Alaska panel finds Palin abused power in firing

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.

link: The Associated Press: Alaska panel finds Palin abused power in firing (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jOTk11gvqDAgD0cY3i4WjI_2YOxwD93O09M00)

I don't care for her, but I never really thought this was a big deal. The trooper she supposedly tried to get fired was drinking and driving in his state police vehicle, used a taser on his stepson, and was caught hunting illegally. If those aren't grounds for termination, I don't know what is.

Agree with S double G

I believe he should have been dismissed from the force for his conduct. The question is whether or not under the law he should have been dismissed from the force without her involvement? Would she have tried to coerce his superiors to fire him if he was an officer she didn't personally know?

This might not seem like a big deal but it is. The governor is not bigger than the law, we are after all "a nation of laws." Next thing you know t's Monica Goodling and the firing of US District Attorneys all over again.

I believe he should have been dismissed from the force for his conduct. The question is whether or not under the law he should have been dismissed from the force without her involvement? Would she have tried to coerce his superiors to fire him if he was an officer she didn't personally know?

This might not seem like a big deal but it is. The governor is not bigger than the law, we are after all "a nation of laws." Next thing you know t's Monica Goodling and the firing of US District Attorneys all over again.

The investigation determined Palin had the authority to do what she did (i.e., she didn't break any law). Also, there's a world of a difference between trying to get this guy fired and the Goodling situation.

The investigation determined Palin had the authority to do what she did (i.e., she didn't break any law). Also, there's a world of a difference between trying to get this guy fired and the Goodling situation.

Huh? Does the word "unlawfully" have a another definition I am not aware of? She tried to get the guy fired, but the guy who could fire resisted to fire him so she fired the guy who could.

Investigator Stephen Branchflower, in a report by a bipartisan panel that investigated the matter, found Palin in violation of a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.

Branchflower said Palin violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.All I'm saying is anyone capable of firing people because they don't like them or they don't toe the line is also capable of discrimination during the hiring process. Wouldn't have to fire anyone if everyone you hired has their lips on your ass. And yes, this shady firing is akin to the firing of U.S. District Attorneys.

palin's theft of 123million is a bigger deal to me.

she begged for that bridge to nowhere (120+mill bridge for a tiny population - it would have been cheaper to buy each person in the town their own private cessna)...anyways
1. she begged for the money,
2. she got the money (for the state),
3. she took a LOT of flak when the story broke about what a huge waste of resources that project would be, so...
4. she said we absolutely will not build it (to save face/for political convenience when she's the one that wanted it to begin with), and...
5. SHE (the state) KEPT THE MONEY.

so now there's no stupid retardedly expensive bridge AND 123mill$ missing from the national budget - who wins? the taxpayers :P

what a maverick.

Ah, the bloom is off the Alaska rose, I'm afraid. This is small potatoes, though I guess it fits with her baracuda rep.

From the start, what I have disliked most about her is that she's a straight Rove pick: it does not matter how little you know or how unqualified you are, so long as you sound like you're small-town red state, that's good enough. The last 8 years have proven conclusively that this is false.

She couldn't even stand up to Katie Couric's "brutal" interview style. Wow. All I see now is Tina Fey's parody, except it's real. Sad. There were many more qualified republican women who would have been good VP picks.

Huh? Does the word "unlawfully" have a another definition I am not aware of? She tried to get the guy fired, but the guy who could fire resisted to fire him so she fired the guy who could.

The "law" she is accused of violating isn't your garden variety "law." She is accused of violating state ethics law, which is used by state employees as a guideline and it is akin to an employee handbook. So, for example, there are no criminal penalties for violations of state ethics "laws."

Moreover, Palin wasn't been found guilty of anything beyond a reasonable doubt; one independent investigator merely thinks she violated ethical standards governing Alaska government employees.

Even the investigator concluded (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14481.html) Palin was within her constitutional and statutory authority to fire the employee in question. The investigator also thought she had bona fide reasons to fire the employee. The investigator merely determined that her motivations weren't 100% pure (i.e., she allowed her personal life to influence her professional conduct to some degree). As I mentioned earlier, a state administrative board determined the cop Palin wanted fired threatened to kill members of Palin's family, used a taser on his stepson, drank beer in his cop car, and illegally hunted. Moreover, no one has ever shown me anything to make me think (with a high degree of certainty) that there is a causal relationship between the custody battle the firing of the state employee.

All I'm saying is anyone capable of firing people because they don't like them or they don't toe the line is also capable of discrimination during the hiring process. Wouldn't have to fire anyone if everyone you hired has their lips on your ass. And yes, this shady firing is akin to the firing of U.S. District Attorneys.

The shady firing of U.S.D.A.s was FAR more serious. It presented a threat to the independence of ALL of our nation's top cops. It was also unprecedented. Not even in the same ballpark. It's sad, but this kind of stuff goes on all the time in government. Politicians hire and fire people all of the time for personal reasons. I'm not saying it's good, but it's not a huge deal.

I'm an Obama supporter, but I think there's nothing to see here. Attack her for her poor intellect, lack of experience, parochialism, etc., but not this.

She's obviously the devil.