Court Smacks Andree McLeod For Frivolous Lawsuit

The anklebiters in Alaska have attacked Sarah Palin on a number of ridiculous grounds, many of which we have chronicled here at C4P. For example, see here and here. One of the more common accusations has been that somehow Governor Palin's reliance on Todd Palin as a close advisor was illegal or unethical. Indeed, one of the memes the LSM made is that Todd Palin was the "shadow Governor" or something simply because he provided input and guidance to his wife. Of course, the same lunatics making the accusation never questioned Hillary Clinton's close advisory relationship with President (and Governor) Clinton, and completely ignores the policy role Michelle Obama currently plays. Indeed the MSM has even gone so far as to say Michelle Obama "will join her husband in a partnership widely expected to transform the public face America presents to the world". As usual logic, decency and common sense are nonexistent on the left, and a recent court ruling confirms that.

The Court's verdict has fully vindicated Todd Palin's role as a close advisor and First Gentleman or, as we've come to know him, First Dude of Alaska. None other than serial ankle-biter Andree McLeod and her left-wing attorney Donald Mitchell (whom the court chastised in subsequent footnotes for multiple rule violations), claimed that by copying Todd Palin in any government related email, the Office of the Governor "waived" the deliberative process privilege and that therefore all the emails should be publicly released.

Not surprisingly, The Court didn't buy this absurd argument and, in meticulously reviewing Alaska law, federal law, and the common law, resoundingly rejected Mitchell and McLeod's meritless arguments. They even went so far as to say that McLeod's team "ignored reality and common sense." Readers here have known for some time that the left in general, and these moronic anklebiters in particular, routinely "ignore reality and common sense". but rarely will you find a published court order confirming that as a matter of law. We will be framing this Court Order at the C4P headquarters, and perhaps selling commemorative coins to mark the occasion. The Court concluded that "common sense and Federal law require finding that Todd Palin could properly have acted as an advisor to the Governor."

How many thousands of dollars did McLeod and Mitchell cause the state to waste defending another frivolous law suit? Will the State of Alaska ask the Court to have the cost it incurred for defending itself against this latest frivolous case reimbursed. It's apparent to any fair minded person that the spouse of the governor historically provides guidance and advice to the governor. Not just Governor Palin's spouse, but the spouses of myriad governors before her, not just in Alaska but all other states as well. This most recent case by the deranged Andree McLeod and her useful idiot lawyer demonstrates exactly what happens when common sense, common decency and common law take a backseat to obsession and blind hatred. Read the entire ruling here.

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Judge Rules Against Serial Anklebiter. Again.

The Associated Press reports that Alaska Superior Court Judge Patrick McKay has denied serial anklebiter Andree McLeod's request that he reconsider his "ruling that state law doesn't forbid the use of private e-mail accounts to conduct state business."

More background on the case can be found here.

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Serial Anklebiter Refuses to Let Go

Serial anklebiter Andree McLeod plans to ask an Alaska judge to reconsider his ruling that "state law doesn't forbid the use of private e-mail accounts to conduct state business," according to the Associated Press. Her attorney claims he might take the case all the way to the Alaska Supreme Court.

This comes after an August 2009 ruling by Superior Court Judge Jack W. Smith that "there is no provision in Alaska state law that prohibits the use of private e-mail accounts when conducting state business," and Friday's ruling by Superior Court Judge Patrick McKay. Judge McKay's ruling...

... among other things, [said] that "not all emails relating to state business are necessarily public records, and that the "use of private email accounts to conduct state business does not -- in and of itself -- violate state law."

McLeod, as you may recall, has spent the last few years filing frivolous ethics complaints, deluging the Alaska state government with FOIA requests that don't actually provide useful information to the public, melting down in public, wasting taxpayers' money, and obsessing over Sarah Palin. The Associated Press describes her as an "activist". That's not activism, AP, that's anklebiting.

Daniel summed things up about McLeod back in August:

You may recall that Andree McLeod was denied a position in Governor Palin's administration. Apparently she took this rejection as an impetus to file numerous frivolous ethics complaints and the above mentioned lawsuit against the governor and her administration. The outcome of this lawsuit follows the same pattern as her ethics complaints: McLeod publicizes her complaints with great fanfare, and then they are summarily dismissed.

Get a real job, Ms. McLeod.

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Palin Vindicated Again: APOC Rules Disclosures Compliant With State Law

Yesterday, the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) "unanimously ruled in favor of Governor Palin and concluded that Governor Sarah Palin's APOC disclosures were compliant with state law and rejected the assertion that the disclosure information about the Arctic Cat sponsorship for Todd Palin was insufficient," according to a press release from Palin's attorney Thomas Van Flein.

The ADN's story on this is here. It does not have a prominent place on their home page like so many of the ethics related stories did when the complaints were filed. Strange.

You can find background on this here and here, but to sum it up:

On her [2008] financial disclosure, Governor Palin revealed that her husband Todd, who is a sponsored snowmachine racer, had received a unspecified discount from his sponsor on the machines he uses for racing. Ethics anklebiters Linda Kellen Biegel and Andree McLeod pestered the Alaska Public Offices Commission to ask Governor Palin to specify the exact amount of the discount.

Linda Kellen Biegel's assertion to APOC that the disclosures about Todd Palin's Arctic Cat sponsorship were insufficient followed on the heels of her infamous Arctic Cat jacket ethics complaint. Van Flein points out in his press release that "[t]hat complaint was also dismissed as meritless."

You can read the entire press release here.

*Bumped

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Palin Files Financial Disclosures, Lists $1.25 Million 'Retainer' for Book; Updated

Sarah Palin's final financial disclosure for her time as governor has been filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. The forms cover the period from January 1, 2009 to July 26, 2009 when Palin stepped down as governor of Alaska.

In the disclosure, Palin says that she received $1.25 million from HarperCollins, the publisher of Going Rogue, as "retainer for book." The forms provide no other details on the book deal, but it's likely that, when all is said and done, the governor will earn quite a bit more than the $1.25 million advance she had received as of July 26th. Meg Stapleton, the governor's spokesperson, gave this quote about the book deal to the Anchorage Daily News:

The Governor has complied with Alaska disclosure law by her filing yesterday. Now, as a private citizen, her business dealings, including her publishing agreement, are confidential.

The disclosure lists only two debts over $1,000: a home loan and legal fees incurred fighting the anklebiters as governor.

The forms also list a number of gifts, including tickets to a Yankees game for Governor Palin, Todd Palin, and Willow Palin worth $4,250. The tickets were a gift from Rudy Guiliani. You might recall that David Letterman made some very inappropriate comments in relation to that game.

You can read the full disclosure here.

Update by Mel: In his piece on this at the ADN's political blog, Sean Cockerham says that:

Palin also reports in the disclosures that she took out a home loan from Wells Fargo for "legal fees to fight false allegations while governor."

However, in the disclosure forms, the home loan is listed on a separate line from the governor's legal debt. On one line Wells Fargo is listed as the lender for a "home loan" for both Sarah and Todd Palin. On a separate line Governor Palin lists "legal fees to fight false allegations while governor" as the explanation for a debt she owes to the law firm of Clapp, Peterson, Van Flein, Tiemessen & Thorsness, LLC. This would seem to indicate that the two debts are not related.

Click to enlarge.

In addition, the governor has listed Wells Fargo as the lender for a home loan for both herself and her husband on previous disclosure forms, dating back several years. See here, here here, here, here, and here.

It seems clear that the home loan listed in her most recent disclosure is the same one that Governor Palin has been reporting for the past several years, and not an additional home loan taken out to pay off her legal debt.

Update II by Mel: Mr. Cockerham's full story is now up on the ADN's main page, and says only that:

Palin also reported debt for "legal fees to fight false allegations while governor."

The line has been removed, without explanation, from Mr. Cockerham's original post at the ADN's political blog.

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McLeod Has a Meltdown; Personnel Board Denies Appeals of Dismissed Ethics Charges Against Gov. Palin

While attending a Personnel Board meeting in Anchorage yesterday, Alaska anklebiter Andree Mcleod seems to have had a complete meltdown. From the ADN:

Today’s meeting of the state personnel board offered no shortage of melodrama, with board member Al Tamagni telling Andree McLeod to “just keep bitching” and threatening to sue her.

It started after McLeod, who has had her ethics complaints against Sarah Palin dismissed by the personnel board, tore into the board during the time set aside for the public to speak.

“For anyone to even criticize a person like myself who wants to file complaints and does so and then call me a serial complainer and then complain about the cost? What is the cost of corruption? What is the cost of the culture of corruption that you are now complicit in, of the Palin/Parnell administration. Can you answer that Al?” McLeod told the board.

McLeod went on, declaring that the board is a joke and is dedicated to defending public officials rather than serving the public. Tamagni broke in at one point, saying “just keep bitching, Andree.”

He later told McLeod that “it appears like you have a personal vendetta.”

“How dare you, how dare you, Al.” McLeod angrily responded. “How dare you. For the personnel board to even say that, a personnel board member.”

You may recall that Andree McLeod was denied a position in Governor Palin's administration. Apparently she took this rejection as an impetus to file numerous frivolous ethics complaints against the governor and her administration. She discussed some of these complaints in a recent interview with Grace Jang:



After accusing a board member of corruption without any evidence, McLeod had to be warned about her disruptive behavior:

Board chair Debra English then threatened to call security (she didn’t), saying McLeod was not acting professionally.

"How offensive, Debra, this is offensive, how offensive you are,” McLeod said at the threat to call security. “The culture of corruption continues.”

After McLeod's embarrassing performance, the board was able to accomplish some business, much to her dismay:

Later in the meeting, the personnel board denied appeals -- including by McLeod -- of dismissed ethics complaints.

Among the appeals denied was one from Linda Kellen Biegel:

There is much more to tell...I haven't even touched on the whole part of the meeting about Arctic Cat...they refused to reopen the case.

Yes, you read that correctly. Ms. Kellen Biegel appealed the dismissal of her ridiculous complaint that Governor Palin wore a coat.

Update: Al Tamagni defended his integrity in the face of reckless accusations from an obsessed smear merchant. Go over to the ADN and show him some support. Don't allow good people to be bullied by people with destructive agendas.

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AP: Ethics Complaint Against Palin's Former Aide Dismissed

From the AP:

An ethics complaint against a top aide of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been dismissed as lacking merit.

The complaint was dismissed last week by Alaska's deputy attorney general, Craig Tillery. It alleged that former press secretary Bill McAllister worked on state time to benefit Palin's interest during and after her quest as the GOP vice presidential candidate.

A report from the state Department of Law recommending dismissal of the complaint concluded that no evidence was found that state ethics law was violated.

The grievance was among six filed against Palin or her staff by Anchorage resident Andree McLeod. Five have been dismissed, and one is pending.

McLeod calls the latest dismissal "yet again, more whitewash."

(H/T kjanlady)

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Reflections on the Case of Mark Sanford

Today, South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer held a news conference to call on Mark Sanford, the state's embattled governor, to resign from office. In order to show that his call for Gov. Sanford's resignation is not born out of self-interest, Lt. Gov. Bauer announced that he will not run for governor in 2010 if Gov. Sanford does in fact resign.

Bauer said that he tried to give the governor the benefit of the doubt after he admitted to having a yearlong affair with an Argentine woman; however, Bauer said that questions raised from The Associated Press' investigations over the legality of Sanford's travel have paralyzed the state.

"(The scandal) makes it impossible to solve the problems in our state without a change in leadership," Bauer said.

Bauer said he worries that calls for Sanford's impeachment will dominate next year's legislative session, instead of issues like the economy and job creation. He said that if the Sanford does not resign, the legislature must act quickly to impeach the Republican governor.

"We must all put the best interest of South Carolina first," Bauer said. "Several members of the general assembly have asked him to do the right thing."

It's a long fall for a man once considered a possible running mate for John McCain last year, and a serious presidential contender in 2012, and it doesn't seem to be getting any shorter—as much as anything, because Sanford just doesn't seem to be able to let go and accept the full consequences of his actions. He reminds me of Pete Rose, actually (though not as scummy). Mike Schmidt made a telling comment recently about Rose:

If it were me, and I had lived a lie for 14 years, and I went up to tell the commissioner that I was sincerely sorry for what I've done to my family, to the sport, etc., I probably would be back in baseball now and in the Hall of Fame—because I would have been a tremendously remorseful individual. And I would have felt the burden of that the rest of my life, in everything that I did. And I would have, in my travels, been a totally different person.

My lifestyle would have changed. I would have felt an obligation to change and to become someone that the baseball world would once again learn to love after forgiving me. I would have been that guy. And I don't think Pete has been.

So far, Gov. Sanford hasn't been that guy either. Had he been willing to confess, step down, take it like a man, and actually take the time to put his life back together to where it really was what he had always presented it to be, his political life would probably already be in the recovery phase; after all, that sort of behavior is so rare among prominent politicians, it would have impressed a lot of people. But instead, he's trying to hang onto everything he possibly can with both fists, and all he's doing is making matters worse for himself in the long term. As a result, in the long term, Mark Sanford will matter most in this country as a cautionary tale of how you just never know with politicians, and how they can always let you down.

That doesn't mean, though, that they always will; there are those who are honorable and faithful, people of true character who can be trusted to keep their word if they give it. The hard part is separating them out from the gifted liars who've internalized Groucho Marx's crack that sincerity is the key, and if you can fake that, you've got it made; and the only way to make that separation is to let time, exposure and opposition do their work. The great difference between Barack Obama and John McCain last November wasn't ideological, because Sen. McCain doesn't have an ideology; the great difference was that, for good or ill, we knew who Sen. McCain is, because over the years it's all been made very, very clear—but we really didn't have a clue about Sen. Obama. That's why there are such an astonishingly large number of people (for this early in his term) coming out and expressing regret for voting for the guy: he isn't who they let themselves believe him to be.

Now, take this truth, and as we approach the first anniversary of Sarah Palin's elevation to the national stage, look back in the light of this truth at the battles she's had to fight this past year. Look back at the PDSers and the plague of anklebiters, the oppo researchers parachuted into Wasilla and the media misrepresentations, and ask: What have they really done? Have they destroyed her? No; they've managed to convince a lot of people who would never have voted for her anyway, and they've planted concerns in the minds of a lot of potential supporters, but they haven't done any damage she can't undo, given time and exposure. What they have managed to do, though, is to establish pretty clearly that even given the combined efforts of thousands of motivated people backed by all the money they need for all the digging they want to do, there's simply no real dirt to be dug up on Sarah Palin.

In other words, all they've managed by their efforts is to demonstrate that they can't bring Gov. Palin down with the truth, because they've had to resort to lies, invented stories, misrepresentations, and unjustified charges. I don't think most people who looked at her in an unbiased fashion had any doubts that she is who she presents herself to be, but at this point I think we can take that as proven—because if she weren't, we'd have heard about it by now. (And oh boy, would we have heard about it.) If she had had any real skeletons in her closet, they'd have been out of the closet and line dancing on the front lawn of the Juneau statehouse long since. In short, no one needs to worry that Gov. Palin is going to pull a Sanford on us, or that she's a fake, or that she will in any way prove to be not substantially what we thought she was, because the likes of Celtic Diva, Andree McLeod, David Axelrod and the ADN have done yeoman work for us in ruling out that possibility—not that that's what they intended to do, but it's what they've accomplished.

The intensity of Gov. Palin's exposure and of the opposition she's faced has made this clear in record time: she is, truly, one of the honorable and faithful people in our politics, one of those of true character who can be trusted to keep their word if they give it. And for that, we may give thanks.

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Andree McLeod Still Obsessed

One of my remaining guilty pleasures is scanning the articles and comments at the Anchorage Daily News...in spite of their coming traffic crash. I'm admittedly curious at what will happen to the all dedicated trolls in the comments there, who have spent so much effort attacking Governor Palin in Alaska. Where will they go?

In the process, I noticed that Saint Andree McLeod is still going strong with her ethics complaint hobby.

Back on July 15th, I happened to catch an Andree McLeod interview with KTVA reporter Grace Jang. I asked KTVA to put the video up on their website - it took a while, but they finally did so a few days ago. Take a gander and tell me if this sets off your "creepy stalker" vibe:



Gotta love the stacks and boxes of documents. And all she could come up with were six bogus ethics complaints, all of which have so far been dismissed?

And she's in debt over this? That's just sad.

UPDATE: (h/t narciso) Hmmm. McLeod seems to have a rather shady ethics background herself.

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Anti-Palin Alinsky Tactics Spread to Lower 48: Frivolous Ethics Complaint Filed Against Michele Bachmann

From Emily Kaiser:

Three Minnesota bloggers filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Michele Bachmann this week, claiming the Republican violated House franking rules in an email to constituents.

[...]

Commenters on MNPublius have tried to call out the bloggers for a purely partisan move, saying it is politics as usual.

UPDATE by RAM: The whole country is now Chicago.

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Palin Camp Shoots Down Ridiculous Divorce Rumors Spread by CNN Stringer Dennis Zaki

From Governor Palin's Facebook page:

Yet again, some so-called journalists have decided to make up a story. There is no truth to the recent “story” (and story is the correct term for this type of fiction) that the Palins are divorcing. The Palins remain married, committed to each other and their family, and have not purchased land in Montana (last week it was reported to be Long Island).

Less than one week ago, Governor Palin asked the media to “quit making things up.” We appreciate that the more professional journalists decided to question this story before repeating it.

Meg Stapleton

The release is in response to a ludicrous rumor being spread by Alaskan CNN stringer Dennis Zaki. Zaki, who previously bought into rumors of Trig Truth, picked up these allegations from the same source - the rabidly anti-Palin, Trig Truth-espousing anonymous blogger "Gryphen" of the blog "Immoral Minority". Gryphen is a friend of Zaki's, along with fellow Team Truth members Shannyn Moore, Phil Munger, and "AKMuckraker" of the Mudflats.

The rumor was already being picked up and spread around the echo chamber of the Alaskan Team Truther blogs...not only by Zaki, but by fellow Trig Truther "Doctor Phil" Munger of Progressive Alaska.

Sounds like the Palins are cutting these rumors off at the knees. Good for them.

UPDATE by RAM: So, let me understand the "story" according to Zaki and other "journalists"...

At the beginning of the month, Zaki reported that Gov. Palin was being investigated by the FBI and was going to jail. That turned out to be false. Last week, the ADN reported that Gov. Palin was moving to the Hamptons. That turned out to be false. Today, Zaki reports that Gov. Palin is moving to Montana after throwing her wedding ring into Lake Lucille. That turns out to be false.

They are reporting blatant lies. Quit making things up!

UPDATE by Tim: Welcome, Hot Air readers! And thank you to Allahpundit for helping to spread the word on the debunking of this vicious rumor.

UPDATE II by Tim: Great point by Ace:

Thankfully... The Palins put out a statement.

Because the thing is this is the sort of story that's spreading on the lefty blogs, and then it gets pushed into the comments of other blogs, and then it leaves a Nice Innocent Good-Intended Helluva Guy like me not knowing what to do-- do I inform people of what is being claimed on the internet, but at the risk of spreading what seems to be a dubious scam? Or do I censor it, where people then debate it in the comments (they've all seen it) but I pretend on the main page I'm oblivious to it?

Anyway, with the denial out there, not big thing in mentioning it.

UPDATE III by Tim: Thank heavens the Palin camp was ready to kill this immediately, because it was spreading beyond Alaska. Christopher Weber at Politics Daily was jumping on this rumor too. (Update - it's been sent down the memory hole and I unfortunately didn't cache it...Tim)

UPDATE IV by Tim: CNN stringer Dennis Zaki claims in his "report" that the Palins were not speaking to each other at the Fairbanks ceremony. Here are a couple of pics, hat tip to Rachael in the comments:


In regards to her not wearing her wedding ring while shaking hands at the Alaskan picnics, check out this quote from the Christian Science Monitor:

“My wedding ring, it’s in Todd’s pocket cause it hurts sometimes when I shake hands and it gets squished,” Palin told a crowd in Tampa, Florida. “A $35 wedding ring from Hawaii that I bought myself …’cause I always thought with my ring, it’s not what it’s made of, it’s what it represents and 20 years later, happy to wear it.”

Video (h/t defendAmerica in the comments):



Another UPDATE: The libel is being repeated by Alaskan blogger AKMuckraker, both at her blog and the Huffington Post.

UPDATE by Mel: Last Saturday in Anchorage:



ANOTHER UPDATE by Tim: Politico lies:

Actually, no journalists had reported the allegations. They were made on an Alaskan blog called “The Immoral Minority,” and then repeated on other blogs, including Gawker, a well-trafficked New York gossip site.

Please note above that Zaki calls himself a stringer for CNN - i.e. a "journalist". Also, note that Meg Stapleton wrote: "We appreciate that the more professional journalists decided to question this story before repeating it." It sounds like she was getting inquiries about this from other news outlets. In other words, the statement was to put those inquiries to rest.

The story already appeared on Politics Daily and was scrubbed. It was clearly spreading like wildfire.

More: I call B.S. on both Politico and Tommy Christopher here. They say that the rumors would have been given no attention without the statement from Meg Stapleton:

Politico:

By having her spokeswoman repeat the charges to rebut them in a public form, Palin effectively guaranteed coverage from the mainstream media that otherwise would not report claims attributed to unnamed sources on an anonymous blog.

Tommy Christopher:

OK, Sarah, listen to me. You ignored my very nice open letter, but this is important. You have to fire Meg Stapleton, or give her something easier to do. There are no “so-called journalists” reporting this rumor, but now, they’ll all get to report Stapleton’s denial on your behalf.

Hello!!!! Look above! Let's leave aside the fact that MSM outlets were obviously grilling Meg Stapleton about the divorce rumors. Not only is Dennis Zaki a CNN journalist, but these idiots report blog rumors all the time! Trig Truth, book banning, rape kits, name it! Then they leak upwards from the bottom-feeding blogs into the more respectable blogs, and from there into the MSM. Ignoring this crap doesn't work...if the Palin folks have learned anything, it's that. Keep fighting, Meg!

Update by JR: Mr. Martin claims:

By having her spokeswoman repeat the charges to rebut them in a public form, Palin effectively guaranteed coverage from the mainstream media that otherwise would not report claims attributed to unnamed sources on an anonymous blog.

Was Mr. Martin around during the campaign? The rules are different when it comes to the media covering Governor Palin. Mr. Martin, do you remember this?

- Palin banned books.
- Palin said that she believed that dinosaurs and humans co-existed.
- Palin charged victims for rape kits
- Trig Palin is not the governor's son.

And where did all of these things, among others, originate? Blogs, usually with unnamed sources.

Flashback to the early days of Palin's arrival on the national stage during the campaign. The New York Times ran the first hit-piece on Governor Palin, here is a quote:

And four months ago, a Wasilla blogger, Sherry Whitstine, who chronicles the governor’s career with an astringent eye, answered her phone to hear an assistant to the governor on the line, she said.

Sherry Whitstine certainly has a name, but she is not to be trusted as a credible source. Yet, the New York Times felt the need to use her. Why? Because the subject of their article was Governor Palin, and the rules are different for her.

Whitstine once sent us a piece of hate email in which she described the governor as, "the whore that rides the beast." Whitstine is also not above spreading malicious rumors about the Palin family.

Is Mr. Martin saying that because Whitstine is not an "unnamed source," she can therefore be trusted? Mr. Martin's comment above shows just how low the media has set its standards when it comes to reporting on Governor Palin.

UPDATE II by RAM: Conservative Comeback has a great post explaining why Meg Stapleton's statement was necessary:

Palin is one of the few conservative politicians that seems to understand the internet. Many people now get their news from the internet. These rumors start on the blogs, work their way into comment sections of msm news stories, and eventually get reported on. Martin's line that "msm otherwise wouldn not report claims based on anonymous blogs" is ridiculous. Part of the deal with the msm exposing itself during the campaign is that it can no longer be given the benefit of the doubt. If this had gone unanswered MSNBC would have a countdown clock Monday morning to the supposed date of Palins divorce. By addressing this rumor it does guarantee msm coverage...ON PALIN'S TERMS.

Sarah saw how the McCain campaign (specifically Steve Schmidt) handled internet rumors during the campaign. The whisper campaign by the left wing blogs went unanswered, then seeped into the msm, and by then it was too late. People couldn't differentiate fact from fiction. Was she a book banner? Did she join a secession movement? Is Trig really her baby?

Read the rest here.

UPDATE III by RAM: Robert Stacy McCain came by an exclusive quote from the governor that he got from a source close to her:

My own source, while not yet authorized to speak for attribution, stated categorically that the reports are utterly without basis in fact, and that the Palins had no idea what caused them. Official statements from the Palins are expected soon, denying the claim.

RSM's source claims that the governor said:

"Divorce Todd? Have you seen Todd? I may be just a renegade hockey mom, but I'm not blind!"

RSM is having a lot of fun slapping around Dennis Zaki. Check out his post here at the American Spectator Blog. It's vintage RSM.

UPDATE by Mel: From Melissa Clouthier (via Dan Riehl):

Really, I figure the blogs and press will get more vicious, the more Sarah Palin goes around them. I love that she issued a denial through Facebook. I love that they’re irritated that she hasn’t even Tweeted for a week. They need headlines! Can’t they see that by stepping down and using alternative new media outlets, the press is deprived of the circulation numbers a woman like her generates?

The solution, then, is to make stuff up. And on the day she resigned, she chided the press for making stuff up. The press got offended. So, they make more stuff up and prove her point. If it weren’t so pathetic, it would be comical.

More here.

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UPDATED: Latest Ethics Nonsense: AP Gets It Wrong; Governor Palin Responds

Rachel D'Oro of the Associated Press has a story on Kim Chatman's ethics complaint about the Alaska Fund Trust with a big, splashy headline: "Palin implicated in ethics probe."*

The practical effect of the ruling on Palin will be more financial than anything else. The report recommends that Palin refuse to accept payment from the defense fund, and that the complaint be resolved without a formal hearing before the Alaska Personnel Board.

However, it seems that the report "obtained" by the AP is not the final one from the Personnel Board. The governor just tweeted:

Re inaccurate story floating re:ethics violation/Legal Defense Fund;matter is still pending;new info was just requested even;no final report

And this was just posted on Gov. Palin's Facebook page:

I cannot verify the validity of this claim. There is no final report. The Investigator is still confidentially reviewing this matter. It appears suspect that in the final days of the Governor's term, someone would again violate the law and announce a supposed conclusion before it is reached.

Meghan Stapleton
Palin Spokesperson

UPDATE: The report via the ADN. Of note on the last page (text is bolded in the original):

However, this decision is confidential pursuant to AS 39.52.340, unless confidentiality is waived by the governor.

Given the governor's tweet and Meg Stapleton's statement, it seems pretty clear that confidentiality was not waived by the governor.

UPDATE II: From the governor's Facebook page:

"The resolution of the Trust Fund is not final. I have been working with the investigator regarding supplemental information. The matter is still pending. Whatever you have seen was released in violation of law. There has been no Board finding of an ethics violation and there is a detailed legal process to follow before there is a final resolution."

Thomas Van Flein
Private Attorney for Sarah Palin

UPDATE III: From the AP story:

John Coale, a Washington lawyer who helped set up the fund, called the probable cause finding "crazy," adding that if upheld, it would mean that no governor could ever defend themselves against frivolous ethics complaints.

"If this complaint is true, there's no way to defend yourself" as governor, Coale said. "Anybody can keep filing ethics complaints and drive someone out of office even if you're a nut."

Coale said that unlike other states, Alaska's governor has no legal counsel's office to defend the governor from allegations brought against the governor in her official capacity.

Coale said he recommended creation of the legal defense fund, a common practice in Washington. The Web site for the Palin fund cites similar accounts created for Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and other prominent politicians.

UPDATE IV: From the governor's Facebook page:

"All options are open in terms of legal remedies. It is a clear violation of Alaska law that Mr. Daniel explicitly reviewed with Ms. Chatman prior to her illegal actions. We will be contacting the appropriate authorities for review and action."

Thomas Van Flein
Private Attorney for Sarah Palin

UPDATE V: From Thomas Daniel's report:

In sum, I find probable cause to believe that payment of the governor's legal fees by the Alaska Fund Trust will violate the Ethics Act prohibition against a public officer accepting gifts intended to influence performance of official duties.

You'll notice that Daniel found no violation because no payment has been made. Governor Palin hasn't accessed any of the money from the Alaska Fund Trust. Daniel also made an interesting recommendation as to how Governor Palin can pay for the cost of the frivolous complaints that have been dismissed:

I also recommend that she seek reimbursement from the state for the cost of defending the ethics complaints that have been dismissed.

*The AP changed the headline for their story. It now reads: "Investigator rules against Palin in ethics probe."

UPDATE VI: In the comments, howIroll explains why the AP's new headline is inaccurate and misleading:

That new headline by AP is equally misleading. The investigator doesn't "rule" on anything. He's like a prosecutor in a criminal case (although an ethics complaint is in NO WAY criminal). He investigates an alleged violation or "offense" and issues a report or "summons." It only ALLEGES a violation---it is in no way dispositive. Basically he is suggesting that the Personnel Board take the matter up for hearing (like a magistrate finding probable cause and then certifying a case to the Grand Jury). ONLY the investigator's findings are contained in his report; there is no evidence from the Governor's team. Once her team gets the report, they have an opportunity to assess it for proper application of the law, complete and accurate fact finding, etc. The governor's team can then gather their evidence and questions and approach the investigator who can then review her materials and evidence and either amend/modify his report or stand on his original findings and pass the matter onto the Personnel Board for HEARING (trial). The Board may either hold a hearing (call witnesses, etc. as in a "trial) and issue a ruling OR vote to dismiss as a matter of law upon a motion filed and subsequent argument by the Governor's attorney.

As Mr. Van Flein indicated, this report is but a first step in a very long process, just as a summons is the first step in a very long trial process. There are "miles to go" before there is any "ruling," which would be done by the Board, not an investigator.

UPDATE by RAM: It is being incorrectly reported that Gov. Palin was found to have violated the Ethics Act. This is a complete lie! All you have to do is read the report:

In addition, my role as independent counsel for the personnel board is only to decide whether there is probable cause to believe a violation of the Ethics Act has occurred – not to reach a definitive conclusion. See AS 39.52.320. The ultimate determination of whether the governor has violated the Ethics Act can only be made by the personnel board after a formal heating and a report by the hearing officer. See AS 39.52.360-370.

In sum, I find probable cause to believe that payment of the governor’s legal fees by the Alaska Fund Trust will violate the Ethics Act prohibition against a public officer accepting gifts intended to influence performance of official duties.

[...]

I can recommend that corrective action be taken to resolve this complaint without the necessity of a formal hearing on the matter. See AS 39.52.330. My recommendation is that the governor should refuse to accept payment of her legal fees and costs from the Alaska Fund Trust and withdraw her authorization for the trust to be recognized as her “official” legal defense fund. I also recommend that she seek reimbursement from the state for the cost of defending the ethics complaints that have been dismissed.

I also recommend that the legislature consider amending the Ethics Act to require the state to reimburse a public official for reasonable legal fees and costs incurred to defend against an Ethics Act complaint that is dismissed. [emphasis added]

Did you get that? The independent investigator, Thomas Daniel, is not finding the governor in violation of the Ethics Act. Only the Personnel Board can make such a ruling, and Daniel actually recommends that no ruling is necessary. Gov. Palin has not accepted one dime of money from the legal defense fund yet. How can she be in violation of the Ethics Act for something she hasn't even done yet? You can't charge her with a violation for a future act! The language Daniel uses is future tense "will violate" -- not violated.

Daniel recommends not accepting the funds and instead having the state pay for the legal bills incurred by the dismissed complaints (which is basically all of them). Ordinary Americans from all over the country (and Alaska) gave money to pay these bills, but now the people of Alaska will be stiffed with the bill and forced to pay for Andree McLeod's hobby and obsession.

I'm not at all convinced that the Alaska Fund Trust will be forced to disband and return the money. I'm sure Gov. Palin's attorney will counter this report. I'm sure it will be resolved. But if it does have to be disband and the money returned, then guess what? We'll set up a new one for Sarah Palin as just a plain old citizen. And we'll raise even more!

Congratulations once again to the nutters in Alaska who have turned the state's Ethics Act into a joke. I sure hope that the Democrats up there fix the crazy loop holes in the Executive Branch Ethics Act before any Democrat is elected governor because anyone from anywhere can file an ethics complaint against the governor of Alaska without paying a penny, and there are a lot of people just itching for a tit for tat on this.

UPDATE VII: (h/t TommyReport) From Chris Cillizza at The Fix:

Randy Evans, the attorney who helped Palin set up the Alaska Trust Fund, released a statement moments ago dismissing the allegation that there was any impropriety in its founding as "absolutely untrue".

Added Evans: "It was specifically patterned after well recognized trusts of prior Presidential candidates as well as high profile public servants. As with other public servants, there is no impropriety in the creation or operation of such a trust and any suggestion to the contrary is candidly absurd."

Evans, a partner in the firm of McKenna, Long & Aldridge, is a well known Republican attorney, having served as outside counsel to then Speakers Newt Gingrich (Ga.) and Dennis Hastert (Ill.).

UPDATE VIII: KTUU has Kristan Cole's statement:

"I haven't seen any report and as a matter of fact was just asked for additional information as of yesterday, July 20, 2009," Cole wrote. "Just a reminder that this legal expense fund was thoroughly vetted by numerous attorneys from Alaska to the East Coast. The purpose of the Trust is to help the Governor with the crushing legal fees she has incurred solely because of her public service."

UPDATE IX: Governor Palin issued the following statement on her Facebook page:

"I find the notion that I have taken any action pertaining to the legal defense trust fund misguided and factually in error. I am informed that this fund was created by experienced attorneys in DC and was modeled after other similar funds established for senators and others. The fund itself was not created by me nor is it controlled by me. Neither I nor my lawyer has received a penny from this fund, and I am informed the Trustee was withholding any action or payment pending final resolution with the Personnel Board. This is the hallmark of legal compliance and prudent conduct.

In short, I have not 'acted' relative to the defense fund and it is misleading to say I have. I have no doubt that the Trust will welcome guidance by the Board, as do we all, but it is my understanding that this matter was not resolved and the complainant's violation of law has served to mislead the public and prejudice a fair review of this matter."

Sarah Palin

UPDATE X: At Texas4Palin.blogspot.com, Josh Painter questions how independent an investigator Thomas Daniel really is:

So who is Thomas Daniel, and how "independent" an investigator is he?

Daniel is a lawyer employed by the firm of Perkins Coie, LLP. He contributed $1,000 to Democrat John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. Daniel has also donated to Alaska's Democrat U.S. Senator Mark Begich.

Perkins Coie, as it turns out, just happens to have Barack Obama as a client. More on Perkins Coie here:

Perkins Coie often partners up with the ACLU and groups like MALDEF on such issues as immigration. Much of the political heavy lifting is done by former Kerry/Edwards 2004 General Counsel Mark Elias and Firmwide Chair, Political Law Practice Robert (Bob) Bauer. Both gentleman’s resumes read more like that of DNC staffers than of lawyers at a firm with the motto "Legal Counsel to Great Companies."

And speaking of the leftist ACLU, guess which attorney is a member? That's right. Thomas Daniel, who as an investigator is anything but independent. He's a liberal Democrat who is a member of the leftist ACLU.

Read more...

Yet Another Ethics Complaint Filed by Andree McLeod; Tweets from the Governor; UPDATE: Statement from Palin's Attorney

KTUU reports:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Another ethics complaint has been filed against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, less than a week before her resignation.

The complaint filed Monday alleges Palin violated ethics law by failing to submit complete gift disclosure forms in a timely manner.

[...]

The latest is the sixth filed by fellow Republican Andree McLeod, an outspoken critic of the governor. 3 of the cases have been dismissed and two others, including one filed last week, remain active.

Palin steps down as Alaska governor on Sunday, with 18 months left to her first term.

UPDATE by Daniel: You may recall that Andree McLeod was denied a position in Gov. Palin's administration. Apparently she took this rejection as an impetus to file numerous frivolous ethics complaints against the governor and her administration, in fact, abusing the ethics process. This latest complaint is yet another example of the complete disregard that anklebiters like McLeod have for the ethics process as they continually undermine it with frivolous complaints, and impose unnecessary costs on their fellow taxpayers in Alaska. So far the cost has been nearly two millions dollars and it continues to pile up.

This complaint joins three other frivolous complaints filed since Governor Palin's July 3rd decision to step aside as Alaska Governor -- a previous one from McLeod, one filed by Zane Henning, and another by Ray Ward.

You can help by making a donation to the Alaska Fund Trust.

UPDATE by RAM: From the ADN:

Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, says the multiple filings by one person raise the prospect that the ethics process "is being abused and is simply being used to harass and annoy."

Three of the cases have been dismissed and two others, including one filed last week, remain active.

Palin steps down as Alaska governor on Sunday, with 17 months left to her first term.

Read the complaint here.

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that the ADN is always so quick to post the pdf files of the ethics complaints, but is slow as molasses to post the Personnel Board review of these complaints when they're dismissed?

The ADN also posts the governor's "string of tweets" on the latest complaint:

In violation of Ethics Act more allegations were filed today by serial complainer;gave to press be4 we could respond;ridiculous, wasteful...

Some ask why not sue abusers of Ethics Act bc state wastes 1000's hrs/millions of tax dollars to fight (and win!) frivolous charges, tho...

it costs political critics NOTHING to file/play their wasteful game;They should debate policy in political arena,not hide w/process abuse...

BUT if there was a suit to end public waste of time/funds to constantly address false allegations I could see perhaps a veteran filing it....

someone who's put their life on the line protecting even opponents' right to speak & protest, was willing to die for freedom of press but...

knows it's shameful 4 valuable time& public resources to be diverted frm needed causes to deal w/this abuse of govt accountability system...

Hopefully these political critics filing this stuff (& some in press perpetuating it) appreciate the freedom to do so, protected by our vets

UPDATE II by RAM: Here's the statement from Gov. Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein:

FOR RELEASE: JULY 20, 2009

Another Ethics Complaint Filed Against the Governor

July 20, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska – Once again, an ethics complaint has been filed and publicly released in violation of state law. This is the sixth complaint filed by Ms. McLeod. In addition, she has filed a lawsuit against the Governor's office and multiple public records act requests. All of her prior complaints that have been ruled on have been dismissed. The Ethics Act serves important state interests in ensuring ethical state government and was intended to prevent the various forms of corrupt misconduct that had plagued the Legislature in prior years and which resulted in the prosecution of legislators and others. It is unfortunate that the law has been abused and trivialized in the current manner.

Today’s complaint, filed just six days before the Governor leaves office, alleges that Governor Palin violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act by failing to submit complete gift disclosure forms in a timely manner, and obtained “free” services. The apparent primary goal of this complaint has been achieved, namely, an effort to keep the complainant’s name in the paper. We anticipate another dismissal of this complaint as with the complainant’s other complaints. This is the fourth ethics complaint filed against the Governor since the announcement of her resignation on July 3. In every case, the complainers violated the confidentiality provision of the Ethics Act in making their complaints public knowledge.

THOMAS VAN FLEIN—Personal Attorney for Governor Palin

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Les Gara Plays Games With the Truth at the WSJ

The Wall Street Journal Law Blog, well-respected in the business community, yesterday published an open letter from Governor Palin's counsel, Thomas Van Flein, concerning the massive legal fees incurred by the Palin family in the course of responding to frivolous ethics complaints.

The letter apparently bothered Democratic state representative Les Gara so much that he felt compelled to respond to it in the comments of the blog entry. (You remember Mr. Gara - he's the legislator who is so partisan that he has tell himself "Act Calm Les, Act Calm" at the thought of laying eyes on Barack Obama.)

In the process of responding, Gara tells several half-truths, at least one blatant lie, and reveals the upcoming strategy of Alaskan anklebiters...since they will no longer be able to attack her in office with frivolous complaints, they'll now attack her legacy as Governor.

Gara first emphasizes the "bipartisan" nature of Troopergate, and extends it to the rest of the frivolous ethics complaints, arguing that they come from Republicans as well as Democrats.

Ah, yes - the wonderfully bipartisan nature of the legislative Troopergate investigation. The committee was headed by Democrat Hollis French, who promised the Obama campaign an "October surprise", and was apparently setting himself up for a gubernatorial run against Palin, despite his problems in complying with campaign finance laws. And who was the Republican repeatedly trotted out for the press to make assertions that the investigation was "bipartisan"? Why, it was BP stockholder and ethics paragon Jay Ramras.

As a further example of the "bipartisan" nature of the ethics complaints, Gara gives us the example of "Republican activist" Andree McLeod. We've profiled her extensively before; calling this Guiteau-like person a Republican activist is ludicrous. It would be more accurate to call her a "McLeod activist" or a "Revenge activist". She's a disgruntled office-seeker who has bombarded the state with one frivolous complaint or lawsuit after another, all thrown out. She did, however, provide a blueprint which was followed by complainants that followed.

Then we get the Big Lie:

Mr. Van Flien (sic) fails to mention that the Governor has conceded the merits of at least one of the ethics charges against - she’s paid a fine to settle it. Upon payment of the fine, it has now been dismissed.

Governor Palin neither admitted the merits of any charge, nor did she pay any fine. I presume Gara is referring to Palin's voluntary payment to the state for the costs incurred when her children accompanied her on a handful of state trips...I've e-mailed him to give the opportunity to clarify this, but he's refused to reply.

Gara's claim is blatant misrepresentation of the facts and borders on slander. We have extensively covered this issue at C4P, and the report issued by the Personnel Board's investigator couldn't be more clear on the resolution of the complaint. If you don't feel like reading through the entire report, this summary captures the essence:

(1) The Independent Counsel found no ethics violation, and no violation of the law.

(2) Independent Counsel did conclude that the law needs clarification and has referred the matter to the AG (attorney general) to write some regulations regarding travel.

(3) The Governor and Independent Counsel mutually agreed that some trips should be reimbursed to the state, not because of any violation of the law, but to comport with what we think the law will be and the new standard that will likely apply. The Governor is in fact complying with a standard that has yet to be created, demonstrating her commitment to ethics.

(4) The Governor relied on experienced staff members for advice on protocol travel. The rules have been changing and there will be another change once the AG writes new regulations. The travel decisions here were all made in good faith. That is one of the reasons no law was violated.

Following his Big Lie, Gara then spends four paragraphs attempting to take credit for Palin's efforts at state ethics reform. (It's odd that Gara wants to own the Executive Ethics process in Alaska; for the last several months, Gara's camp has issued screams in response to each complaint dismissal that the Murkowski-appointed Personnel Board is a corrupt band of Palin cronies sheltering her from the justice of the righteous.)

Gara:

Mr. Van Flein also implies that Ethics Reform in Alaska was a Governor’s initiative. That, too, goes half too far.

The Governor’s ethics bill simply copied a small number of reforms I and other legislators have pushed in prior years (on gift limits, and making it a conflict for an executive member to work on issues that benefitted (sic) their financial interests). The Governor gets credit for that. But her bill was pretty scant, and missed major needed ethics reforms. It was vastly re-written by legislatiors (sic) on both sides of the aisle before it passed...

The Governor can faily (sic) take credit for joining legislators who spoke up beofre (sic) she did, and for heeding the public’ (sic) call in the face of a growing public corruption scandal that has led to more than a half dozen convictions so far. And she gets credit for not objecting when the ethics bill was largely re-written by legislators on both sides of the aisle - she remaiined (sic) uninvolved as the hearings on this bill, and the re-writes proceeded. To be fair, the ethics bill the Governor filed had good provisions, but was scant. The bill that was re-written by legislators, and that passed, was substantial.

A little revisionist history by Mr. Gara. According to him -- yeah, the Governor introduced ethics legislation and pushed ethics reform, but it was really pretty useless and didn't go anywhere until us legislators pissed in it until we liked the flavor better. Then we passed it, and it was all us, not her.

Gara is actually making Palin's case for her. She gave the framework to the legislators, and allowed them to fill it out without worrying who would get the credit for the legislation. Byron York, in a piece written shortly after her nomination as VP candidate, had this to say about the ethics initiative (emphasis added):

Palin’s other top priority was an overhaul of the state’s ethics laws. It became something of a signature issue for her. In 2003, after she served as mayor of Wasilla and had run unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor, she was appointed to chair the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. While there, she became convinced that fellow commissioner Randy Ruedrich, the head of the Alaska Republican party, was conducting party business on the commission’s time. Palin filed an ethics complaint against Ruedrich, leading to a long and contentious investigation. In 2004, Ruedrich admitted guilt and agreed to pay a $12,000 fine, which was the largest such punishment ever in Alaska.

Palin’s actions associated her with ethics and reform in the minds of many Alaskans, and it paid off when she ran for governor. In addition to the Ruedrich matter, the state faced several other high-profile government-corruption cases, and it was not terribly unusual to find state lawmakers who had consulting contracts with companies that had business before the legislature. “As a candidate, she owned the ethics issue,” says John Bitney, who was Palin’s top adviser on ethics. “It was who she was. And it was pretty clear that there was a political groundswell to make changes.”

Once in office, Palin asked a prominent former legislator, Ethan Berkowitz, and a former U.S. attorney, Wev Shea, to write a position paper on ethics. The move did not endear her to Republicans in the legislature, because Berkowitz was a Democrat, and Shea was a vocal critic of Republicans (though a Republican himself). “She ruffled a ton of feathers,” says Paulette Simpson, a Palin ally who is president of the Alaska Federation of Republican Women. “That didn’t get her off on a good footing with Republicans.”

Her proposals included the electronic filing of campaign-finance reports, tougher conflict-of-interest laws, more restrictions on gifts from lobbyists, a more extensive ban on lobbying by just-departed officials, a ban on lobbying by spouses of legislators, and several other measures. Her plan was just one of several competing proposals in the legislature, and, according to Bitney, she showed a pragmatic desire to get the reforms done even if her bill was not the one that passed.

As it turned out, Palin’s bill did win approval, and the new ethics rules were signed into law, with bipartisan support, in July 2007. Democrats attributed some of her success to luck — “She came in at a time when basically the timing was right,” says Beth Kerttula — but the fact is the new, inexperienced governor had won another major victory.

Lest you think I'm basing my opinion on a single report from a conservative columnist, let's look at a contemporary take from the Anchorage Daily News, not exactly known to be a Palin mouthpiece (emphasis added):

May 18, 2007
From beginning to end, the first session of the 25th Alaska Legislature was a personal triumph for Gov. Sarah Palin.Legislators, after initial reluctance, approved her Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) with only occasional whimpered doubts. …
Ethics reform, sneered at by a few lawmakers and many lobbyists, is now a reality. Gov. Palin’s fingerprints are all over the bill and to the public she is the face of ethics reform. . . .
Alaska’s rookie governor had a heckuva first legislative session.

You can expect to see more tactics like Gara's. The cottage industry in anti-Palin commentary that has built up in Alaska will soon be collapsing as Governor Palin moves away from Alaska issues to a national stage. The only value these people will have to the media is as "experts" who attempt to tear down her legacy as Governor.

Be vigilant.

Read more...

Shining a Light on the Palin Administration? Linda Kellen Biegel's Own Transparency Is Questionable

Shining a light on the Palin Administration.
The fight for government transparency.
I want an open and transparent government!
Of benefit to the public interest.

Linda Kellen Biegel, aka Celtic Diva, has called on the help of her readership to shine “a light on the Palin Administration” by asking for donations to the tune of more than $5,500 to fund a request for the email records of six members of the Office of the Governor, dating back more than 10 months.

Kellen Biegel thinks that radio talk show host Eddie Burke and ADN columnist Sheila Toomey have been participating in a smear campaign against Andree McLeod.

She believes that this campaign is being orchestrated by the unsolicited release of inside information/ documents to Burke and Toomey by a member(s) of the Palin Administration.

She hopes that email records, invoices, etc will provide the evidence to support her allegation that information has been released to Burke and Toomey, rather than being the subject of a records request by Burke and Toomey.

Once she has sufficient funds she intends, therefore, to request:
1. all email contact to/from Governor Palin, Linda Perez, Mike Nizich, Bill McAllister, Kris Perry, Sharon Leighow that are to/from Eddie Burke and/or Sheila Toomey,
2. all emails to/from the Governor and the named employees that discuss Burke or Toomey,
3. all records requests submitted which target emails to/from Andree McLeod,
4. all fee breakdowns, invoices or any other documents which assess the cost of retrieving the McLeod emails, and charges made,

The date range for the request is July 1, 2008 to May 11, 2009 – more than 10 months.

Kellen Biegel is promoting her request as part of what she calls a “fight for government transparency”, which appears to imply that she thinks there is some sort of struggle going on with that aspect of government in Alaska.

“I want an open and transparent government,” she says.

She tells her readers that her actions will be “of benefit to the public interest” – though she has given no indication of how any benefit to the public will be measured, or of how she came to conclude that her action will be of benefit to the public, or of how she herself knows that there is a public interest in her perception that government in Alaska lacks openness and transparency.

Reading her current rhetoric it may be that some will form the impression that Ms Kellen Biegel is an influential figure in political circles in Alaska; perhaps so, in her own mind.

Admittedly, as a Democrat she has been photographed attending a function at the home of Senator Mark Biegich. There is also a photograph on her website of Ms Kellen Biegel standing alongside gubernatorial candidate Bob Poe, and correspondence from Ethan Berkowitz, also a prospective gubernatorial candidate. She was also the official Alaskan blogger for the DNC during the last election.

To the uninitiated, such materials could give the appearance of how connected Kellen Biegel is (at least in Democrat circles). In an overwhelmingly Republican (ie. red) state, that is an appearance possibly supported by the fact that Kellen Biegel calls her website a blue oasis, whereby she emphasises what she sees as the richness of her own political persuasion and the paucity of that of most other Alaskans. But that would appear to also invite the opinion that since she doesn’t share the views of most of her fellow Alaskans few Alaskans will have reason to care two hoots for hers.

How much interest in Kellen Biegel do the people of Alaska really take?

Well, she runs a website (Celtic Diva’s Blue Oasis) which in recent months has been receiving approximately 1000 visits per day, though traffic flow varies. For example, on 31st May only 486 visits took place, whilst on 18th June (the day on which her appeal for donations was made) there were 1565 recorded visits. In May as a whole, site traffic for the Blue Oasis is recorded at 33,690 visits.

To try to give some sense of perspective on those figures, on 10th May alone 30,047 visits to C4P occurred (999 for Blue Oasis).

From this it would be reasonable to conclude that, whatever her rhetoric, interest in Kellen Biegel’s website, and thereby her views, is marginal. Fractional.

What proportion of those visiting the Blue Oasis are from Alaska?

It’s not an easy thing to determine. Even if all her visitors on any given day were from Alaska, that would still amount to an extremely small proportion of the state population, not accounting for repeat visits.

At the time of writing, Feedjit indications for the last 100 hundred visits to the Blue Oasis showed 36 as being from Alaska, approximately 30% - further reducing the impression of how many Alaskans are actually concerned about what Kellen Biegel does or thinks, and suggestive that many of those who do provide donations to her will not be Alaskans, much less Alaskans who are concerned about the nature of their state government.

So the point I am pursuing here is that the rhetoric which Kellen Biegel’s presents about a predominant concern shared by lots of other Alaskans isn’t truthful. It is a manufactured outrage, a minor issue, of virtually no interest within Alaska itself, a distraction to the business of government, self aggrandising.

Who pays?

Visitors to the Blue Oasis are being invited to pay Kellen Biegel’s costs. The taxpayers of Alaska, have already paid for Kellen Biegel’s bogus ethics complaint. The Palins have legal fees in excess of $500,000, those named employees whose reputations have been impugned by Kellen Biegel continue to pay an emotional cost, and, of course, those who have donated to The Alaska Fund Trust also pay.

But perhaps a more pertinent question would be to ask who doesn’t pay?
The answer appears to be, Linda Kellen Biegel.

In fact it would be appropriate to ask a number of other questions about the whole business, since they do not yet seem to have been addressed:

• Is there any independent supervision of the fund?
• How much has Kellen Biegel herself donated to her fund?
• Where do the donations go? No separate account has been created for the donations. Biegel says they are being paid into the general Blue Oasis blog account.
• How are donations to be kept track of within a general account? What accounting procedures have been put in place? Can we expect a detailed list of who the donors are and how much they gave? Can we also expect a detailed list of expenditures to show how she used the money?
• What will happen to the money donated if the target total isn’t reached? Will funds be returned? How?
• What happens if the target total is exceeded? Will surplus funds be returned? How? Keep in mind that it can be a form of fraud to raise money under one pretense but spend it on another.
• She is not a trust or a non-profit, so it would seem that the money is taxable. Is she planning on reporting it as income to the IRS?
• What is the actual purpose of this exercise? Kellen Biegel has already stated on a number of occasions that, for example, the Office of the Governor is staffed by people who behave like the SS; and she has already decided in her own mind that an orchestrated backlash campaign has been launched. Her mind is made up, so what’s the real purpose of the exercise?
• What happens if/when the records she receives reveal no evidence? What then for the people whose money has been wasted?

Under the falsehood that this is a “VERY IMPORTANT” matter which occupies the thoughts of many Alaskans, what do those who are donating really know about this woman?

What do they know about the background of the person to whom they are being asked to give their money?

Has she been open and transparent?

Can she be trusted?

Read more...

The Associated Press Editorializes and Equivocates About the Palin Ethics Complaints

The Associated Press’ Rachel D’Oro strikes again with a supposedly objective article full of editorializing, moral equivocation, and half truths:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says her political enemies are abusing state law with a flurry of frivolous ethics complaints against her, putting her more than $500,000 in legal debt.

Those filing the grievances - there have been at least 18 cases so far - say it’s their legal right to hold the Republican governor accountable for what they see as abuses of power.

The truth is probably somewhere in between.

In between? How is 14 dismissals and one settlement of the 15 cases that have been decided “somewhere in between”? This game of hedging the obvious conclusion is how non-objective journalists pretend to be objective. D’Oro doesn’t want to admit that Palin was vindicated so she writes that “the truth is probably somewhere in between.”

The truth is quite clear. This wasn't an instance of “she was acquitted on a technicality, but we still don’t know who the killer is, so maybe she did do it.” The facts were investigated by the Personnel Board and the law was clear -- she did nothing wrong. Even the one case that was settled stated that she violated nothing in the Ethics Act and committed no “wrongdoing.”*

D’Oro goes out of her way to quote one of the ankle-biters with a case still pending:

“She said she was going to be open, transparent and wanted people to hold her accountable,” said Kim Chatman, an Eagle River resident whose complaint against Palin is among the few still pending. “I took her for her word.”

“Holding her accountable” does not mean making a mockery of the Executive Branch Ethics Act by filing complaints against her for such transgressions as wearing a jacket, conducting a television interview in her office, and giving a speech at a charitable event out of state.

Chatman’s complaint alleges Palin is misusing the governor’s office for personal gain by securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust, which was established by supporters in April to help Palin pay her legal bills.

Chatman’s ridiculous complaint will be tossed out like the others. The Alaska Fund Trust operates under the strictest limitations I’ve ever seen for a legal defense fund. Read the AFT's website FAQs. The contributions to the AFT “can only be used for legal expenses incurred by counsel on behalf of the Governor, her family, and staff.” It’s as straightforward as that.

When Chatman’s complaint is tossed out can we expect a long write up about it by Rachel D’Oro?

D’Oro provides an editorialized and factually inaccurate summary of Troopergate:

Elected in 2006, Palin enjoyed an unprecedented 18-month honeymoon with Alaska residents and lawmakers alike until last July, when she fired Walt Monegan, the state’s popular public safety commissioner.

Monegan believed he was terminated over his refusal to let go a state trooper who was involved in a contentious divorce with Palin’s sister. Palin cited budgetary disagreements.

The “popular public safety commissioner” Walt Monegan got only 8.69% of the vote last April when he ran for mayor of Anchorage. That’s not exactly fan club worthy. D’Oro was editorializing about Monegan’s supposed popularity. That’s a no-no for reporters who have pretensions to objectivity. (Though I suppose you could say that Monegan was “popular” with union boss John Cyr and the Public Safety union for whom he served as useful idiot.)

She also misstates the facts. Monegan was not fired or “terminated.” He was simply re-assigned. He chose to quit. And Monegan believed at first that his termination had to do with his lack of communication with the governor. That’s what he told his colleagues in his farewell email to them. It wasn’t until he spoke with Palin-hater and gubernatorial loser Andrew Halcro that Monegan dreamed up his allegation that the real reason why he was re-assigned was because he wouldn’t fire Trooper Mike Wooten. Keep in mind that Monegan has always stated for the record that no one ever asked him to fire Wooten. But he later claimed that he felt “pressure.”

He must not have felt too much “pressure” because he didn’t even know what Mike Wooten looked like. Ann Coulter noted in her book “Guilty”:

In the midst of the Palin family’s formal complaints about state trooper and former Palin brother-in-law Mike Wooten for threatening her family, drinking on the job, and Tasering Palin’s nephew, the public safety commission asked the governor to sign a photo of a state trooper, in uniform, saluting the flag for the purpose of turning the photo into a poster. The trooper chosen for this photo was none other than...Mike Wooten!

You’d think that Monegan would at least know what the guy looks like if he felt so pressured to fire him.

D’Oro continues:

State lawmakers investigated, ultimately concluding the governor broke an ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain, although the firing itself was considered lawful since Monegan was an at-will employee.

Days after being named McCain’s running mate, Palin said the legislative probe had become too political and filed a “self disclosure” with the Alaska Personnel Board, whose three members are appointed by the governor. The day before the presidential election, that investigation concluded that Palin violated no ethics laws.

Notice how she details the Branchflower Report’s flawed conclusion, but she doesn’t note that the Petumenos Report for the Personnel Board, which is the entity charged with enforcing and interpreting the Ethics Act, stated that the Branchflower Report’s interpretation of the Act was flawed and therefore its conclusions were incorrect. Not only that, but the Petumenos Report accurately identified the Branchflower Report for what it was – “the findings of one attorney who was not subject to an adversarial proceeding in which his findings could be tested,” and yet Branchflower’s findings were mistakenly treated as if they had weight. They didn’t. But unfortunately they are still treated as if they do – even now after the Personnel Board has made its ruling. (Also, keep in mind that the Personnel Board had access to more evidence than Branchflower.)

The conclusion reached by the Personnel Board was non-partisan, even though the investigator, Petumenos, is a known Democrat and was writing his report during a contentious election cycle.

D’Oro writes that the three members of the Personnel Board “are appointed by the governor.” Notice how she writes “are” and not “were.” She is being careful. She wants to convey the impression that the bi-partisan Personnel Board is somehow in Gov. Palin’s pocket, but she can't outright lie and claim that the current members “were” appointed by Gov. Palin because they weren’t.

The board’s current members were all appointed by Gov. Murkowski (and you know how friendly Sarah Palin was with the Murkowski administration). One of the members originally appointed by Murkowski was reappointed by Gov. Palin. This is not a board “hand-picked” by Sarah Palin. They do not work for Sarah Palin.

Please note that the Personnel Board is a volunteer board. By law they can not be state employees. And by law they must be bi-partisan. They receive no salary. The governor can only dismiss them for “cause.”

The board is independent in every sense of the word. And the real power is with the independent investigators. The governor has no control over the investigators at all. The Personnel Board hires them, not the governor. The decisions the investigators return are based on the law, not partisan politics.

Once again, the key fact here is that Gov. Palin has been vindicated in 14 out of 14 ethics complaints by a bi-partisan independent board whose mission it is to enforce and interpret the Ethics Act. Those are the facts.

D’Oro notes:

Alaska law mandates that ethics grievances remain confidential unless a public accusation is filed or the accused person agrees in writing to make it public. However, most complainants have ignored this requirement and have publicly discussed their grievances without any legal consequences.

“Why is confidentiality so important? So the process does not become a forum for partisan attacks, headline seekers and disgruntled wing-nuts,” Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein said in an e-mail. “This is exactly the type of political gamesmanship the confidentiality clause was intended to prevent.”

Chatman said she spoke with an attorney and learned she wouldn’t breach confidentiality if she talked about her grievance before filing it in late April. She said she did just that, based on a lack of trust in the Palin administration.

“I thought it would be swept under the carpet if the public didn’t know about it,” she said.

So, let me get this straight... Chatman publicized her complaint but that wasn’t breaching confidentiality? What, pray tell, would be breaching confidentiality? How does Ms. Chatman and her attorney define breaching confidentiality?

According to the Executive Branch Ethics Act (AS 39.52.340):

(a) Except as provided in AS 39.52.335 , before the initiation of formal proceedings under AS 39.52.350 , the complaint and all other documents and information regarding an investigation conducted under this chapter or obtained by the attorney general during the investigation are confidential and not subject to inspection by the public.

I’m not a lawyer, but it sounds like Chatman breached confidentiality to me.

D’Oro gives Chatman the final word in her claim that she’s not “breaching confidentiality,” but she doesn’t seem to think that Gov. Palin has any right to publicly be upset by these endless politically motivated attacks, which have cost her over $500,000 in personal legal debt.

D’Oro finds a willing mouthpiece for her own opinion:

Palin was wrong to publicly criticize the complaints before the appropriate government body - the personnel board in most cases - had a chance to analyze them, said Gregg Erickson, a Juneau economist and longtime watcher of Alaska politics. That’s simply bad politics, he said.

“She rises to the bait fairly quickly when they troll these things by her,” he said. “I think it’s a weakness.”

Who is Gregg Erickson? In a Washington Post chat session on August 29, right after Palin was named to the GOP ticket, Erickson was described as “Columnist and Reporter, Anchorage Daily News and Editor at Large, Alaska Budget Report.” So D’Oro interviewed a fellow journalist to get his opinion on Gov. Palin. Sound like good reporting to you? Basically, D’Oro used Erickson as her mouthpiece in order to get across her opinion.

D’Oro does mention, without mentioning, our Webathon:

Even some of Palin’s critics question the validity of some of the complaints, and her supporters have waged a weeklong Webathon to raise money for a legal defense fund set up for the governor, ringing up more than $109,000 by day seven, Sunday.

Gee, nice of you to provide our website address. For the record, D’Oro never contacted us to get a statement about the Webathon, but she was quick to contact Chatman. Fair and objective reporting? Yeah, right.



*By deciding to settle the case concerning her children’s travel, Gov. Palin decided to hold herself to a higher standard than her predecessors. The Personnel Board investigator readily admitted that the regulations for family travel were vague, and the governor was simply following established precedent. The settlement clearly stated:

Nothing in this agreement constitutes an admission of wrongdoing, and none has been found, nor may any inference of wrongdoing be inferred by virtue of the execution of this agreement in any other proceeding.

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