Sarah Palin abused her power as Alaska's governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, according to an ethics probe report released Friday.
The news came shortly after Alaska lawmakers voted unanimously to make public a report about the abuse-of-power investigation into Palin, the U.S. Republican vice-presidential nominee.
Chief investigator Stephen Branchflower 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 that says "any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that [public] trust."
Palin was accused of firing Alaska's public safety commissioner Walter Monegan because he refused to dismiss the state trooper involved in a bitter divorce and custody fight with Palin's sister. Palin has said Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.
Thought this deserved some separation from the massive election thread. You do have to wonder at this point if McCain vetted Palin at all...
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Not a fan of Palin, but i'd be extremely suprised if this sort of "abuse" of power isn't pretty damn common in the US political establishment. To me personally not a very newsworthy event.
Not a fan of Palin, but i'd be extremely suprised if this sort of "abuse" of power isn't pretty damn common in the US political establishment. To me personally not a very newsworthy event.
It was occurring before Palin was even chosen, so it wouldn't have gotten any play outside of Alaska, but it was newsworthy before her selection.
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Not a fan of Palin, but i'd be extremely suprised if this sort of "abuse" of power isn't pretty damn common in the US political establishment. To me personally not a very newsworthy event.
Unfortunately, this is the state of politics...while they did talk about how her glasses are getting quite popular on CNN...
I thought she always says its about job creation, yet she is firing people for no good reason?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by henriksedin33
Not at all, as I've said, I would rather start with LA over any of the other WC playoff teams. Bunch of underachievers who look good on paper but don't even deserve to be in the playoffs.
The trooper that tased his 11 year old stepson? The trooper that was caught drinking on duty in his patrol car and poaching moose?
Do your research before you start feeling sorry for the guy.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan02
Not a fan of Palin, but i'd be extremely suprised if this sort of "abuse" of power isn't pretty damn common in the US political establishment. To me personally not a very newsworthy event.
I think you are wrong. If you had claimed that finding someone a job due to connections is common, that I'd find plausible, but getting someone fired is much harder and also carries much more negative visibility. In this case, you are even talking about a government job - the kind of job that everyone complains because the incompetent DON'T get weeded out because it's hard to fire someone with cause, never mind without.
I'm amazed that people can be complacent about this. This is exactly the kind of misuse of power that should be vigorously prosecuted when found; apathy just encourages further abuse.
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Sarah Palin Abused Power: Ethics Report
