New Ethics Problems Dog Sarah Palin

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

When soon-to be-former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced she was going to leave office in the near future to pursue vague future plans, the world speculated about what her "true" rationale might be. The first thing that popped into my head was that she was trying to avoid ethics violations charges and investigations. Well, she's not even left office yet, and this little ditty arose, from the Associated Press:

An independent investigator has found evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated ethics laws by trading on her position in seeking money for legal fees, in the latest legal distraction for the former vice presidential candidate as she prepares to leave office this week.

The report obtained by The Associated Press says Palin is securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust, set up by supporters.

If Gov. Palin believes her departure from office is going to stifle such investigations, she has it backwards. Clearly this is a woman who has made a lot of enemies in politics, even from among her fellow GOP members. She's no friend of the Murkowski family, since she took on and ousted Frank Murkowski from office. She has other powerful enemies in Alaska politics, and still refused to circumscribe her apparent belief that rules were made for other people.

Maybe her departure from office is just the beginning, rather than the end, of her ethical problems.

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By Bonnie Erbe