December 2, 2008 8:23:11 PM CST
(Newser) – An attorney who acted as an informal ethics adviser to Sarah Palin urged her to apologize for her role in firing Alaska's safety commissioner before it grew into a scandal, the Wall Street Journal reports. "The situation is grave," he wrote shortly before Palin was picked for the GOP ticket. The safety commissioner has accused Palin of having him fired because he refused to ax a state trooper who divorced Palin's sister.
The former US attorney and co-author of a report that served as the foundation for Palin's Alaska ethics bill believes Palin is now taking the wrong approach to the "Troopergate" probe by insisting the state's personnel board rather than the legislature investigate it. The governor has insisted the commissioner was fired because of a budget dispute.
Source Wall Street Journal
Nov 7, 08 9:50 AM CST The Alaska Sarah Palin comes home to isn’t the same as the one she left, reports the LA Times. The governor's approval ratings have plunged—from 80% to a “mere mortal 65%”—but not as steeply as the price of oil, which makes up most of the state's revenues. Palin, now seen as a strident partisan rather than a pragmatist, may also have a harder time striking the necessary compromises, with opponents emboldened by the GOP collapse. More »
Nov 3, 08 7:06 PM CST An Election Day eve report by an independent counsel found Sarah Palin innocent of charges in the so-called "Troopergate" scandal, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Anchorage attorney Timothy Petumenos, hired by Alaska's Personnel Board, said Palin did not violate a state ethics law in firing her public safety commissioner and pressuring officials to can her brother-in-law, a state trooper. More »
Oct 24, 08 1:45 PM CDT Sarah Palin has touted herself as a reformer, telling voters she "took on the old politics as usual in Juneau." But an LA Times investigation shows the Alaska governor gave more than 100 state jobs to campaign contributors and their relatives, many of whom lacked qualifications for the positions. One controversial appointee received a note from a Palin aide that read, "Well now your foot's back in the door." More »
Oct 14, 08 5:19 AM CDT Todd Palin and other aides were warned by state police officials that their push to have a state trooper fired could come back to haunt them, CNN reports. Deputy commissioner of public safety John Glass told a persistent Palin that the trooper had already been disciplined and "discomfort and embarrassment for the governor" could ensue if he refused to cease and desist. More »
Oct 12, 08 5:45 AM CDT Sarah Palin is back in the headlines with official findings that she abused her power as governor of Alaska—but her husband is the main character in the 300-page tome issued by the state legislature last week, reports AP. Alaska's “First Dude” spent half his time in Palin’s office and had “significant influence” over state affairs, including the firing of a public official that led to the ethics investigation. More »
Sarah Palin • Alaska • ethics • Todd Palin • Troopergate • Mike Wooten
