Palin guilty: now voters will judge

Published on Saturday 11 October 2008 20:18

THE politically charged investigation into Alaska's Governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin came to some stinging conclusions. But the true fallout, if any, might not come until Election Day.

A legislative investigator found Palin violated state ethics laws and abused her power by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper.

The next move may be at the ballot box. The legislative committee that released the report late on Friday recommends no criminal investigation and has no authority to sanction Palin.

"It is out of the Legislative Council's hands. It goes to anyone's hands who got a copy or clicks the link on the web," said Democratic state Senator Kim Elton, the chairman of the committee that released the report.

If voters believe the report's finding and it tarnishes Palin's reputation as a champion for good government, that could hurt Republican presidential nominee John McCain in the final weeks of the race.

Palin made her first appearance after the report was published at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, yesterday. She didn't mention the report, but promised to "shake things up" if McCain is elected president.

The inquiry had looked into Palin's dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, who said he lost his job because he resisted pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce and custody battle with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute. Stephen Branchflower, a retired prosecutor hired to conduct the investigation, said Monegan's firing was lawful. But the pressure Palin and her husband put on him was not, he said.

Under Alaskan law, it is up to the state's Personnel Board, not the Legislature, to decide whether Palin violated the ethics laws. If so, it must refer the matter to the Senate president for disciplinary action.

By the time that investigation is over, however, the election will be over. If Palin is the vice president-elect, the results will hardly matter. If she loses, she will have to address the board's findings at home.

Barack Obama's presidential campaign did not rush to comment on the report. Democratic Senator Hollis French, who oversaw the investigation, contributed to that perception when he said the report could provide an "October surprise" for the McCain campaign.

Elton said partisanship played no role in the report.

The report notes a few instances in which Palin pressed the case against trooper Mike Wooten, but it was her husband, Todd, who led the charge. Governor Palin knowingly "permitted Todd 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," Branchflower's report reads.

Wooten had been in hot water before Palin became governor over claims he illegally shot a moose and used a Taser on his stepson. The Palins said they feared for their safety after he made threats against them.