From the "You'll Never See This in the Mainstream Media" Dept.:
(H/T to DC's quaint, alternative newspaper - The Washington Times)
Palin Fends Off Ethics Charges
By Amanda Carpenter
Monday, June 8, 2009
The accusations made news for months, but with another dismissal of an
ethics charge last week against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin,
the former
Republican vice-presidential nominee has quietly been cleared of every
ethics complaint filed since the torrent of allegations began in 2008.
Mrs. Palin, who became a target of such complaints after being named
Sen. John McCain's running mate, is 14-for-14 in fighting off the
complaints. She's been cleared of 13 charges by the independent State
Personnel Board and of another complaint by the Federal Election
Commission (FEC).
After the latest complaint in Alaska was dismissed last week, Mrs. Palin's
team said that having to fend off the pile of accusations was wasting
state money.
"This complaint cost the governor personally, and the state of Alaska,
thousands of dollars to address," said Thomas Van Flein, the governor's
attorney. "It is regrettable that the ethics process has been diverted for
partisan purposes by some, but it is also commendable that the board
remains focused on the law."
The floodgates opened after Mrs. Palin was tapped by Mr. McCain of
Arizona and she was accused of abusing power by firing state Public
Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.
Four complaints related to this matter were filed to the personnel board.
One of them was filed by the governor as a means of self-disclosure.
In the end, no violation was found.
Even after the election was over, the stream of complaints continued.
Alaska residents challenged Mrs. Palin's trips out of state to attend a
campaign event for Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Georgia Republican, and to
speak at a pro-life breakfast in Indiana, as well as for conducting
television interviews in her state office.
The latest complaint to be decided was filed by Anchorage resident Linda
Kellen Biegel, who took issue with Mrs. Palin for wearing to a public
function a jacket made by a company that sponsored the governor's
husband, Todd, a snow machine racer.
Ms. Biegel asked the personnel board to determine whether Mrs. Palin
was abusing her position to serve her personal and financial interests.
Mrs. Palin called the complaint "asinine political grandstanding," and the
board's
independent investigator said there was no evidence of
wrongdoing.
"My investigation has uncovered no evidence that the governor or her
husband received anything of value in exchange for the governor
wearing the Team Arctic jacket when she acted as the official starter of
the 2009 Iron Dog," said Thomas Daniel, the investigator. "I also note
that most jackets worn by Alaskans have a company name or logo on
them."
(Corrected paragraph:) The personnel board is a three-member panel of
non-state workers who are appointed by the governor. Mrs. Palin's
predecessor appointed each of the three current members, Chairwoman
Debra English, Laura Plenert and Alfred Tamagni Sr., although Mrs. Palin
reappointed Ms. English for another term in January 2008.
Rules dictate that no more than two of the members can belong to the
same political party. Ms. English is a registered Republican; Ms. Plenert
and Mr. Tamagni have no declared party affiliation.
The personnel board normally would be expected to meet only two or
three times a year, but their workload has increased because of the
number of complaints filed.
Mrs. Palin said defending herself against the complaints has cost more
than $500,000, and she set up a legal defense fund to cover the costs.
Eagle River resident Kim Chatman challenged that move. "Governor Palin
is perched to improperly receive an enormous amount of money for
herself and her family and position a pool of pre-paid defense lawyers
organized to deflect consequences of wrongdoings," Ms. Chatman said in
the filing.
That complaint is still pending, though it's unclear whether other
complaints are. The personnel board isn't supposed to talk about
complaints until the matter has been resolved.
In the wake of the complaints, the personnel board sought to make the
public aware of the cost of investigating the complaints. Mr. Tamagni
estimated that the board has spent "close to a third of a million dollars."
One complaint did have some effect.
Like previous Alaska governors, Mrs. Palin took her children on plane trips
to events to which her children were not specifically invited. Though the
personnel board did not find any violation of ethics rules, the governor
volunteered to reimburse those expenses to the state. The bill totaled
$20,012.
Ms. Biegel, who blogs about politics from a Democratic perspective under
the name Celtic Diva and was selected by the Democratic National
Committee to represent Alaska bloggers at the 2008 convention, said the
state offers no other options to challenge the actions of elected officials.
"It's the only way we can ask the question basically," Ms. Biegel said.
Ms. Biegel publicized her complaint on her blog with a press release,
although parties involved in the filings are not supposed to discuss them
with the public.
"I wanted to have a record so people would know there was one out there
and it couldn't just disappear," she said.
Kay Brown, communications director for the Alaska Democratic Party,
said Ms. Biegel had no formal connection to the party and Alaska
Democrats did not have a role in any of the complaints filed against the
governor.
She did, however, think there was reason for the complaints and raised
the issue of the governor's forthcoming autobiography and travel to
out-of-state political events.
"How is this benefiting the people of Alaska in her duties as governor? It
seems like there is a disconnect there," Ms. Brown said. "Since Palin has
put herself in the national spotlight more questions have been raised
about her use of office for personal advancement that weren't there
before."
In the federal complaint, the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in
Washington asked the FEC to rule on whether Mrs. Palin violated
campaign spending laws after the Republican Party bought clothes for her
during the presidential campaign.
The FEC ruled in May that a prohibition on candidates using campaign
money for personal expenses doesn't apply to parties.
Siggy's take: Yup. The far-left haters SCREAMED for months - and threw
her under the bus holding the baby - but Sarah was found innocent after
all. Imagine that. She's batting 1,000.
But here is the kicker:
There was absolutely
no liberal response to this in mainstream media.
None.
Just goes to show you how politically prejudiced they really are.
Finally. The proof of left wing media bias has manifested itself without a
word being spoken by a single liberal or conservative talking head.
Is that possible?
YOU BETCHA.
