The public portion of the Branchflower report has been released… all 263 pages of it. Understandably, I haven’t yet gotten through the entire report, but here are the findings:
Findings:
Finding Number One:
For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) provides
“The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.”
Finding Number Two:
I find that, although Walt Monegan’s refusal to fire Trooper Michael Wooten was not the sole reason he was fired by Governor Sarah Palin, it was likely a contributing factor to his termination as Commissioner of Public Safety. In spite of that, Governor Palin’s firing of Commissioner Monegan was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads.
Finding Number Three:
Harbor Adjustment Service of Anchorage, and its owner Ms. Murleen Wilkes, handled Trooper Michael Wooten’s workers’ compensation claim properly and in the normal course of business like any other claim processed by Harbor Adjustment Service and Ms. Wilkes. Further, Trooper Wooten received all the workers’ compensation benefits to which he was entitled.
Finding Number Four:
The Attorney General’s office has failed to substantially comply with my August 6, 2008 written request to Governor Sarah Palin for information about the case in the form of emails.
The initial response by the McCain Palin campaign, besides still trying to claim that Branchflower’s report was political and partisan, even though both the investigation itself and the report were approved unanimously by a bi-partisan committee, were to try to downplay the results. True, it wasn’t a completely negative result, but violation of ethics law is a serious charge.
And finally, it seems that the last remaining shreds of McCain’s honor (or perhaps it was some pretty harsh criticism coming from within his party) have resurfaced. He is trying to rein in some of the hatred and vitriol that was so evident during rallies this week. The real time to have prevented its spread probably goes back to the “How do we beat the bitch” comment. But we can’t turn back the clock. It remains to see if both candidates work to calm their most rabid supporters. Initial evidence indicates that it may be too late for that.
Well, this does not surprize me…after she stated she was going to co operate with the investigation untill she became the VP nominee, and then, we’ve got McCain and Palin out there shouting “we want the truth”……………………………..
HELLO OUT THERE…WHO IS THE REAL SARAH PALIN?
Why is the Dept of Natural Resources paying for a PR firm to amp up Palin’s image? Would that be our tax dollars well spent?
Val, if you live in Alaska, yes, they were your tax dollars. Well spent? Not in my estimation, but I don’t live in Alaska.
I think there are perfectly rational reasons why the Dept. of Natural Resources paid for the PR firm. Oil and natural gas are a significant source of revenue for Alaska. So it’s a clear benefit to Alaska to have a governor who can be an effective voice to continue expanding oil and gas production.
Perhaps the more important question for us to be asking as Americans, not Alaskans, is whether we want to continue to be a fossil fuel-based economy or to move towards renewable sources of energy. Clearly, for Alaskans, the longer we remain addicted to oil, the more revenue for them and for Big Oil.