Troopergate probe widens

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/10/14/palin_troopergate_widens.html

By Tom Kizzia

McClatchy Newspapers

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska state Personnel Board investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin’s firing of Walt Monegan has broadened to include other ethics complaints against the governor and examination of actions by other state employees, according to the independent counsel handling the case.

The investigator, Tim Petumenos, did not say who else is under scrutiny. But in two recent letters describing his inquiry, he cited the consolidation of complaints and the involvement of other officials as a reason for not going along with Palin’s request to make the examination of her activities more public.

Two other ethics complaints involving Palin are known. One, by activist Andree McLeod, alleges that state hiring practices were circumvented for a Palin supporter. The case is not related to Monegan’s firing. The other, by the Public Safety Employees Association, alleges that trooper Mike Wooten’s personnel file was illegally breached by state officials.

John Cyr, the PSEA executive director, said Monday the union plans to amend its complaint to be sure the board investigates “harassment” of Wooten as well.

[Cerridwen]

1. My apologies to you NNN0LHI for what I'm about to say...

but as a woman, every time I read "probe" and "widens" in the same sentence, I have to cross my legs.

:shudder:

Now I'll go read the article. :D

[awoke_in_2003]

5. as a man

I won't tell you what I do :)

[ColbertWatcher]

2. Kick and rec for more visibility!

Bravo!

We need investigations to be non-partisan as well as complete.

By doing these investigations thoroughly, Alaska's reputation will survive Ted Stevens and Palin.

Good job.

[crickets]

3. GOOD. -nt

[Blue_In_AK]

4. More from the Alaska bloggers

Son of Troopergate - The Mudflats http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/10/14/son-of-troopergate/

Let me start by saying we know nothing yet. However.

The “other” Troopergate probe into Sarah Palin’s abuse of power in trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired, is taking an interesting turn. The investigation, sanctioned by Palin herself, stems from the Personnel Board. This board is composed of three people, all governor-appointed, two by the previous Republican governor Frank Murkowski, and one re-upped by Palin.

The Legislature, of course, had its own investigation and concluded that Palin was, in fact, guilty of abuse of her power as Governor. But Palin has been decrying the Legislative investigation as a “partisan circus” and a kangaroo court. The REAL investigation, she says, comes from the Personnel Board. So convinced of this was Palin, that she herself is the one who filed the ethics complaint against….herself, just to make sure this Board had the final say.

Timothy Petumenos was appointed as the independent investigator for the Personnel Board. The buzz around town is that he’s a good guy, a competent and aggressive trial lawyer, a straight-shooter, and will do his job well. Then came the awful revelation…Timothy Petumenos is…..a Democrat. (loud ominous chord plays on the Mudflats organ) And not only a Democrat, but one who had contributed to Tony Knowles 2006 gubernatorial campaign when he was running against Palin! (loud, slightly higher on the scale chord plays on the Mudflats organ)

Palin, who said she would cooperate with the Personnel Board’s investigation, is scheduled to be questioned by Petumenos next week.

“We took a gamble when we went to the personnel board,” said a McCain aide who asked not to be identified discussing strategy. While the McCain camp still insists Palin “has nothing to hide,” it acknowledges a critical finding by Petumenos would be even harder to dismiss.

But wait, there’s more.

We learned, in the wee hours of the morning, that Timothy Petumenos’ job has gotten a little bigger. The nets are cast wide, and there are more fish than we thought.

The state Personnel Board investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin’s firing of Walt Monegan has broadened to include other ethics complaints against the governor and examination of actions by other state employees, according to the independent counsel handling the case.

Indeeeed….

Two other ethics complaints involving Palin are known. One, by activist Andree McLeod, alleges that state hiring practices were circumvented for a Palin supporter. The case is not related to Monegan’s firing. The other, by the Public Safety Employees Association, alleges that trooper Mike Wooten’s personnel file was illegally breached by state officials.

John Cyr, the PSEA executive director, said Monday the union plans to amend its complaint to be sure the board investigates “harassment” of Wooten as well.

There’s no way of knowing how long this will take, or what the results will be, but we may be in for some more surprises before this is over.


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It Ain't Over Until It's Over, Sarah, Celtic Diva http://www.divasblueoasis.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=183

It seems that this "Personnel Board" may not be the rubber stamp the Palin Administration/McCain Campaign was hoping for:

The state Personnel Board investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of Walt Monegan has broadened to include other ethics complaints against the governor and examination of actions by other state employees, according to the independent counsel handling the case.
The investigator, Tim Petumenos, did not say who else is under scrutiny. But in two recent letters describing his inquiry, he cited the consolidation of complaints and the involvement of other officials as a reason for not going along with Palin's request to make the examination of her activities more public.

Two other ethics complaints involving Palin are known. One, by activist Andree McLeod, alleges that state hiring practices were circumvented for a Palin supporter. The case is not related to Monegan's firing. The other, by the Public Safety Employees Association, alleges that trooper Mike Wooten's personnel file was illegally breached by state officials.

It also seems that Walt Monegan is fighting back in a really big way:


Gov. Sarah Palin's former public safety commissioner says the governor smeared him and he wants a hearing to clear his name.
Walt Monegan on Monday asked the state personnel board to allow him a chance to disprove the vice presidential nominee's assertion he was a "rogue" and insubordinate commissioner. The board is investigating Palin's July dismissal of Monegan.

"Governor Palin's public statements accusing Mr. Monegan of serious misconduct were untrue and they have stigmatized his good name, severely damaged -- and continue to damage -- his reputation, and impaired his ability to pursue future professional employment in law enforcement and related fields," said the hearing request filed by Monegan's lawyer, Jeff Feldman.

At Andrew Halcro's blog he has the link to Monegan's hearing request. Andrew also promises to reveal more information on his 1:00 PM radio show on KENI today.

Of course, let's not forget the interesting revealations on the building of the Palin house, which seemed to (coincidentally) coincide with the building of the Wasilla Sports Complex right down the road:


What an unusual situation. Giant construction contracts are being awarded to campaign contributors at the same time that "buddies" who just happen to be contractors are "helping" Todd build their two-story house. At the same time Sarah ensures there will be no public record of building permits. WTF? How is this different from the Stevens situation?
We need to know:

Who Built Sarah Palin's House?

Then we have the great investigative work being done by Max Blumenthal and David Neiwert over at Salon.com regarding Sarah Palin's "right-wing pals"--connections like former Alaska Independence Party Chairman Mark Cryson, who most Alaskans didn't realize had such an influence over Sarah's career:


Though Chryson belongs to a fringe political party, one that advocates the secession of Alaska from the Union, and that organizes with other like-minded secessionist movements from Canada to the Deep South, he is not without peculiar influence in state politics, especially the rise of Sarah Palin. An obscure figure outside of Alaska, Chryson has been a political fixture in the hometown of the Republican vice-presidential nominee for over a decade. During the 1990s, when Chryson directed the AIP, he and another radical right-winger, Steve Stoll, played a quiet but pivotal role in electing Palin as mayor of Wasilla and shaping her political agenda afterward. Both Stoll and Chryson not only contributed to Palin's campaign financially, they played major behind-the-scenes roles in the Palin camp before, during and after her victory.
Palin backed Chryson as he successfully advanced a host of anti-tax, pro-gun initiatives, including one that altered the state Constitution's language to better facilitate the formation of anti-government militias. She joined in their vendetta against several local officials they disliked, and listened to their advice about hiring. She attempted to name Stoll, a John Birch Society activist known in the Mat-Su Valley as "Black Helicopter Steve," to an empty Wasilla City Council seat. "Every time I showed up her door was open," said Chryson. "And that policy continued when she became governor."

No, Sarah, it ain't over 'til it's over. Alaska is not how you left it.