Palin: How ugly *is* that firing?
Sep. 23rd, 2008 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusPalin still dodging the probe.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Less than a week after balking at the Alaska Legislature's investigation into her alleged abuse of power, Gov. Sarah Palin on Monday indicated she will cooperate with a separate probe run by people she can fire.
An attorney for the GOP vice presidential nominee met with an investigator for the state Personnel Board to discuss sharing documents and schedule witness interviews, McCain spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said. Neither she nor McCain spokesman Ed O'Callaghan had further details about the meeting and said they did not know if the governor or her husband would be interviewed.
Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein said in an e-mail that information on who will be interviewed and when will be known on Tuesday. He said additional coordination meetings with the investigator, Anchorage attorney Timothy Petumenos, are likely.
After that, however, Petumenos wants to keep the progress of the investigation confidential and the campaign will not have any further comment, McCain spokesman Taylor Griffin said.
Both the Legislature and the personnel board have hired investigators in separate inquiries of whether Palin abused her power when she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan this summer. Monegan refused to dismiss a state trooper who went through a bitter divorce with her sister before Palin's became governor.
Palin has refused to participate in the Legislature's investigation since becoming Sen. John McCain's running mate.
The other investigation is overseen by the state Personnel Board, a three-member panel appointed by the governor. Panel members can be fired by the governor for cause. Two members are holdovers from the previous governor and Palin reappointed the third.
Van Flein said that does not mean she can fire the members if she is displeased with the investigation. Citing a state attorney general's opinion, he said a board member must have committed wrongdoing or failed to do their duty.
Two personnel board members are holdovers from the previous governor and Palin reappointed the third.
One, Alfred Tamagni Sr., donated $400 to Palin's 2006 campaign. Petumenos has donated money to several Democratic candidates.
Separately, two Alaska Democrats urged state police to investigate why subpoenaed witnesses, including Palin's husband, did not testify before the legislative committee last week. The lawmakers, Rep. Les Gara and Sen. Bill Wielechowski, said state law bars witness tampering, but that they did not have enough information to file a formal complaint in the case.
Griffin said the campaign has not advised any witnesses on how to respond to subpoenas.
Palin is trying desperately to evade this investigation. Since the basics are already out -- she tried to get the state trooper who divorced her sister fired -- I wonder why the dodging. I heard that her husband also tried to get the state trooper's workman's comp claim turned down, so I suspect this is nastier than we know.
Now Palin has kicked out the press on her foreign policy, okay, let's put that in quotes, "foreign policy" U.N. crash course.
[Unknown site tag] told me right before I went back to sleep that Palin was getting a UN crash course in foreign relations by meeting (*eyeroll* once) with som foreign leaders (all of the ones on the list have benefitted from US cash). The campaign banned all reporters from the meetings. The campaign just wants pictures, no record of what they talk about.
In protest, CNN pulled both its reporters and its TV crew, denying her the manipulative splashy coverage.
Yeah, those writers. They're dangerous.
I snorted and went back to sleep. Then I dreamed that I was the alternate candidate (fuzzy how). Meeting with Palin I told her, "Well, I've lived in India for two months, I've lived in Germany for a quarter, and I spent half my life in Canada. Plus I speak a little Hindi and German and I'm earning a degree in International Studies. Even I have more qualifications than you do."
When she tried to argue with me, and I told her, "It doesn't matter anyway. They're not going to let us have any power. We're just here because they wanted a woman."
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Less than a week after balking at the Alaska Legislature's investigation into her alleged abuse of power, Gov. Sarah Palin on Monday indicated she will cooperate with a separate probe run by people she can fire.
An attorney for the GOP vice presidential nominee met with an investigator for the state Personnel Board to discuss sharing documents and schedule witness interviews, McCain spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said. Neither she nor McCain spokesman Ed O'Callaghan had further details about the meeting and said they did not know if the governor or her husband would be interviewed.
Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein said in an e-mail that information on who will be interviewed and when will be known on Tuesday. He said additional coordination meetings with the investigator, Anchorage attorney Timothy Petumenos, are likely.
After that, however, Petumenos wants to keep the progress of the investigation confidential and the campaign will not have any further comment, McCain spokesman Taylor Griffin said.
Both the Legislature and the personnel board have hired investigators in separate inquiries of whether Palin abused her power when she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan this summer. Monegan refused to dismiss a state trooper who went through a bitter divorce with her sister before Palin's became governor.
Palin has refused to participate in the Legislature's investigation since becoming Sen. John McCain's running mate.
The other investigation is overseen by the state Personnel Board, a three-member panel appointed by the governor. Panel members can be fired by the governor for cause. Two members are holdovers from the previous governor and Palin reappointed the third.
Van Flein said that does not mean she can fire the members if she is displeased with the investigation. Citing a state attorney general's opinion, he said a board member must have committed wrongdoing or failed to do their duty.
Two personnel board members are holdovers from the previous governor and Palin reappointed the third.
One, Alfred Tamagni Sr., donated $400 to Palin's 2006 campaign. Petumenos has donated money to several Democratic candidates.
Separately, two Alaska Democrats urged state police to investigate why subpoenaed witnesses, including Palin's husband, did not testify before the legislative committee last week. The lawmakers, Rep. Les Gara and Sen. Bill Wielechowski, said state law bars witness tampering, but that they did not have enough information to file a formal complaint in the case.
Griffin said the campaign has not advised any witnesses on how to respond to subpoenas.
Palin is trying desperately to evade this investigation. Since the basics are already out -- she tried to get the state trooper who divorced her sister fired -- I wonder why the dodging. I heard that her husband also tried to get the state trooper's workman's comp claim turned down, so I suspect this is nastier than we know.
Now Palin has kicked out the press on her foreign policy, okay, let's put that in quotes, "foreign policy" U.N. crash course.
[Unknown site tag] told me right before I went back to sleep that Palin was getting a UN crash course in foreign relations by meeting (*eyeroll* once) with som foreign leaders (all of the ones on the list have benefitted from US cash). The campaign banned all reporters from the meetings. The campaign just wants pictures, no record of what they talk about.
In protest, CNN pulled both its reporters and its TV crew, denying her the manipulative splashy coverage.
In response to questions about why pool reporters who routinely travel with Palin were denied access, spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt didn't offer a reason in a statement that read, "The decision was made for this to be a photo spray with still cameras and video cameras only."
A television producer with a notepad was denied entry into Karzai's suite by a man who repeatedly said, "No writers."
Yeah, those writers. They're dangerous.
I snorted and went back to sleep. Then I dreamed that I was the alternate candidate (fuzzy how). Meeting with Palin I told her, "Well, I've lived in India for two months, I've lived in Germany for a quarter, and I spent half my life in Canada. Plus I speak a little Hindi and German and I'm earning a degree in International Studies. Even I have more qualifications than you do."
When she tried to argue with me, and I told her, "It doesn't matter anyway. They're not going to let us have any power. We're just here because they wanted a woman."
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no subject
Date: 2008-09-23 11:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-23 11:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-23 11:36 pm (UTC)Hell, *I* have more experience with foreign relations. And I'm a veteran. Disabled even.
Caribou Barbie go home.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-23 11:46 pm (UTC)LOL! That's great.
According to US News, she was just issued her very first passport last year. Awww.
Bah!
Date: 2008-09-24 12:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-25 07:41 pm (UTC)