Oh! what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive!
-- Sir Walter Scott
Below is the email from Palin to Monegan. The text below starts at the bottom of page 113 of the Branchflower report and continues onto pages 114 and 115.
Feel free to copy or forward the text to anywhere and anyone.
(I had to manually re-type it so email me asap if you spot any typos.)
Governor Sarah Palin's February 7, 2007 email to Walt Monegan
During his testimony, I showed Walt Monegan an email authored by Governor Palin to him dated February 7, 2007 which I marked as Exhibit number 1 to his deposition.61 It was sent to him approximately one month after she called him to discuss Mike Wooten following Todd Palin's meeting with Monegan in her Anchorage office. The email relates to a sentencing bill that was making its way through the legislature that would require a mandatory sentence of 99 years for any police officer convicted of murder. Governor Palin's message was sent through her private Yahoo account and states:
Walt- you mentioned wanting to testify on a bill re: police officers killing someone, then facing 99 yrs.
You are absolutely free to speak your mind on this.
When asked about it, just to let you know, I'm also going to speak my mind on it. For police officers to violate the public trust is a grave, grave violation-in my opinion. We have too many examples lately of cops and troopers who violate the public trust and DPS has come across as merely turning a blind eye or protecting that officer, seemingly "for the good of the brotherhood." The murder and rapes in rural AK by officers are still fresh in Alaska's mind.
In sharing a few personal examples with you including the trooper who used to be related to me -- the one who illegally killed the cow moose out of season, without a tag -- he's still bragging about it in my hometown and after another cop confessed to witnessing the kill, this trooper was "investigated" for over a year and merely given a slap on the wrist ... though he's out there arresting people today for the same crime!. This is the same trooper who shot his 11-yr-old stepson with a taser gun, was seen drinking in his patrol car, was pulled over for drunk driving but let off by a co-worker & brags about this incident to this day ... he threatened to kill his estranged wife's parent, refused to be transferred to rural Alaska and continued to disparage natives in words and tone, he continues to harass and intimidate his ex. -- even after being slapped with a restraining order that was lifted when his supervisors intervened... he threatens to always be able to come out on the street, in fact he's been promoted. It was a joke, the whole year long "investigation" of him -- in fact those who passed along the serious information about him to Julia Grimes and Tandesky were threatened with legal action from the trooper's union for speaking about it. (This is the same trooper who's out there today telling people the new administration is going to destroy the trooper organization, and that he'd "never work for that b****, Palin".)
Anyway, just a personal example of what I've personally seen out there and had to live with for two years -- and this is what people in the Valley are putting up with (those many residents who know of this trooper time-bomb who's supposed to be "protecting" them). I've heard too many stories from others across this state who believe DPS has been overly protective of their own, to the detriment of DPS, to the chagrin of the public, and it all leads to the erosion of faith Alaskans should have in their law enforcement officials.
Just my opinion -- I know you know I've experienced a lot of frustration with this issue. I know Todd's even expressed to you a lot of concern about our family's safety after this trooper threatened to kill a family member -- so you need to know that if I am a supporter of whatever we can do to build trust back into DPS. Then there are many other Alaskans in the same boat we are and may look on this new cop bill as a good thing.
Thanks for letting me share my concerns with you, Sarah
UPDATE:
Compare the above with what Palin told the Anchorage Daily News on July 17, 2008:
Palin said that since she took office in December 2006, the only mention she has made of Wooten to anyone in the Public Safety Department was when she sat down with Monegan at the beginning of her term to discuss her security detail.
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