I suspect most Americans will know about this story before the week is over, so get the jump on your friends and learn about Sarah Palin's excellent judgement and ethics in TROOPERGATE!
According to a story in the Anchorage Daily News, a special counsel has been appointed "to investigate the circumstances and events surrounding the termination of former Public Safety Commissioner Monegan, and potential abuses of power and/or improper actions by members of the executive branch."
Here is some background.
At issue is whether Palin, her administration or family improperly pressured Monegan to fire Alaska state trooper Michael Wooten, the ex-husband of Palin's sister, and whether Palin fired Monegan when that didn't happen. Palin's sister, Molly McCann, and Wooten are divorced but still battling in court over custody and visitation.
Now, Michael Wooten is certainly no angel. In fact, there were a number of incidents cited during his divorce that resulted in him receiving a 10 day suspension at work.
Troopers eventually investigated 13 issues and found four in which Wooten violated policy or broke the law or both:
• Wooten used a Taser on his stepson.
• He illegally shot a moose.
• He drank beer in his patrol car on one occasion.
• He told others his father-in-law would "eat a f'ing lead bullet" if he helped his daughter get an attorney for the divorce.
All four of these issues are substantiated and Wooten ended up serving a 5 day suspension.
But the story is not really about Michael Wooten. Rather, it revolves around the actions of Sarah Palin, her husband Tom and her staff.
Despite denials by Sarah Palin, another ADN story confirms that Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan was contacted on numerous occasions both directly and indirectly by Tom and Sarah Palin as well as her staff.
Palin initially said that, after she took office in December 2006, she broached the subject of Wooten with Monegan just once, when they discussed her security detail. She said that she told Monegan of threats Wooten had made against her father and also that Wooten had threatened to "bring me down." She said she thought that was the end of it.
See, she only talked about it once. Once is plural, right? Ok maybe more than once..... or twice.... who's counting?
But a week after his firing, Monegan said there was pressure to fire Wooten from Palin's administration as well as from her husband, Todd Palin. The pressure continued until just a month or two before he was let go, Monegan said.
Monegan said Palin herself again brought up Wooten in February as they were walking together to wish a state senator a happy birthday. Monegan said he told Palin he had to keep her at arm's distance on the matter, and she agreed.
Todd Palin talked to him several times, and three officials in Palin's administration also put pressure on the department, Monegan said.
Palin should fit right in with the selective memory that has served the Bush Administration so well. Has she been watching Alberto Gonzales' testimony for inspiration? Seems to be a requirement for any national GOP officeholder. But I digress.
Sarah Palin is amazed, just amazed I tell you, that anyone would think she did anything wrong. So, of course, she has her prepared statement ready:
"To allege that I, or any member of my family, requested, received or released confidential personnel information on an Alaska State Trooper, or directed disciplinary action be taken against any employee of the Department of Public Safety, is, quite simply, outrageous," Palin said in a statement also released Thursday.
First defense - deny, deny, deny.
Of course, how could she have known that all phone calls to state troopers are tape recorded? Whoops!
Sarah Palin's longtime aide, Frank Bailey, has a few ideas he would like to share with Alaska State Trooper Lt. Rodney Dial, who works for Commissioner Monegan.
Bailey: "And there’s a gentleman by the name of Mike Wooten, who’s a trooper in the Valley. ... There’s a family tie with the governor there and so I think because of that, my understanding is, you know, Walt (Monegan) has been very reluctant to take any action. But there are some very clear facts out there that — and these things actually happened — that he Tasered his 11-year-old kid, he drove drunk in a patrol car, he shot a cow moose out of season. ... The Palins can’t figure out why nothing is going on. Here’s the problem that’s gonna happen. ... There is a possibility because Wooten is an ex-husband of the governor’s sister and there is a custody situation, there is a strong possibility that the governor herself may get subpoenaed to talk about all this stuff on the stand in the coming months. ...
"It would be ugly. I don’t think anybody wants that but, you know, Todd and Sarah are scratching their heads, ‘Why on earth hasn’t this, why is this guy still representing the department?’ He’s a horrible recruiting tool, you know. From their perspective, everybody’s protecting him. ... (Palin chief of staff) Mike Tibbles disagrees with me. (Trooper chief) Audie (Holloway) probably disagrees with me. Walt (Monegan) does, and everything, and I understand it’s really touchy but I want you to understand."
Yeah, nobody wants that.
So after these tapes are publicly released, Sarah Palin admits there MIGHT be a perception that something may have been said against Mike Wooten. But of course, this is the first she has heard of it. And the firing of Monegan is a coincidence.
"I do now have to tell Alaskans that such pressure could have been perceived to exist although I have only now become aware of it," Palin said.
But Palin said her decision to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan last month had nothing to do with his refusal to dump trooper Mike Wooten.
The Alaskan Legislature has authorized $100,000 for this investigation and the special counsel is looking to depose all of the involved parties including Sarah Palin. The investigation is currently scheduled to be completed by October 31. Just in time for the election.
Please help more people become familiar with the judgment and ethics of Sarah Palin.
UPDATE: Looks like the Washington Post is on to this story too. An excerpt:
Palin's chief of staff fired Monegan on July 11, telling him Palin wanted "to go in another direction," Monegan said.
"I am not, and don't want to come across as, a disgruntled employee," Monegan said. "I was trying to protect her. When I was let go, I was a little surprised. There was not a warning shot or anything."
Monegan said complaints about Wooten first came to him on Jan. 4, 2007, a month after he started on the job. Todd Palin, a commercial fisherman, laid out a dossier he and a private investigator had collected.
"He asked me to look into it, so I told them I would," Monegan said. "I had it compared with the internal investigations file. There was no new evidence, no new complaints."
Monegan called Todd Palin back and said there was nothing he could do. A few days later, Gov. Palin called Monegan on his cellphone. "I explained to her there was no new evidence, the issue was closed," Monegan said. "She also was unhappy with that."
Todd Palin, a commercial fisherman, also happens to be known as Mr. Sarah Palin.
UPDATE 2:This little gem makes me smile:
Monegan also said the governor sent him e-mails, but Monegan declined to disclose them, saying he planned to give them to the independent prosecutor.