# Palin pressured for firing of her ex brother in law?



## BigDaddy (Mar 4, 2002)

Anybody heard of these reports that Palin pressured Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner to fire Palin's ex brother in law? According to the accounts that I have read, the ex brother in law, a state trooper, was a real creep. However, that does not excuse such an abuse of executive power.

It is alleged that Palin pressured the Public Safety Commissioner (Walter Monegan) to fire the trooper. When Monegan refused, Palin fired him. Palin then allegedly tried to cover it up.

The Alaska legislature voted unanimously to open up a special investigation into the matter.

Here are some URLs for more information:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/211769.php

http://www.ickypeople.com/2008/08/palin-brother-in-law-scandal-grows.html

As stated above, the trooper is probably a creep: http://www.newsminer.com/news/2008/jul/28/scrutiny-wooten-raises-conduct-questions/. However, it is troubling that a governor would use their power to step into a matter like this, and then deny that they did.

Or, maybe even more troubling is the poor judgement of McCain in picking this person as his running mate. If this is an indication of the quality decisions that he will make as president, I'm a little nervous.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

So where is the investigation at now, and what have they found?

I agree it wouldn't be right even if the guy was a creep. If he was a creep that should not have held the position he did I would have gone after him also, but I would find a different way. At least I would have tried to find a way that didn't look like I had a conflict of interest.


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## BigDaddy (Mar 4, 2002)

Plainsman:

Here is a link to KTVA's site on this controversy: http://www.ktva.com/commissionercontroversy.

They are the CBS television affiliate in Anchorage, and there is lots of good information there. Something definitely smells funny.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

BigDaddy said:


> Plainsman:
> 
> Here is a link to KTVA's site on this controversy: http://www.ktva.com/commissionercontroversy.
> 
> They are the CBS television affiliate in Anchorage, and there is lots of good information there. Something definitely smells funny.


Thanks for the link. They said:


> will be unbiased and done in a timely fashion.


Something is really bothering me about this. First they decided to do this after she was named the vp pick by McCain. The timing makes it fishy don't you think? The the statement about "in a timely fashion". I can not help but wonder if the Wednesday after the election they find that she is not guilty of the charges? If this had been done a month before she was picked for vp it would look better. Now it looks like a backstab job, but I guess we will all have to wait and see.
I do know one thing. They are digging hard to find anything they can against this woman. On the Heidcamp (spelling?)show today it was clear that the attack is garnering sympathy even among liberals. Jumping on her kids may have been a big mistake.


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## Skip OK (Jul 16, 2006)

Actually I have been following this story for several weeks prior to her nomination. So far, here are the things the trooper is alleged to have done;

1. Drunk driving. In uniform. While driving his state owned cruiser. Apparently witnessed by more than one police officers.

2. Using a tazer on his (preteen) step son as punishment for some alleged misdeed.

3. Hunting a moose out of season and without a hunting liscence.

4. Threatening to shoot his father-in-law in the head (this last one did not come from a regular news source, while the rest did)

According to what I have read, no one has proved that Mrs Palin had any knowledge of pressure being brought to bear on the Public Safety guy , but she should have; her chief of staff was suspended as I understand it when she found out he had e-mailed the guy, and there were rumors that her husband had also left e-mails.

Now, in a perfect world, what should have happened is that the trooper should face charges for child abuse, drunk driving, assault, and poaching, If convicted he should be removed from any police job permanently. Then, the Public Safety manager should be scrutinized to see if he is competent to do his job (he opted for a short suspension rather than removal as appropriate punishment for this guy).

I also think that the manager should be personally liable for any damage caused by this guyif he is ever found driving drunk. Joint and several liability so that if this drunk kills somebody, their suvivors can take not only HIS house and retirement and car and all his stuff, but also the manager's house, retirement, etc


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

hunter 9494 your last post I deleted becuase it has nothing to do with this topic


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## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

If a North Dakota state trooper had behaved like this , there is no doubt in my mind that Governor Hoven would remove him from duty. She acted appropriatly


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

Old Hunter. Great point most people that deal in the real world agree with you. I think thats why even the main stream liberal media dropped it so fast. A few here still have to grasp at any straw they can find uke:


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## BigDaddy (Mar 4, 2002)

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/11/palin.investigation/index.html'

Here is an update on this story. THis is starting to smell a little bad. It is also looking like the governor's office is being less than forthright and cooperative with the investigation.

Here are a couple of excerpts from this most recent story:

Shea is the U.S. attorney that advised Palin against firing her public safety commissioner for not firing Palin's brother in law:



> Shea, who says he's an admirer of Palin's, said Thursday that the governor's aides are trying to stall an investigation into Monegan's dismissal by the state Legislature.


, and



> "The problem, in my opinion, is that there has been out-and-out cover-up and misleading statements by staffers in the governor's office," he said. "And the parallel that I tried to draw is, you know, the problem with the firing or terminating of the U.S. attorneys."


And a statement from Alaska's AG:


> "Bluntly and to the point, we think there is a legitimate concern that this investigation is no longer being conducted in a fair manner -- and therefore is potentially violative of Alaska's constitutional due process safeguards," Senior Assistant Attorney General Mike Barnhill wrote in a letter Tuesday to the bipartisan committee that launched the investigation.


You wouldn't think that this "maverick" would be trying to stall the investigation until after the election, would you?


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## Whistler31 (Feb 1, 2007)

Obama's Wasilla Airborne (Digging dirt on Palin)
hotair.com ^ | September 9, 2008 | Ed Morrissey

Posted on Tuesday, September 09, 2008 5:47:18 PM by Free ThinkerNY

John Fund reports that the town of Wasilla, Alaska finds itself under siege this week. Have the Russians invaded? Have the Canadians surrounded them? No, a far more malevolent force is at work in Alaska's fifth-largest city - Democrats looking for dirt:

Democrats understand Sarah Palin is a formidable political force who has upset the Obama victory plan. The latest Washington Post/ABC Poll shows John McCain taking a 12-point lead over Barack Obama among white women, a reversal of Mr. Obama's eight-point lead last month.

It's no surprise, then, that Democrats have airdropped a mini-army of 30 lawyers, investigators and opposition researchers into Anchorage, the state capital Juneau and Mrs. Palin's hometown of Wasilla to dig into her record and background. My sources report the first wave arrived in Anchorage less than 24 hours after John McCain selected her on August 29.


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## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

BigDaddy assuming that the actions the trooper is accused of are true, do you believe that he should retain his position as a state trooper?


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## BigDaddy (Mar 4, 2002)

> BigDaddy assuming that the actions the trooper is accused of are true, do you believe that he should retain his position as a state trooper?


OldHunter: I said a couple of times that it looks like the trooper is a creep. However, it's not my place or your place to decide whether he should be fired. That's the responsibility for the trooper's boss.


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## h2ofwlr (Feb 6, 2004)

And if the troopers boss is the Gov. and the troopers Boss is drgging their feet. Then yes firing him for not taking action would be in order. That is how private industry does it. So why not the Govt.? I really think it is BS that you have to have multiple serious offenses to be removed as a Govt employee. And the trooper did. IMO 20% of the Govt employees would be fired if they worked in the private sector.


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## Csquared (Sep 5, 2006)

I agree that at first glance there is at least a hint of potential wrong doing, so looking into it is certainly warranted. But my take on the posted article is this. Shea very clearly shows he agrees with Palin's thoughts and feelings of the trooper being a threat, but he also clearly shows, that as her POLITICAL advisor, he is only worried about the political implications of her actions.....not whether they are right or wrong.

I would hope we all here are tired of people who forsake "right" for political gain. Sounds a little like change to me :wink:

Time will most certainly tell if she was right or wrong.

One other observation. We all will most likely agree the trooper's boss was responsible for handling the trooper (sorry, can't keep the names straight) as stated by Bigdaddy. But Bosses have bosses, and it is perfectly acceptable for one to step in if the other is not fullfilling his responsibilities. And here again, time will tell if that is anywhere near the case.

I honestly haven't noticed the dates, but didn't this happen awhile ago, and didn't matter much to many until she was in the media spotlight?


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