for the state of Alaska to be able to progress the conservative agenda up there without the distraction that the new normal in Alaskan politics had become where every time I turned around, there was a lawsuit or frivolous ethics violation charge.

And that was prohibiting my administration from doing the work for the people. It was costing the state millions of dollars, thousands of staff hours to fight these frivolous, adversarial, opposition-researcher efforts that were thrown at my administration while I was there.

And I was not going to run again for governor, so instead of hunkering down, quitting, basically, as a governor by sitting behind my desk and not doing anything, not speaking out for fear of having another ethics violation charge, I said no. They're not going to win and we're going to get out there and fight harder for Alaskans, fight harder to Americans by handing the reins over to our lieutenant governor for my last year in office. He'll progress the agenda. I will get out there and fight even harder.

Andree McLeod and her anklebiting allies continue to prove Governor Palin correct.

The Anchorage Daily News reports that McLeod has filed another baseless ethics complaint against Governor Palin. This comes on the heels of a complaint McLeod just filed against some of Governor Palin's former staffers.

Governor Palin's personal attorney, Thomas Van Flein, responded to a previous frivolous complaint filed by McLeod:

This complainant is known to the Administration as a disgruntled patronage job applicant. What is further obvious is that the ethics process continues to be misused for improper purposes, the law mandating confidentiality continues to be violated, and the state will continue to spend money reviewing these types of complaints, with no public good resulting.

Apparently, McLeod took the rejection of her job application as an impetus to file numerous frivolous ethics complaints against the governor and her administration. And as Thomas Van Flein points out, she does so unethically.

McLeod's latest complaint is based on the false premise that the Alaska Fund Trust, a legal fund set up by Kristan Cole to help pay Governor Palin's and some of her former staffers legal debt (incurred fighting anklebiters such as McLeod), was found to be unethical. No such determination has been made, and only the Personnel Board can make that call.

McLeod based her latest complaint on Democrat investigator Thomas Daniel's preliminary report, which was illegally leaked in July. This preliminary report was the first step in a long process. It's also important to note that Daniel found no violation of the Ethics Act, because Governor Palin didn't remove a single penny from the legal defense fund. How can she be in violation of the Ethics Act for something she hasn’t even done yet? She can't.

This latest complaint will surely end in the same manner as McLeod's previous complaints: dismissal. But not after great expense to the citizens of Alaska and to Governor Palin personally. Many people in the lower 48 are unaware of the unique situation in Alaska that allows anybody to file any ethics complaint for any reason at no cost to themselves, while the governor has to personally incur the legal costs to defend him or herself. Kristan Cole explained the situation in an earlier press release:

There is a loophole in Alaska law. Alaskans can file frivolous complaints against the Governor - violate the law and alert the media they are doing so, all the complaints can be dismissed and yet the Governor has to personally pay for representation. Legislators covered themselves with a law that warrants automatic dismissal of a complaint if it is leaked to the public.

Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan has recognized this problem, and we wish him well in his efforts to rectify it.

When Van Susteren asked how Palin would able to deal with these anklebiters on a national scale if she had such trouble with them in Alaska, Governor Palin explained the difference:

PALIN: Is not the same scale, because in Alaska our administration is set up a little bit differently than anywhere else you're going to find in the country or the federal government where the governor is not protected by the department of law when these frivolous ethics violations charges are filed against you. I have to pay personally for the defense, and I am still paying personally for the defense of all the frivolity.

Those charges filed by fake people -- a fake British soap opera actress filed something against me and I am still paying the bill. I am still paying the bill to defend myself against stupid things like that.

That is not going to happen elsewhere because, again, more and more people are realizing that things like that that keep good people away from politics -- people are expecting that kind of change, the ethics reform so that those kinds of actions can't prohibit someone from wanting to serve for the right reasons.

And I do want to serve for the right reasons. I do not know what position it will be, but I will be out there fighting hard, working for everyday, common sense Americans who are sick of things that are going on in the country that really are turning government away from them.

It's becoming more and more, Greta, where the American people are feeling more that they are having to work for the government rather than the government working for them. I want to turn that around in whatever position I can.

Since her political opponents know they can't win on the merit of this ridiculous complaint, they are predictably portraying her as a greedy millionaire who's out to get as much money as she can from her supporters. Nothing could be further from the truth. One of the main purposes of the legal fund is to aid her staff with their legal debt, as well. From the Alaska Fund Trust website (emphasis added):

The Trust Fund is being created to assist the Governor, her family, and staff in paying legal expenses and costs incurred from previous investigations as well as future complaints filed. Her staff is similarly being targeted by these complaints and has also incurred and is incurring significant costs.

As noted above, her former staff members are still being attacked with frivolous ethics complaints as a result of their service in Governor Palin's administration. They have to pay for the legal costs associated with these bogus complaints out of their own pockets. This legal fund was meant to help them as well, but that won't stop Governor Palin's opponents from making fools of themselves in the hopes of damaging her.