From The Road
October 11, 2008 9:23 AM

Palin Denies Report's Finding That She Abused Her Power

By
Scott Conroy
Topics
Sarah Palin
(CBS)
From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

(PITTSBURGH) As she boarded her campaign bus this morning, Sarah Palin denied the conclusion of a state ethics report, which found the Alaska governor abused her power when she pressured subordinates to get a state trooper fired.

Asked by a reporter if she abused her power, Palin shook her head and said, ""No."

She added, "And if you read the report, you'll see that there was nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member. You got to read the report, sir."

While the investigation by the Alaska state legislature did find that Palin was within her rights to fire public safety commissioner Walt Monegan—state trooper Michael Wooten's boss—the report found that she violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act by knowingly allowing her husband Todd to use state resources to try to get Wooten fired.

The ethics report found that Gov. Palin "permitted Todd Palin to use the governor's office and the resources of the governor's office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired."

The report also found that Palin "knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda."

The conclusion of the panel's report endangered the Republican ticket's argument that Palin has the track record to facilitate ethics reform in Washington.

  • Scott Conroy

    Scott Conroy is a National Political Reporter for RealClearPolitics and a contributor for CBS News.

Add a Comment See all 30 Comments
by smurfcrusher October 14, 2008 12:10 AM EDT
Can Palin''s attorneys be disbarred for deliberately and wantonly misrepresenting the Ethics Law Palin violated through her deceptive personal vendetta?
Reply to this comment
by smurfcrusher October 14, 2008 12:06 AM EDT
Palin and her attorneys are SO full of it. They are trying to rewrite the Ethics law so it only covers incidents involving monetary gain.

Well, we can certainly play that game, too.

Reminiscent of certain credit card commercials...

"abusing your power to conduct personal vendettas against your subordinates? ...Priceless"

Destroying a career most CERTAINLY causes a material (non trivial) damage not only to the career for the fired individual, but to the respect for the office and the confidence the people have that the Governor will act in the best interests of the people.

The Ethics Laws are NOT exclusively to prevent misdeeds resulting in financial gain. The attorneys dance around this point but do not dispute it.
The idea that previous violations of the Ethics law had a financial component does NOT prevent the broader scope of the law from applying, as we see here.
The Personnel Board report is due around Election Day and should be VERY telling.
Reply to this comment
by waxhawron-2009 October 12, 2008 9:27 PM EDT
Just went to www.adn.com the Anchorage Daily News to see what people there think. They are, for the most part, embarrassed for their state. They know that she has lied about the results of the "partisan"--10 republicans, 4 democrats--investigative committee, because unlike their governor, they read and comprehend. They understand what ''abuse of power" means.
Reply to this comment
by newslink October 12, 2008 3:21 PM EDT
Does this woman understand, what holding Office really means? It is not Abusing your Position. It causes me to wonder. How many other issues has she abuse? Since it seems to be ok with her and the State of Alaska.
Reply to this comment
by waxhawron-2009 October 12, 2008 3:10 PM EDT
Deny, Deny, Deny. Lie, lie, lie. The basis of the Ailes, Atwater, Rove,Schmidt philosophy.

It works well to win and election, but not so well at governing. As President you get caught.
Reply to this comment
by dekoon October 12, 2008 2:35 PM EDT
Let me get this straight. Palin is said that %u201C...if you read the report, you%u2019ll see that there was nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member. You got to read the report, sir.%u201D Hmm, the Alaska state legislature investigated and found that she actually "violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act by knowingly allowing her husband Todd to use state resources to try to get Wooten fired." Clearly she''s just trying to skirt the facts by referring to something else.

Seems she''s not really such a golden girl afterall.

Reply to this comment
by leap2three October 12, 2008 4:09 AM EDT
Well she certainly is guilty of ethics violation according to Alaska state code, it''s right there in print and it''s all over the Internet. I think the nail''s in the coffin on that subject despite denials to the contrary.

And Todd sure does look like a stooge. He did most of the legwork. Nothing like good old fashioned family politics.

Time.com had the following to say about it:

"But even though she won''t likely face any legal repercussions, the amateurism and cronyism of her brief administration hardly leaves Palin sitting pretty. Troopergate''s final verdict may be even more damaging than a rebuke: her administration was, at least in this regard, just as self-motivated as the Washington fat cats and lobbyists she hopes to unseat."

And now both she and McCain have unethical behavior stains on their records! Apparently an historic first!

I''d be interested in knowing more about Palin''s recent and current ties with the Alaska Independence Party and it''s supporters.
Reply to this comment
by leap2three October 12, 2008 4:07 AM EDT
Well she certainly is guilty of ethics violation according to Alaska state code, it''s right there in print and it''s all over the Internet. I think the nail''s in the coffin on that subject despite denials to the contrary.

And Todd sure does look like a stooge. He did most of the legwork. Nothing like good old fashioned family politics.

Time.com had the following to say about it:

"But even though she won''t likely face any legal repercussions, the amateurism and cronyism of her brief administration hardly leaves Palin sitting pretty. Troopergate''s final verdict may be even more damaging than a rebuke: her administration was, at least in this regard, just as self-motivated as the Washington fat cats and lobbyists she hopes to unseat."

And now both she and McCain have unethical behavior stains on their records! Apparently an historic first!

I''d be interested in knowing more about Palin''s recent and current ties with the Alaska Independence Party and it''s supporters.

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1849399,00.html
Reply to this comment
by headlightson October 11, 2008 11:32 PM EDT
Apparently, she can''t read, either:

Branchflower Report to the Legislative Council
October 10, 2008
Page 8 of 263

II Findings

Finding Number One
------------------

For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah
Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive
Branch Ethics Act. Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) provides

"The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a
public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest
through official action is a violation of that trust."
Reply to this comment
by lakeside176 October 11, 2008 11:04 PM EDT
I just wish all those people that watch Fox (Faux) News would get smart and try watching other news organizations. Fox viewers are mis-informord, uninformed and given nothing but biased Republican views. Palin is nothing but a bimbo of a baffoon. I knew it within 24 hours of her being picked as vice president candidate. And that sure told me a lot about McCain. I am a registered Democrat who was planning on voting for McCain until he picked Palin. I am sure there are a lot of people in the same position. Sorry, McCain, you blew it.
Reply to this comment
See all 30 Comments
.

Follow From The Road

Scroll Left
Scroll Right More »
CBS News on Facebook
  • Building You a Better Morning

  • CBS This Morning

    "CBS This Morning," anchored by Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Erica Hill, airs weekdays from 7 to 9 a.m. ET and at the same time in other time zones.
    Learn more...