Governor Sarah Palin has need subject to many frivolous ethics complaints. Now one complaint has been investigated and the investigator has issued a report stating that there is probable cause to believe that the Governor's legal defense fund is a breach of the Alaska ethics law.
The report is supposed to be confidential. Is anyone surprised that the leftists have leaked it? The report is here. The complaint contends that the Alaska Trust Fund, by paying Governor Palin's personal attorneys' fees, will result in her getting a prohibited financial benefit from her being governor. The report is notable in two respects. The investigator, Thomas M. Daniel, appears to by sympathetic to the injustice of his conclusion, because he recommends that the legislature provide for reimbursement of attorneys' fees defending complaints that are dismissed. However, he concludes without adequate analysis that "There is little doubt that the Alaska Trust Fund will provide a benefit tot he Governor's financial interest." He cites no supporting case law for this conclusion.
The actual statute 39.52.120. reads, "(a) A public officer may not use, or attempt to use, an official position for personal gain...."
It seems to me that Mr. Daniel has misunderstaood the statutory language and intent. Sarah Palin is facing numerous non-meritorious ethics complaints (including this) because of her position as governor and because of her national prominence (not to mention the Palin derangement syndrome of the political left). Far from using her position for gain, she is simply trying to break even. When she leaves office, this fund will not make her richer. It will merely protect her from being poorer.
The defense fund is not a financial benefit; it is expense reimbursement for expenses necessarily incurred as a consequence of being governor of Alaska.
Was this complaint one of the reasons that she is stepping down as governor? So she can get her attorneys fees paid?
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Dear Conservatarian: I don't have a strong opinion on whether using the Alaska Trust Fund to pay for Palin's attorney fees is for her personal gain or not. Maybe she stepped down as governor because the public now knows what an officious twit she is. http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/07/palin-speech-edit-200907?currentPage=1
Officious? Actually the text of the speech shows exactly the opposite. But the purported edit speaks volumes about the snobbishness of her self-appointed elite critics. (Not referring to you, of course, my dear Susannah.)
I have never been able to figure out why her critics dislike her so. Officious she is not. A strong woman, she is. Plain spoken, she is. A woman of strong and sincerely held religious convictions, she is, too. Maybe that is it.
Or maybe it is because she does not toady to foolish liberal items of secular faith (e.g., global warming after 10 straight years of measured global cooling).
Back in September 2008, we saw her wagging her finger that Hillary Clinton, that Hillary should not whine about tough media coverage, she was not doing women any good, she should just plow through it, she should have known what she was getting into and should just try harder and prove herself. “WOW”, I guess she loves measuring others by standards that she does not follow. What a hypocrite, but expected from most political false prophets types. Now we see that she attempted used her official position for personal gain, this is too sweet. Thank you Sarah, great job.
Paul,
that is interesting. Do you have a reference, Youtube video or anything of that finger wagging you describe? I do not remember it.
You're right, Conservatarian, calling Palin officious is more of a compliment than she deserves. I'm all for powerful women in powerful positions (and getting paid the same amount males do for the same work). I prefer them to be intellectually curious, nimble minded, reasonable, logical, tolerant, open-minded, honest and just. Palin may have those qualities but if so, she disguises them well. It'll be interesting to observe what she does with her time now. I suggest she reads a book and keep a dictionary handy. She just might improve herself.
Palin Derangement Syndrome (PDS).
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