The media is throwing out the term "Abuse of Power" a lot but the 263 page PDF report has some interesting reasoning on that "abuse of power."
The other 5 page PDF file is here and it is the Counsel for Palin's response.
Despite blaring headlines, one specific portion of the report states clearly:
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.
Emphasis mine.
Because I am late getting started today, I will show you some reactions.
One of the most in-depth analysis of this with screen shots of the PDF's comes from Flopping Aces, so head over and read it, but his title lines give what the bottom line of this truly ends up being "Trooper’gate witchhunt finale: $100K cost to taxpayers… no $5000 fine? No impeachment??"
So what about that impeachment Sen. Hollis French so readily bandied about in the press? Or at least one of the $5000 maximum fines? Again, from today’s ADN:
The chairman of the Legislative Council, Sen. Kim Elton, D-Juneau, said he agreed with Branchflower’s findings but wasn’t ready to suggest there should be any consequences for the governor.
“We don’t charge people, we don’t try people as legislators,” Elton said. Any further action or disciplinary measures, he said, would be up to Palin’s executive branch, the attorney general or the state Personnel Board.
So here we are - $100,000 later - back to the Personnel Board investigation. Right where the dang thing belonged to begin with….
Clinton supporter Larry Johnson from No Quarter, cuts through all the legalese and gets to the heart of the matter, when he puts it all in terms any family man can understand:
Let’s look at this trooper’s record and start with the fact that the investigation of Wooten, which led to his dismissal suspension , started before Sara Palin was elected Governor. And this is not just some messy case of he said/she said. Turns out the Wooten was an out of control law enforcement officer. An investigation of his conduct concluded that he was guilty of the following:
Three incidents of Unbecoming Conduct
Three incidents of Personal Misconduct
One incident of Failure to Perform Duties Properly, Use of Government Property
Two incidents of Conformance to Laws
One incident Use of Alcohol
One incident Operation to Be Prudent and Lawful
These violations included using a taser on his ten-year old stepson, shooting a cow moose without a valid permit, and drinking beer while operating a marked Alaska State Trooper vehicle. (The dude sounds like the cop Seth Rogen played in Superbad.)
If you want to make the case that Palin’s husband should have ignored this clown, who reportedly made threats against the family, then you live in a world I do not know and I do not care to know. I don’t want drunken, angry, law-breaking assholes running around with a gun and badge. Todd Palin. Good on you man, you stood up for your family.
Will this cause McCain/Palin supporters to turn into Obama supporters or stay home and not vote? Nope, not a chance.
Will this push undecideds into voting for Obama? Possibly and just as possibly some will just stay home and not vote at all. Others may decide to read the report for themselves and come to their own conclusions.
With weeks to go until the election, time will tell whether or not people will actually read the report or go around like little robotic lapdogs repeating headlines.
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