Sarah Palin comes out "guns ablazing" in defense of Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Well you had to know that once Perry was indicted that Palin was going to have to come charging to his defense. And apparently she was able to convince Fox to let her leave the purgatory of her Facebook page and her "channel" to have it published somewhere that people might actually see it.

Courtesy of Fox News:  

This ridiculous politically motivated “indictment” of Governor Rick Perry stems from the ugly thug tactics of the "politics of personal destruction" that the left is known for. They draw blood and leave scars on conservatives who threaten their political power, hoping the threat retreats and hoping his or her base of support remains silent in fear of becoming collateral damage. 

Thankfully, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and those of us with scars to prove it can help others learn from things like this Texas-sized political drama.

Palin goes on to trash Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, while of course defending Perry's attempts to force her out of her job and punish those working for her after she decided to stay.

But hey, enough about Perry, let's get to what Palin really wants to talk about.

Herself.

I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason, so in hindsight I can value my own experience as a conservative governor dealing with leftwing activists who would stop at nothing to take out a successful Republican. 

I was riddled with countless frivolous ethics complaints and lawsuits after being nominated as the GOP vice presidential candidate, all in an attempt to derail my governorship and personally bankrupt my family. 

One by one these complaints were tossed out on the basis of their frivolity,  (So easy to do when the people determining the outcome were all appointed by the Republican Governor that preceded her.) but the activists got what they wanted via the complicit liberal media's consistent headline: “Palin Charged With Ethic Complaints!” 

It didn’t matter that the “complaint” was for something as absurd as wearing an old snow machine jacket with my husband's logo on it, or answering reporters' questions inside my state office, or giving a pro bono speech for a pro-life charity; again in hindsight the ridiculousness of the constant charges -- that cost millions to defend and halted all progress in my administration -- would seem hilarious if they'd not been so unfair to the public. 

The media breathlessly reported on every one of the liberal's complaints with bold font, front page coverage. But when each one was overturned, most times we never even saw one mention about our vindication.

Do you get it yet? Poor Sarah Palin was harassed by baseless ethics complaints, even though she was completely innocent of all wrongdoing, as determined by the incredibly partisan personnel board that looked into them.

You know except in reality where she was actually quite guilty of a number of things, many of which never reached the personnel board, or the courts. Much to my frustration.

But let's get back to the reason that Palin was given this forum shall we? 

I have no doubt that Rick Perry will weather this storm because he's better prepared for this kind of B.S. than we were up here in Texas's big sister state, when the politics of personal destruction ramped up to unimaginable levels. 

Rick won't have to worry about the Republican establishment piling on, either. He's more ingratiated with the political machine than someone considered still an unknown who'd go rogue on GOP kingmakers when they acted unethically, so he's fortunate to only face a firing squad from one side.

Wait, was that last part about Rick Perry? That did not seem to be about Rick Perry.

Time to sum up:

Don’t fall for those "Another Corrupt Conservative Governor; This Time in Texas!" screaming headlines. It's true that everything's big in Texas, including this pile of B.S. thrown at their governor that may be bigger than usual. 

An indictment is serious business, and if found to be baseless it gives a big black eye to every watchdog group and every D.A.'s decision, so let's expose these thug tactics (Seriously did they use the term "thug tactics" before Barack Obama became our President?) for what they are: the corrupt power plays of an embarrassingly failed Democratic Party lacking integrity and honor. 

Rick Perry and conscientious citizens will expose this on a national level in coming days, mark my words, because you don't mess with Texas nor do you poke the rest of us independent Americans fed up with hell rousers turning the bad guy into the hero while demonizing the good.

What's a "hell rouser?" Did she mean "hell raisers?"

Well look Palin finally got a ghostwritten article on another media outlet besides Facebook or her vanity blog site. And she only made half of it about her.

Good for her, and now instead of it getting completely ignored by the media it will be seen, and of course picked apart, by the media, which will allow Palin to once again play the victim.

A win/win in her book.

Alaska's sole Representative, Don Young, reprimanded by House Ethics Committee for misusing campaign funds and accepting illegal gifts. Forced to repay nearly $60,000.

Courtesy of Politico:  

Longtime Alaska Rep. Don Young improperly used campaign funds for personal use, accepted “impermissible” gifts and failed to report those gifts, the House Ethics Committee announced Friday. 

Young, a Republican, has to repay nearly $60,000 to his campaign, and donors, the Ethics Committee said. He has also been reproved by the committee. 

The Ethics Committee said that Young, who has represented Alaska in the House since 1973, accepted improper “gifts and expenses related to” 15 hunting trips. The trips occurred between 2001 and 2013, the Ethics Committee said. 

Eight trips that Young took were improperly paid for, or were paid for by his campaign improperly. Young also did not disclose any of these gifts on his financial disclosure.

Okay while I am very happy that Young got his wrist slapped, I have to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg. 

I have said before that I was completely shocked when Ted Stevens was indicted back in 2008. NOT because I thought Senator Stevens was innocent mind you, but because of the two of them I simply assumed the Feds had more evidence on Don Young than they did on Uncle Ted.

And the fact that Young remains out of prison today is completely ridiculous in my mind.

The guy needs to go to prison for the rest of his life, and you would be hard pressed to find an Alaskan who did not think he was guilty.

At the very least he needs to be voted out in the 2016 election cycle.

I mean come on Alaska! At least we can manage that, right?

If possible I like to end the day on an upbeat note. Nothing is more gratifying to me this day then the possibility that FINALLY Don Young will face justice.

Courtesy of Politico:  

The House Ethics Committee will launch full-scale investigations into two veteran lawmakers, Reps. Don Young (R-Alaska) and Rob Andrews (D-N.J.) in its first major probes of the 113th Congress. 

Reps. Michael Conaway (R-Texas) and Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), the chairman and ranking member of the Ethics Committee, announced on Tuesday that investigative subcommittees will be created to handle the Andrews and Young probes. 

Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.) and Mike Capuano (D-Mass.) will oversee the Young investigation, while Reps. Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Pedro Pierlusi (D-P.R.) will handle the Andrews probe. 

There is more at the link about Congressman Andrews but I am far more interested in the probe into unethical behavior by Don Young. It is not a partisan thing, rather it is an Alaskan thing.

Young was a target of federal investigators in an Alaska corruption case but has never faced any criminal charges. 

However, the Ethics Committee has been reviewing since 2011 whether Young violated contribution limits for the legal defense fund associated with that criminal probe. 

Conaway and Sanchez acknowledged in their statement announcing the Young investigation that the Ethics Committee “received a referral from the Justice Department regarding Representative Young’s expenses and travel costs for certain trips which were the subject of the Committee’s ongoing review. The Committee has received the referral without prejudice or presumption of as the merit of the allegations.” 

I have a list of Alaska politicians that I want to see indicted and sent to federal prison. It, of course, contains Sarah Palin, Ted's son Ben Stevens, and Don "Coconut Road" Young. 

Honestly I don't expect Palin to EVER face federal charges (Rumor has it she made a deal to avoid them) and I don't think the Feds even care about Stevens anymore.

It is also apparent that Young somehow managed to squirm out of the grasp of the FBI, which is why the Justice Department sent this to the Ethics Committee, so I guess I will just  have to be satisfied with the possibility of watching Congressman Young getting nailed on ethics charges which hopefully will lead to him finally losing his position as Alaska's sole Congressman.

And I know that by saying that I speak for a whole lot of my fellow Alaskans.

Mitt Romney to be charged for violating the federal ethics in government law. Mitt Romney unethical? Whodathunkit? Update!

Courtesy of Truthout:

For Mitt Romney, it's one scary Halloween. The Presidential candidate has just learned that tomorrow afternoon (November 1) he will be charged by the United Automobile Workers (UAW) and other public interest groups with violating the federal ethics in government law by improperly concealing his multi-million dollar windfall from the auto industry bailout. 

At a press conference in Toledo, Bob King, President of the United Automobile Workers, will announce that his union and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) have filed a formal complaint with the US Office of Government Ethics in Washington stating that Gov. Romney improperly hid a profit of $15.3 million to $115.0 million in Ann Romney's so-called "blind" trust. 

The union chief says, "The American people have a right to know about Gov. Romney’s potential conflicts of interest, such as the profits his family made from the auto rescue. It’s time for Gov. Romney to disclose or divest.” 

“While Romney was opposing the rescue of one of the nation’s most important manufacturing sectors, he was building his fortunes with his Delphi investor group, making his fortunes off the misfortunes of others,” King added. 

The Romneys' gigantic windfall was hidden inside an offshore corporation inside a limited partnership inside a trust which both concealed the gain and reduces taxes on it. 

Holy crap! So what, it's not ethical to condemn an auto bailout, greedily profit from it, and then hide those profits from the government and the American people?

You know considering that Romney literally used his church as cover to avoid paying taxes for fifteen years, and has refused to provide more than two years of his tax returns, this fits right in with the idea that Romney is essentially Gordon Gekko come to life, (The point is ladies and gentlemen that greed, for lack of a better word, is good.)

He is all about making money in any way possible and simply does not care about morality or ethics. Remember the favorite quote of his campaign is that he "operated in accordance with the law."  Not that he was ethical, but that he cannot be prosecuted for what he has done.

Well perhaps this time Romney will learn that the bar for determining what is right or wrong should not be whether or not you may have to serve prison time for it.

Gee and here we thought that Mitt the Twit received his biggest fright yesterday when he saw this image.

Update: Believe it or not I actually found something even more frightening to Mitt Romney than the image above.

And we thought the Republicans were panicking BEFORE!

Don Young slips through the fingers of justice once again.

Courtesy of ADN:

The House Ethics Committee has cleared Alaska Rep. Don Young on charges he took too much money for his legal expense fund from a donor with interests in offshore Arctic oil drilling. But now the panel is changing the rules because of the case. 

At issue was $60,000 in checks given to Young during a January 2011 fundraiser in Texas. Alaska's lone congressman was handed an envelope by Gary Chouest, host of the fundraiser and president of Edison Chouest Offshore, a Louisiana company whose Alaska interests include an icebreaking ship it's building for Shell's planned drilling program in the Chukchi Sea. 

Edison Chouest is among the top campaign contributors to all three members of Alaska's congressional delegation. 

The Chouest donations to Young's legal fund were divided into a dozen checks of $5,000 apiece. Five thousand dollars is the maximum amount an individual or organization can give in a year to a congressman's legal fund. 

Each of the checks came from a different company but all the companies are owned by the Chouest family. That raised the question of whether it was an attempt to sidestep the $5,000 limit in providing Young with a total of $60,000 in Chouest money. 

The U.S. House Committee on Ethics, which launched an investigation after media coverage of the contributions, reported Tuesday that Young was acting within the rules in which "multiple entities owned by the same individual or individuals were permitted to make contributions up to $5,000 per entity if they were separate legal entities." 

But the ethics panel said that doesn't mean it should be allowed and worried it "challenges the principles of the contribution limits."  

"The Committee votes to dismiss the allegations, but is amending its (rules) to prohibit similar contributions in the future," said the report submitted on Tuesday by Rep. Joe Bonner, R-Alabama, the committee chairman. 

I am beyond the ability to be surprised concerning Young's ability to escape being held accountable for his actions.  Four years ago I would have told you with great confidence that he was going to be investigated, convicted, and sent to jail.  I will now tell you with similar confidence that he will not only NOT go to jail, but that he will undoubtedly remain our sole House member until he damn well decides to retire.

And this is even though he is a selfish asshole who has missed 16 percent of the votes during this last session, and whose corruption is an open secret among Alaskans here at home.

I long for the day when Alaska is free of this political opportunist, and we have the chance to get somebody with real integrity, and who places the needs of the Alaskan people ahead of his own, in that very important office instead.

Alaska deserves better.

Palin must return $386,000 in donations received before she resigned as Governor of Alaska! Update: The Return of Meg Stapletongue! And another update! And yet another update!

From ADN:

Former Gov. Sarah Palin is settling an ethics complaint by agreeing to return more than $386,000 collected in a legal defense fund before she resigned last summer.

The settlement, between Palin and the Alaska Personnel Board, was announced this afternoon.

An investigator for the board, Timothy Petumenos, said today that the fund was illegal because it inappropriately used the word "official" on its website, wrongly implying Palin's endorsement as governor.

Palin's attorney says she will return the funds.

The settlement says the fund collected $386,856 before she resigned, and $33,546 after, according to a report released today with the settlement. As of March, the fund had spent $87,680 on legal and other expenses, the report says.

Just when you think that there is no justice in the world. 

This is awesome news! 

Unless of course you are Sarah Palin who is having yet another unbelievably bad week. Boy that karma is a bitch isn't it?

Update: WTF?  Meg Stapleton has risen from the dead and written a post on Palin's Facebook page to pimp for a NEW defense fund?

As you know, we love a good fight, but we must pick our battles carefully. As a chief executive, Governor Palin makes the calls, and she knows that this battle, though important to her personally, does nothing for the country. She has bigger battles to fight, battles to restore our strength internationally and stand by our allies, battles to stop the downward slide of our economy, and battles to take back control of Congress.

However, I know and you know that no public official should ever have to bear the financial brunt of these attacks. And Governor Palin can lawfully raise money now through a brand new – not official but let’s call it “real” – legal defense fund without any risk of offending an investigator or state law. And such a fund now exists at http://www.sarahpalinlegaldefensefund.org/donate.php.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Alaska Fund Trust. Your heart was in the right place. And Governor Palin and her family have been overwhelmed by your generosity. If you want to, you can contribute to the new fund. In the meantime, we will try to contact you to get your donation returned from the old trust.

Now – back to motherhood for me! And common sense.

P.S. One last thought as we approach the anniversary of Governor Palin’s “reloading,” thank God she had the fortitude and wisdom to look down the road and see what she did – the state’s bills would have amounted to millions upon millions more and her personal legal bills would be personally insurmountable. I don’t know who would want to hold office under these circumstances and with loopholes our Alaska legislators refuse to close.

Something does not smell right here.  Stapleton could not get away from Sarah fast enough when she resigned back in February. I wonder how much Palin had to pay her to get her to come forward now and assume her old role of Palin spokesperson?  If in fact that really IS Meg who wrote that Facebook post that of course.

Update 2: Gee in all of the excitement I almost missed it.  The Defense fund only paid out $87,680 in legal AND other expenses?  Didn't Sarah complain to anybody that would listen that she and Todd owed over $500,000 in legal fees?  And isn't THAT one of the main reasons that she gave for quitting her job?

Simply put every single thing this woman says is a lie.  Period. And anybody dumb enough to donate to this new LEGAL defense fund should not be allowed out of the house without a caretaker.

Update 3: This from the Alaska Dispatch.

Palin solicited the money claiming she needed help paying legal fees to fight ethics complaints filed against her as governor. But the findings of the independent counsel note "a contract for legal services was issued by the state of Alaska to Clapp, Peterson, VanFlein, Tiemesson & Thorsness to represent Gov. Palin in connection with these matters for up to $100,000 at public expense."


No invoices were ever submitted to the state by the law firm.

There you go Palin-bots.  There it is in easy to comprehend black and white.  Your precious Sarah is a complete and total fraud!

For Christmas Sarah Palin gets a spanking new ethics complaint. HO, HO, HO!

Sarah may no longer be in Alaska but her ethical violations are still stinking the place up. And it has inspired a new ethics complaint to tidy up a little. And this one is a doozy.

Andree McLeod has filed this ethics complaint with the Alaska Attorney General just yesterday.

And you can read it for yourself down below.

Andrée McLeod

Anchorage, Alaska
December 7, 2009
Attorney General Office
1031 W. 4th Avenue, Suite 200
Anchorage, AK 99501-1994

Dear Attorney General Sullivan,

Please consider this letter as an ethics complaint charging Sarah Palin with violations of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act (Alaska Statute, Title 39, Chapter 52).
Sec. 39.52.120. Misuse of official position: (a) A public officer may not use, or attempt to use, an official position for personal gain, and may not intentionally secure or grant unwarranted benefits or treatment for any
person.

Sec. 39.52.130. Improper gifts: (a) A public officer may not solicit, accept, or receive, directly or indirectly, a gift, whether in the form of money, service, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, employment, promise, or in any other form, that is a benefit to the officer's personal or financial interests, under circumstances in which it could reasonably be inferred that the gift is intended to influence the performance of official duties, actions, or judgment.

Sec. 39.52.310. Complaints: (h) A violation of this chapter may be investigated within two years after discovery of the alleged violation.

Sec. 39.52.410. Violations; penalties for misconduct: (c) If the personnel board determines that a former public officer has violated this chapter, it shall (1) issue a public statement of its findings, conclusions, and recommendation; and (2) request the attorney general to exercise all legal and equitable remedies available to the state to seek whatever relief is appropriate.

The Alaska Ethics Branch Ethics Act declares that:

(1) high moral and ethical standards among public officers in the executive branch are essential to assure the trust, respect, and confidence of the people of this state;

(2) a code of ethics for the guidance of public officers will:
(A) discourage those officers from acting upon personal or financial interests in the performance of their public responsibilities;
(B) improve standards of public service; and
(C) promote and strengthen the faith and confidence of the people of this state in their public officers;

(3) holding public office or employment is a public trust and that as one safeguard of that trust, the people require public officers to adhere to a code of ethics;

(4) a fair and open government requires that executive branch public officers conduct the public's business in a manner that preserves the integrity of the governmental process and avoids conflicts of interest;

(5) in order for the rules governing conduct to be respected both during and after leaving public service, the code of ethics must be administered fairly without bias or favoritism;

(6) no code of conduct, however comprehensive, can anticipate all situations in which violations may occur nor can it prescribe behaviors that are appropriate to every situation; in addition, laws and regulations regarding ethical responsibilities cannot legislate morality, eradicate corruption, or eliminate bad judgment; and

(7) compliance with a code of ethics is an individual responsibility; thus all who serve the state have a solemn responsibility to avoid improper conduct and prevent improper behavior by colleagues and subordinates.

The Scope of the Alaska Ethics Branch Ethics Act states:

…standards of ethical conduct for members of the executive branch need to distinguish between those minor and inconsequential conflicts that are unavoidable in a free society, and those conflicts of interests that are substantial and material.

Palin continues to compromise the integrity of our Governor’s Office. Even though she quit as governor in mid-term on July 26, 2009, the Alaska Office of the Governor Position and title is still being misused to collect money for her personal legal fund that has accepted monetary contributions as recently as December 5, 2009.

This matter of Palin’s Alaska Fund Trust that greatly concerns the public interest was brought forward in another complaint in April 2009. The independent investigator found probable cause of Palin’s ethics violation in a July 21, 2009 report because he found that Palin secured unwarranted benefits and received improper gifts through the fund and that she used her official position for personal gain in violation of Alaska Statute 39.52.120(a). He discovered that she expressly authorized the creation of the trust, and that the trust website quite openly uses her governor position to solicit donations. This pointed to probable cause that Palin used her
official position for personal gain in violation of Alaska Statute 39.52.120(a). (Document attached)

Yet, a public resolution has still not been forthcoming from personnel board members or other public officials to that prior complaint, nor has justice prevailed on the side of the Alaskan public when it was discovered that their ex-governor was found to have behaved corruptly with regards to this fund. (Ironically, dismissed complaints have been highly publicized as Palin waived away confidentiality.) Meanwhile, the fund still collects money with absolutely no oversight. Contributions and expenditures have never been made public, even while Palin was a public official and had to comply with public financial disclosure laws.

This continual and already established unethical collection of money towards Palin’s legal fund’s behalf makes a mockery of Alaska’s system of governance. In addition, the fund’s name “The Alaska Fund Trust” deceptively infers an official State of Alaska legitimacy to what is widely recognized as an unscrupulous fund.

Below are images taken of The Alaska Fund Trust on December 7, 2009 that shows persistent misuse and abuse of Palin’s official governor’s title and position. Palin misleadingly uses her former official position for personal gain and to secure unwarranted benefits. In short, Palin continues to violate Alaska Statute 39.52.120(a).

Standards of ethical conduct for members of the executive branch need to distinguish between those minor and inconsequential conflicts that are unavoidable in a free society, and those conflicts of interests that are substantial and material. Sarah Palin’s conflicts of interests with regards to this fund are significant and material as her interest in the fund is presumed to be more than $5,000.

Based on the facts set forth above I’m requesting that the Alaska Personnel Board enforce Sec. 39.52.410 (c) (1) and (2) with regards to Palin’s misuse and abuse of her official title and position for personal gain and for the securing of unwarranted benefits through this fund. This Alaska Fund Trust has never served the purposes or interests of Alaska or Alaskans. It persists to corrupt public processes and continues to breach the scope and spirit of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.

I’m requesting my complaint be investigated in as fair and unbiased a manner as possible. For the record, I’m prompted to file this complaint for exactly the same reason that every one of my other complaints have been filed with your department: solely for the reason of upholding ethical standards and protecting the integrity of state actions and state resources. To think otherwise is to abridge my rights as an Alaskan and American, among other things.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this.
Sincerely,
Andrée McLeod

(If you want to read all of the complaint, as well as the attachments, then click the link above.)

This seems like a very appropriate complaint to me. Andree has laid out her argument very effectively, and I am interested to know if THIS Attorney General is actually going to do his job and launch the kind of investigation that it clearly requires.

New allegations against Sarah Palin revealed.

I am going to stay out of this one, but I am sure you can decide for yourself just how seriously these allegations could affect our ex-Twitter Quitter.

No surprise here as Personnel Board dismisses another ethics charge against Sarah Palin.

The Alaska Personnel Board has dismissed another ethics complaint filed against Gov. Sarah Palin.

Raise your hand if this surprises you. Ah! Nice to see you have all been paying attention.

The latest is the sixth complaint filed by Anchorage resident Andree McLeod.

In her complaint, McLeod says that two days before Palin was named John McCain's running mate in the fall of 2008, she signed travel documents that stated "conclusion of state business."

Upon returning to Alaska, a similar document indicated Palin was returning to duty.

McLeod says that Palin should have turned over the governor's responsibilities to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell as required by the state constitution, but instead continued to collect her $125,000 annual salary.

Independent investigator Thomas M. Daniel found that Alaska law fixes annual compensation for the governor and lieutenant governor for services while in office -- not the amount of time they spend performing those services.

Perhaps that is why Palin refused to hand the reins of power over to Sean "Lapdog" Parnell. She just could not give up that sweet $125,000. I think if we have learned anything about Sarah Palin we have learned that she NEVER gives back the money!

I really thought this one had some merit. I mean at the very least there should be a reduced income when the Governor is out of state and trying to conduct state business using dual Blackberry's. And considering how many things fell through the cracks while she was gone perhaps she owes US money.

KTUU unscientific poll shows that majority of Alaskans believe leak of Daniel report was beneficial.

In a poll conducted by Channel 2 News, respondents were asked if the recent leak of an ethics investigation report on Gov. Sarah Palin was a disclosure that benefits the public.

Here is the official question and results of the 841 people who voted.
Was the recent leak of an ethics investigation report on Gov. Sarah Palin a disclosure that benefits the public or an abuse that threatens the legal system?

Benefit to the public 52 %
Abuse of legal system 40 %
Both 5 %
Neither 3 %

All polls conducted by Channel 2 News and KTUU.com are unscientific.

Well I am of course firmly in agreement with that 52 percent.

I believe if it had not been leaked we would NEVER have known that the investigator had determined that Palin's defense fund was not ethical.

And I STILL think it was somebody connected to the Personnel Board who leaked it.

Brad Blog may have noticed some further illegality by Sarah Palin and her attorney, Thomas Van Flein.

......Palin and/or her attorney may have also committed a legally actionable act of defamation in their response to the leak of yesterday's confidential "probable cause" finding....

In attorney Van Flein's statement responding to the leak of the report, as posted on Palin's Facebook page yesterday, he may have defamed the complainant, Alaska resident Kim Chatman by declaring, as fact, some action of hers to have been "illegal".

"All options are open in terms of legal remedies," Van Flein threatened, in response to his apparent belief, as ABC News characterized it, that Chatman is the one who leaked the confidential preliminary report. "It is a clear violation of Alaska law that Mr. Daniel explicitly reviewed with Ms. Chatman prior to her illegal actions. We will be contacting the appropriate authorities for review and action."

It's unclear whether Van Flein was asserting that the alleged "illegal action" of Chatman was the leak of the preliminary report, as ABC implies, and, if so, what his evidence is for that. None is given. But he has very clearly stated, as a fact, that Chatman committed "illegal actions".

We can understand that Sarah has no clear understanding, or respect for the law, but Van Flein is supposed to be an attorney for God's sake! You would assume that he would have a little more self control than this.

Brad did a good job of making the case that Van Flein and Governor Sarah may have defamed Kim Chatman, just click the title to read the entire post.

Vanity Fair does feature story on ethics champion Andree McLeod. Sarah Palin's worst nightmare? You betcha!

Not surprisingly, Alaskans have mixed feelings about McLeod’s efforts. Palin supporters condemn her harshly, saying she is waging a personal vendetta after being denied a job in Palin’s administration. (McLeod confirms that she did apply for a job in the administration but says the matter is irrelevant.) Pro-Palin conservative blogs are merciless in ridiculing her. One, citing the fact that she was born in Lebanon, concluded she must have ties to Hezbollah. She is vilified on Alaskan talk radio, and she has been criticized on Fox News. McLeod says she generally disconnects her phone at night, because things can get ugly when she doesn’t. For instance, she claims she recently got a phone call at 3:30 a.m. from a man who said he knew her address and warned her to “leave Sarah Palin alone.” But threats won’t stop her, she says.

“You can’t let fear stop you from doing the right thing,”

Many Alaskans, however, approve of what she’s doing. McLeod is largely responsible for bringing to light Palin’s use of a personal Yahoo email account to conduct state business. McLeod is now suing the administration over that matter, as well as over the extent of Todd Palin’s involvement in governing decisions. Donald Mitchell, the lawyer and political activist who is representing McLeod in these cases, says McLeod has been instrumental in exposing Palin’s dark side. When hundreds of reporters descended on Alaska after McCain selected her as a running mate, Mitchell says, many of them turned to McLeod for guidance on Palin’s conduct.

A curious path has led McLeod to her current role as arguably the most famous government watchdog in Alaska. She moved to the state 30 years ago and has since worked a variety of jobs in and out of government, first working for the state of Alaska in 1984. In 1994, she had the idea of operating a falafel cart on the streets of Anchorage as a way to earn money while in grad school. She was denied a permit—the city ruled that falafel, unlike hot dogs and other common street food, was “potentially hazardous”—and fought the decision. She went on to run for mayor and then ran for state legislature twice, coming close to winning on the second try.

McLeod is a Republican, and she was once a Palin ally. In fact, she was integral to Palin’s effort to oust state Republican party chairman Randy Ruedrich from Alaska’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2003 after it emerged that he had used his state email account for political purposes. So important was McLeod that one Anchorage talk show host, Rick Rydell, has said that “Andree’s almost responsible for creating Sarah Palin.” Recognizing her debt, Palin heaped praise on McLeod. “Thanks for working to instill the public trust,” she wrote her in one email. In other emails she wrote, “I’m proud to know you,” and “Holy Moly you are powerful regarding getting the word out to the press about questionable activity.”

Indeed, Palin would find out just how powerful, or at least tenacious, when she came into McLeod’s line of fire. By touting herself as a reformer and opponent of corruption, Palin had set a high standard for herself, to which McLeod has relentlessly held her. McLeod filed her first complaint against Palin, regarding the hiring of an Alaska Department of Transportation official, in August 2008, before her selection as McCain's running mate. (McLeod points out that she had filed complaints against other officials before prior to this.) But Palin was the subject of anonymous complaints as early as 2004, when she was mayor of Wasilla, for email practices similar to Ruedrich’s. McLeod says she was not aware of Palin’s controversial conduct at that time. “Had I been aware of that, I wouldn't have given her the time of day!” she says, her voice rising. At least one report traces McLeod's “rift” with Palin to 2006, when Palin became governor (and McLeod was denied a job with the administration). McLeod says there's no rift—she's just doing her duty as a citizen to hold Palin to the standards the soon-to-be-ex-governor herself laid out in her gubernatorial inauguration speech.

To McLeod, the fact that all the complaints have been dismissed is merely proof that the review board is in Palin’s pocket. “They’re appointed by the governor,” she says. “They’re not independent. I used to work for a board for the state. Boards like this that are made up of volunteers who are easily manipulated.” The Alaskan attorney general’s office retorts that the board is completely independent and that McLeod’s complaints have been dismissed by a group of independent outside lawyers who vet all complaints. Asked by VF Daily about the review process, special assistant to the attorney general Bill McAllister, who recently served as Palin’s communications director, emphasized again and again that “the bottom line is that the governor and her staff have not been found to be in violation of any law, state or federal.” In fact, he said it enough times that I started to wonder if he was trying to convince himself.

As an Alaska blogger I feel indebted to Andree for keeping the heat on Sarah Palin. She has done far more than any other single individual to keep the spotlight focused on Palin's many unethical activities.

Someday in the future we may find ourselves on opposite sides of the ideological fence, but for today we stand together in holding Palin accountable for her scandalous behaviors.

Rachel Maddow reports on Sarah Palin's ethics violation.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Unsurprisingly Palin could not resist tweeting her feelings about this latest charge.

AKGovSarahPalinRe inaccurate story floating re:ethics violation/Legal Defense Fund;matter is still pending;new info was just requested even;no final report

However Thomas Daniel said the report was final.

Here is the pdf courtesy of KTUU.

So here is my take on this story after a number of e-mails ping ponged back and forth between the progressive bloggers.

Sarah had this document a WEEK AGO and did nothing to stop her supporters from continuing to donate to the Defense Fund. Since she has had this for a week she knows damn good and well that it is indeed FINAL.

So why would she suggest that there is any question on whether or not she violated Alaska's ethics laws? Because she was hoping the Personnel Board would dismiss the charge (you know like usual) that's why!

It is pretty obvious that Palin NEVER expected this report to become public. And I believe that the reason it was leaked is because somebody on the inside was afraid it would never see the light of day if it was left up to the Personnel Board.

In my opinion that was some smart thinking on our mysterious benefactor's part.

By the way Daniel's suggestion that Sarah Palin refuse the money is an indication that he knows NOTHING about Sarah Palin. There is no way in hell she is rejecting this money!

But here is a further thought. John Coale, the man behind the Defense Fund, said that it is "well on its way" to paying off the $500,000 that Sarah Palin incurred in legal charges. (These charges it is important to note were accrued BEFORE Sarah Palin returned from the campaign trail. So they are not the result of the any ethics charges except perhaps from the one she filed against herself.) So does that mean he has ALREADY paid these costs? Or that he was so sure that the Personnel Board would reject the findings of this report that Sarah could receive this money?

It sounds to me like he has already paid most of them, but not quite all of them. So where did that money come from and isn't THAT a gift? I find myself a little confused by Coale's statements and those made by Margaret Carlson on Countdown back on July 9 where she claims that Coals said that most of the money for the children's travel and the legal expenses were ALREADY paid for by the legal defense fund.

Something just does not smell right here..

Independent investigator has uncovered evidence that Governor Palin DID violate ethics laws. Ah hah!

An independent investigator has found evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated ethics laws by accepting private donations to pay her legal debts.

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.

An investigator for the state Personnel Board says in his July 14 report that there is probable cause to believe Palin used or attempted to use her official position for personal gain because she authorized the creation of the trust as the "official" legal defense fund.


It looks like this one might have been the one filed by Kim Chatman back on April 27 of this year. Well it looks like the Personnel Board was unable to protect Palin from ALL of the complaints even though we know they gave it their very best.

Blackjack! Sorry I got carried away at the news of the 21st ethics complaint filed against Sarah Palin.

To acting Attorney General Daniel Sullivan:Please consider this ethics complaint charging Governor Sarah Palin for violations of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. The charges are that she hasn’t claimed all gifts received in a timely manner, if at all.

You know I am betting that Andree McLeod NEVER gets invited to a Palin family barbecue for as long as she lives.

But we are still cool, right Sarah?

John Coale, the man behind Palin's Defense Fund, says she only incurred $100,000 from ethics charges. Another Palin lie bites the dust.

One of the main reasons Sarah Palin is stepping down as governor, say associates, is her large, unpaid legal bill. Her successor, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, says she is worried about "the cost of all the ethics investigations and the like." But is that really the reason? John Coale, a Washington lawyer who helped Palin set up a legal-defense fund and PAC, tells NEWSWEEK the fund is "well on its way" to paying off $500,000 in legal debt from the campaign and another $100,000 in bills incurred later, leaving questions about how big a part money woes played in her decision to resign.

Well so much for Palin's claim that her legal bills were in excess of $500,000 dollars due to ethics charges. And her ridiculous claim that those costs are the reason for her stepping down are also bullshit because as Coale says her Defense Fund is "well on its way" to paying them off.

So just like Margaret Carlson said on Countdown last week, Sarah Palin has had NO out of pocket expenses due to the ethics charges. NONE!

You know I am beginning to believe that Sarah Palin could not tell the truth if you put a gun to her head.

Here is the third ethics complaint filed against Sarah Palin since her resignation. Hmm who predicted THAT would happen? Updated!

Another ethics complaint has been filed against Gov. Sarah Palin, alleging she abused her office by accepting a salary and used state staff while campaigning as the Republican vice presidential candidate last year.

It's the 18th ethics complaint filed against Palin, and the third since Palin announced her resignation July 3.

In her resignation speech, Palin cited the complaints as taking a personal toll and crippling her ability to govern effectively.

She officially steps down July 26.

The latest complaint was filed Monday and is the fifth by outspoken Palin critic Andree McLeod of Anchorage. Three of McLeod's grievances have been dismissed and another remains active.

You know I am a little confused but I THINK this is actually number 20. But I have to admit I have sort of lost track.

Well regardless of which total number this represents, it IS the third ethics complaint files since Palin resigned which is exactly what Dennis Zaki predicted. Now if THAT turned out to be true then the next thing we should expect would be..........ICEBERG!

Quick! I need some popcorn, some ice cold Pepsi, and a comfortable chair STAT! The show is about to begin. Oooh I can hardly wait!

Update: Here is a list of all of Sarah's ethics complaints up to April 27 of this year. It looks like this one is actually lucky number 21!

How many ethics complaints have been filed against Sarah Palin? Well as of today it is a whopping 18! Sanford and Ensign are lightweights!

Longtime political activist Ray Ward has filed the 18th ethics complaint against Governor Palin. Ward claims Palin has been paid for radio and television interviews dating back to just after she lost her vice-presidential bid.
Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, tells CBS 11 News the allegations are "categorically false," and says it fits a pattern of harassing and false ethics complaints.
You know what that means don't you? It means they are absolutely true!

Every day is "opposite day" with Van Flein.

The governor cited ethics complaints as a major reason she was resigning, saying they were distracting the state's agenda from progressing and had cost taxpayers $2-million.

The state personnel board has thus far vindicated the governor in fifteen complaints.

It will be interesting to see if they are still willing to sweep this one under the carpet with her leaving office. Come on Personnel Board! It is time to "man up"! After all, what have you got to lose?
One complaint was founded, and the governor repaid the state for her children's travel expenses. Our partners at the Anchorage Daily News are reporting the governor's office has admitted their math was not correct in saying the ethics complaints cost the state $2-million.
You're kidding? You mean those numbers were not accurate? Stunned! That's what I am, stunned!
Let's not forget that Dennis Zaki said there would be three more ethics charges and an IRS investigation. This is the second ethics charge filed since he made that claim. Does anybody doubt the validity of his predictions now?

Margaret Carlson's Countdown appearance destroys Palin's claims that ethics charges cost the state millions and she and Todd hundreds of thousands.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Did you catch that? No? Then back up the video to about 3:20 and listen again.

John Coale, who set up Sarah's Legal Defense Fund and apparently runs SarahPAC, told Carlson that THEY reimbursed the state for the children's travel expenses and paid her legal bills for the other ethics charges. In other words Sarah Palin has paid NO out of pocket money due to these charges!

So where does she get the $500,000 amount that she claims she and the First Dude have to pay for their part of the legal bills? Apparently in the same place she gets her other "facts", right out of her skinny lying Alaskan ass.

Hey want to play a little game?

Ask yourself when was the last time that you believe Sarah Palin actually told the TRUTH? About anything?

"Whose baby is that Sarah?"

"Mine."

"Where did you get the boat Sarah?"

"Todd and his friends built it!"

"What happened to those campaign clothes Sarah?"

"Gave em to charity, don'tcha know."

"Why are you leaving office Sarah?"

"Gonna go help help America.....and uh....Alaska! Yeah that's the ticket! Certainly not because of any impending scandal or investigation."

How can you tell when Sarah Palin is lying? Well you know the rest.