Well isn’t this interesting….and not surprising:
Seems the AP forgot to tell us that Thomas Daiel, the investigator who thinks that outgoing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin may have violated state ethics law in raising money to defend herself against frivolous ethics charges, cut a rather generous check to Democrat Mark Begich’s Senate campaign last fall summer. According to Open Secrets, he contributed $1,000 to that Democrat, the same amount he gave to John Kerry in 2004. He gave $1,800 to the DNC (Democratic National Committee) and contributed to various Democratic campaigns, but not a dime to Republicans.
Don’t you think that might have some bearing on his ability to adjudicate an ethics issue involving a prominent Republican?
if the man investigating a Democrat had supported a Republican candidate, I’d bet the AP would let us know that. Not just that. The reporter neglected to inform us that Daniel works for Perkins Coie, a firm which served as counsel to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Given that Mr. Obama’s presidential campaign was trying to defeat the ticket on which Mrs. Palin ran last fall, you’d think that maybe Mr. Daniel might want to recuse himself from investigating her. Or that that AP might report that. I mean, if his firm had worked for Republicans and he were investigating Democrats, they would certainly make much of it.
Now should the investigator into ethics violations be a Republican if the person being investigated is Republican? Definitely not. But given the fact that he is most obviously a hardcore Democrat AND he is employed by the very same law firm that served as counsel to Obama during the campaign last year I would say the man had no business being anywhere near an investigation into Sarah Palin.
The writer is completely right also….if the roles were reversed there would be hell to pay from the MSM and the left.
But it’s Sarah Palin so instead we’re getting crickets.
See author page
AP has the story all FUBAR’ed, Curt. See the Alinsky Perfected latest.
Thanks for your support of Sarah. I am a big fan and don’t appreciate the Dem’s trying to destroy our Sarah. I guess I will have to give another $25.00 to the Sarah Defense Fund.
From Conservatives4Palin.com
PLEASE READ THIS AND SPREAD THE WORD
http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2009/07/latest-ethics-nonsense-ap-gets-it-wrong.html
It is being incorrectly reported that Gov. Palin was found to have violated the Ethics Act. This is a complete lie! All you have to do is read the report:
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In addition, my role as independent counsel for the personnel board is only to decide whether there is probable cause to believe a violation of the Ethics Act has occurred – not to reach a definitive conclusion. See AS 39.52.320. The ultimate determination of whether the governor has violated the Ethics Act can only be made by the personnel board after a formal heating and a report by the hearing officer. See AS 39.52.360-370.
In sum, I find probable cause to believe that payment of the governor’s legal fees by the Alaska Fund Trust will violate the Ethics Act prohibition against a public officer accepting gifts intended to influence performance of official duties.
[…]
I can recommend that corrective action be taken to resolve this complaint without the necessity of a formal hearing on the matter. See AS 39.52.330. My recommendation is that the governor should refuse to accept payment of her legal fees and costs from the Alaska Fund Trust and withdraw her authorization for the trust to be recognized as her “official” legal defense fund. I also recommend that she seek reimbursement from the state for the cost of defending the ethics complaints that have been dismissed.
I also recommend that the legislature consider amending the Ethics Act to require the state to reimburse a public official for reasonable legal fees and costs incurred to defend against an Ethics Act complaint that is dismissed. [emphasis added]
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Did you get that? The independent investigator, Thomas Daniel, is not finding the governor in violation of the Ethics Act. Only the Personnel Board can make such a ruling, and Daniel actually recommends that no ruling is necessary. Gov. Palin has not accepted one dime of money from the legal defense fund yet. How can she be in violation of the Ethics Act for something she hasn’t even done yet? You can’t charge her with a violation for a future act! The language Daniel uses is future tense “will violate” — not violated.
Daniel recommends not accepting the funds and instead having the state pay for the legal bills incurred by the dismissed complaints (which is basically all of them). What poetic justice this is. Ordinary Americans from all over the country (and Alaska) gave money to pay these bills, but now the people of Alaska will be stiffed with the bill. Are Alaskans angry about these frivolous ethics complaints yet? Are you guys finally ready to take a stand? Enjoy paying for Andree McLeod’s hobby and obsession.
I’m not at all convinced that the Alaska Fund Trust will be forced to disband and return the money. I’m sure Gov. Palin’s attorney will counter this report. I’m sure it will be resolved. But if it does have to be disband and the money returned, then guess what? We’ll set up a new one for Sarah Palin as just a plain old citizen. And we’ll raise even more!
Congratulations once again to the nutters in Alaska who have turned the state’s Ethics Act into a joke. I sure hope that the Democrats up there fix the crazy loop holes in the Executive Branch Ethics Act before any Democrat is elected governor because anyone from anywhere can file an ethics complaint against the governor of Alaska without paying a penny, and there are a lot of people just itching for a tit for tat on this.
Thanks for posting most of the Conservatives4Palin article. I also linked that in my Alinsky Perfected Pt VI piece, which should give you more indepth info on Thomas Daniel’s report that was supposed to be confidential, but instead linked to the press prematurely.
Palin leaves office as of Sunday. At that point, she is no longer governor and I do ponder how that changes her access to the legal defense fund.
I would think, after reading Daniel’s analysis, that if Palin retracted permission to use her photo and they stopped referring to her as governor, she may be able to tap into that fund after she leaves office. But I guess we’ll have to see what her legal eagles that helped Kristan Cole and the supporters set the fund up has to say.
But if you read the Pt VI on this, you’ll notice that Daniel’s recommended changes to Alaskan law to make the taxpayers absorb the legal defense expenses for complaints that are dismissed or cleared for future Governors. While I don’t agree with his recommended cure, I do agree this this is truly a pile of manure.
The legislature ought to change the law all right. They need to change it so that the complainant has to provide solid evidence to back up his/her claims when filing and to require the ethics board to penalize any complainant when the defendant is cleared and/or the charges are dismissed.
Please note Daniels recommdation was for Sarah not to benefit from the trust fund established pay her legal fees (the reason so many people donated) instead charge the legal fees to the state which, btw, will not happen as long as the dems are the majority and she is on the hook. Is this not a win-win situation for the dems? She will still be bankrupt which was their purpose in the first place and they can keep on saying she was guilty when she does not take money from the trust.
I hope as a private citizen whe will sue the crap out of the media who have trashed her for the past year and these idiots who have filed false ethics charges. The statute of limitations has not run out on any of them. I have never seen anything like this in my life. I always have known politics were dirty but this surpasses everything. Chicago politics, anybody?
Obvious conflict of interest in reporting and editing this Palin story, written and edited by the dem majority employed at CBS. Expect more of these, ahem, journalists and editors writing nonsense stories to reinforce a negative image and push for divisions among Republicans, their goal being to ruin Sarah Palin.
Note the editor’s fact check in the middle of Ann Coulter’s quote. BTW, the “conservative” Rasmussen Polling has a history of being accurate!
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/25/earlyshow/main5188386.shtml