A serious H/T is needed here to the Naked Emperor News video news site for compiling the various news clips, and tying the gang of ethics complainants together in a tidy little package with a bow.

[Mata Musing: Naked Emperor is one upping themselves here, as they were also responsible for digging up all of Obama's historic statements on what he *really* wants for America's health care... a single payer system.]

Naked Emperor posted their “EthicsGate” YouTube link, and the Alaskan Bloggers again ganged up to get it removed from YouTube. This would be the same group that whined when Palin fingered them, and are now circling the wagons around the “divorce rumor” source; outed kindergarten/elementary school assistant teacher with a penchant for vicious gossip, Jesse Griffin… aka Gryphen.

There’s a notice/disclaimer on their site:

Well, it may be a “national story” anyway. Because a renegade poster – underbird – put the video back up. To protect Curt and Flopping Aces from any impropriety, I’m merely going to provide the link to the YouTube for now…. which may or may not be working.

I’ll leave it up to Curt if he wants to replace it with an embedded version. I suggest you click on the link quick… as those portrayed are most certainly not happy at being outed.

[Mata Musing: welll, I guess Curt wanted it embedded afterall! LOL]

Just as a reminder … the players in the ethics complaints also appearing in the video. You’ll find them recurring over and over. Refresh your memories by reading the Alinsky Perfected series.

Troopergate’s Legislative Investigation, led by Kim Elton, Alaska Dem Senator… close friends with Obama Sr. advisor, Pete Rouse. Plus former Gov. Tony Knowles, forming a neat political triangle.

Linda Kellen Biegel, Deputy Treasurer of Alaskans for Truth

Kim Chatman, “independent concerned Alaskan”…

Valerie Henning (wife of Zane Henning, who filed a complaint)

Sondra Thompkins, “independent concerned Alaskan”…

And the blogger/radio media cheerleaders who gave them face and air time, Shannyn Moore; Jeanne “Mudflats” Devon (big supporter of Andree McLeod); and Camille Conte (aka CC), chairman of the Alaskans for Truth and host of “Demo Memo” radio show where they discussed revenge strategy on air, trumped up stories together about rape stats that did not reflect the truth.

UPDATE: Aug 3rd, PM

Jeanne “Mudflats” Devon has taken to her own Alinsky brand of ammo for damage control in response to Naked Emperor’s video… by embedding the video herself as bold “proof” the “cabal” fears not it’s public view.

I found it particularly Interesting she uses a player that does not allow that same video to be shared, or allow the user to pick up the embed code. Was that deliberate, in order to keep the video confined to her own adoring following? Or was she unaware that YouTube has a share-friendly version? Who knows… much more important, who cares. But it was a notable observation that belies her “here it is, I’m not afraid!” attempt.

Ms. Mudflats weaves a rather listless and condescending tale – which she calls a parable – of good guy “village scribes” (aka the Alaskan progressive blogging cabal) and “those guys” from the hills.

You know the ones. Every once in a while, one of them wanders through town, all disheveled and wide-eyed and muttering something about how the Ruler of the Land is illegitimate because he was actually born on some other planet, and how his alien socialist kin are going to take over the world, and turn us all into mindless drones, and how we’re all either too stupid to see the real truth, or we’re in cahoots with the aliens on the mother ship. THOSE guys.

I think you get who plays the bad guy here… I suppose the fact escapes her that most conservatives critical of their gutteral “reporting” are just as critical of the on-the-edge birthers. But that wouldn’t make for as interesting of an already long and boring tale, would it?

To make a lengthy “parable without a moral” story shorter (and thereby considerably more palatable), Mudflats uses the classic Alinsky “ridicule” tack as her defense. That boils down to something like this… and I paraphrase her three paragraphs… “sure we know each other… duh”.

Knowing each other was never the issue. What was the issue was orchestration, aiding and abetting to waste Alaskan taxpayers tax dollars to “… be a pain in her [Palin's] butt” (that’s somewhere around the 10 minute mark, I believe…).

It was also uplifting to hear their elected officials encourage the cabal to play dirty – especially considering the irony that is was the cabal who first began to play in the dirt with leaks and smut during the Legislative Investigation. That would be the investigation headed by a guy who just happened to end up in the Obama admin.

Then of course, there’s all that back and forth between the “independent” Kim Chatman with Celtic Diva (aka Linda Kellen Biegel, with already one failed complaint to her name). And how CD – not too bright a light bulb evidently – documents her research on the legal defense fund, passes the data on to Chatman who files the complaint, and then “breaks” the news. All unethically with the confidentiality rules, of course.

Naw… no orchestration there.

It’s a small town. One expects those of like mind to know each other, and be active in the same political organizations.

By the same token, it’s just as large an expectation to assume these same political comrades coordinate their political attacks and agenda. And *therein* lies the story the above video tells.

Now that we have the bottom feeders inextricably linked, the next question is did that obvious local coordination for peevish and expensive complaints get as high as Pete Rouse, David Axelrod and Obama?

Andree McLeod – better known as the serial whiner and state departments’ fashion fascist – had her sixth complaint dismissed. This was, of course, another charge that Sarah absconded with state funds illegally as a governor when she should have…. according to Ms. Mcleod…. transferred the gubernatorial duties to the Lt. Gov. while campaigning.

Makes a body casually wonder if McLeod was the least bit perturbed by this last Presidential campaign when no less than three sitting Senators… one with less than 150 working days under his belt (ahem)… were also out on the road campaigning while still collecting their Senate salaries. But we’ll probably never know. And frankly, I don’t *want* to know what Ms. McLeod thinks about that… or anything else, for that matter.

But back to the content of the complaint dismissal…. once again investigated by Thomas Daniel of Perkins-Coie.

Summarizing:

Andree’s whine: Palin had “full intent” of foregoing Governor duties while campaigning because she signed two travel authorizations that stated “Conclusion of State Business” and another that stated “Return to Duty Status. In between, she collected full salary. Per McLeod, she should have transferred power to the Lt. Governor in her absence and… of course… more nonsense about taking Alaska money while she was engaging in events for personal gain. When it comes to Andree’s complaints, Seinfield comes to mind… yada yada yada.

Daniel findings: The Governor and Lt. Gov are on a fixed salary, regardless of hours worked, and is exempt from overtime. They are paid for performance, not hours worked. Additionally, state law are not considered employees of the state, as it relates to personnel w laws that govern sick days, overtime etal. Nor are the Gov or Lt. Gov mandated to resign office if they are seeking other elected positions in state or federal government as other state employees in the classified or partially exempt class are required to do.

Even if Palin had done no services as Governor on the campaign trail, she was still entitled to full payment of her salary… rather like all our Senate candidates. However, as Daniel notes, McLeod’s argument doesn’t hold water as there is ample evidence that Sarah was multi-tasking on the road with her Alaskan duties…. which was one of the reasons that her assistant, Ms. Perry, traveled with her on the road for conducting state business.

This should have been evident to the obviously dense and short memoried McLeod as she, herself, had assailed Kris Perry in two of her prior complaints for supposed misappropriation of funds in her travels with Sarah (McLeod complaints #13 and #14) Not only did McLeod try that route before, Perry was also named in Anthony Martin’s complaint #10 with similar whining.

Doesn’t anyone bother to check what’s already been resolved in this group? Relive the memories for all three complaints yourself in the Alinsky Perfected Pt III series. And perhaps we should send this Alinsky Perfected series link to Andree so she can remember what the hell she does from month to month…

Needless to say, per the Obama-linked investivative counsel, Palin was neither required to transfer power via any procedure, nor resign, and was entitled to her full compensation at all times.

INRE McLeod’s insistence that Palin step aside and allocate the job to the Lt. Gov, Daniel’s offers no opinion saying that’s a state constitutional question, and not an ethics issue. In other words, it’s above his pay grade.

I guess McLeod will have to lobby for a job in the Parnell admin’s AG office in order to pursue charging Sarah for violations of the Alaskan State Constitution….

This leaves only one complaint left to resolve…. That being Ms. Chatman’s complaint about the Alaska Trust Fund for Palin’s legal defense. To revive your memories on Pt VI of the Alinksy Perfected series, this is the one where the complainant filed the paperwork, and almost immediately called the media for a press release, violating ethics confidentiality rules.

Statement by Kristan Cole, trustee of the Alaska Fund Trust (aka the Palin legal defense fund) INRE the unethical leak of an ethic complaint investigation in progress.

This comes via Sarah Palin’s Facebook page.

Press Release

Kristan Cole, Trustee
The Alaska Fund Trust
July 22, 2009

Thank you for being here today. My name is Kristan Cole, Trustee to the Alaska Fund Trust. And this is the Trust’s attorney in Alaska, Jon Givens.

I am here to address the unusual letter that was leaked yesterday, the contents of which are unprecedented in the history of our country, suggesting that a legal defense fund could somehow be unethical. This is particularly notable, and concerning, in light of the fact that the Trust, on my instructions, has not paid even one penny to Gov. Palin or her lawyers. I issued that instruction because I was aware the Board was reviewing this matter.

This Trust was created by a team of expert lawyers from around the country. It was thoroughly vetted for compliance with federal and state law and trust law. So far Mr. Daniel is the only lawyer in the country who has questioned a legal defense fund despite the fact that his firm has set up legal defense funds for other office holders. Because his initial review was unprecedented and contained factual errors it was my understanding that Gov. Palin’s legal team, including Mr. Van Flein, were in on-going discussions with Mr. Daniel. The matter was not final.

I want to be clear on a point that has been misrepresented: The Governor is not and was not involved with the Trust. The Governor has never worked on or with the Trust. The Governor has not even accepted or requested one penny from the Trust or quite frankly anything of me. And I have never expected anything from her. Really it’s quite the contrary; as I, and many other caring folks across the country have only sought to help with this legal burden.

The first and only time I have spoken with the Governor about the Trust was yesterday to alert her that I was responding to this violation of the law and leak of preliminary and confidential materials from the complainant.

There is a loophole in Alaska law. Alaskans can file frivolous complaints against the Governor – violate the law and alert the media they are doing so, all the complaints can be dismissed and yet the Governor has to personally pay for representation. Legislators covered themselves with a law that warrants automatic dismissal of a complaint if it is leaked to the public.

It has been quite obvious to me, and to other every day citizens like me, that over the last several months that something needed to be done to help the Palins with the overwhelming crush of frivolous ethics complaints.

In their own humble way, the Palins never asked for help. The Governor never even asked anyone to contribute to this legal expense fund. This trust, and the thousands and thousands of dollars raised, were the results of hard working Americans and their outpouring of support. It is disgraceful that anyone would assume that the thousands of people who sent in $5, $10 or $50 intended to “influence” the governor’s official actions in Alaska! And this in a state where a half dozen legislators have been convicted of corruption as well as the previous governor’s chief of staff. Not one ethics complaint was filed against these individuals who were convicted, but this governor is harassed for having her picture taken with a fish, wearing a jacket, answering press questions and giving a speech.

A few select people have abused our ethics act. The public release of a preliminary document in violation of state law follows that pattern. The people of this state are losing hope that the ethics act has any real purpose anymore and that’s incredibly sad as ethics are so important. Mr. Daniel’s preliminary assessment, unprecedented in history and harshly criticized by legal scholars, does nothing to restore credibility to this process.

Numerous individuals thought to help the Palins – not just me. But when I was asked, I was doing research of my own and determined that I would put my name on a Trust already going through an intense legal process throughout the country to ensure that this one was airtight and complied with every possible law under the sun. And this one does. It is one of the most restrictive and transparent trusts of its kind. The validity of the Trust is strong. It is unprecedented in every way imaginable… all donations must be under $150, no donations from lobbyists, and nothing accepted from foreign nationals to name a few. No trust has ever been found to be a violation of ethical standards for any governor, former president, senator, or house member, or former member of Congress. But this Trust which has more severe donation and donor limits than any trust in the history of legal defense trusts might violate ethical rules?

Some Trust funds are formed and accepted to defend politicians in true Courts of Law with regard to some very serious criminal charges. And yet, this Fund was created by others to help the Palins pay for their legal bills due to frivolous complaints – each of which has been dismissed thus far. I will let my attorney speak to the legal issues but I wanted to take this opportunity to speak to yesterday’s blatant violation of the law.

You know, we have witnessed time and again the blatant abuse of process when it comes to people filing these complaints and illegally discussing them and leaking them to the press- but this latest move further crosses the line and we are all reviewing action for the reputational harm caused by Ms. Chatman based upon the leak of Tom Daniel’s preliminary thinking on the matter – a product that may have ultimately been remarkably different and perhaps even dismissed. Where is the accountability for those who blatantly disregard the requirement to keep the issue confidential?

There are many questions which need to be asked following my read of what was leaked.

And, if I may digress – this is how backwards our laws are – I had to go online and read the preliminary letter about the Trust and me because Mr. Daniel and Mr. Van Flein cannot violate the confidentiality of the Ethics Act (even though it appears the complainant has)and therefore cannot even forward the preliminary letter to me. Now that I have read it, I still hope to inform Mr. Daniel of the important information that Mr. Van Flein had requested from me to be shared with Mr. Daniel.

What was the reason for my involvement? The preliminary letter suggests that perhaps I served as Trustee so I could get some job with the state. This is amazingly wrong and so incredibly hurtful. That is the last thing I want. I did this because it believed it was the right thing to do for our Governor. I love Alaska. I have lived here 40 years and I have always served the state when asked – and despite the fact that I am entitled to public monies in the form of expenses, per diem and wages – I have declined every single penny. I have served as a volunteer on others boards, and commissions (The Real Estate Commission and the Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund Board) under a previous Governor so volunteer work has been part of my life for a long time. I was approached to serve as Trustee for the legal defense fund. I did not seek out this position just as I have never sought out any other position but was willing to step up to the plate and serve when asked because that’s what we all do when asked to serve our country, our state and our communities isn’t it? We do it because it’s the right thing to do and by all of us serving where we can, we all benefit. My sons and my husband have served our country. I have served our state and our community here in the Mat Su Valley with the hope that we are making a difference where we can.

So how unfair is it that the Governor can be told she was wrong for putting together the Fund, soliciting Funds, accepting the Funds and spending the Funds when she hasn’t been involved at all—-And no money has been spent on her legal defense?

If the Governor only accrued the bills because she is a public figure then why is it wrong for a Trust to collect funds to defend her as a public figure? Alaska law specifically states that there is only a problem if there is “intent” to influence the Governor. How can there be intent to influence a Governor in Alaska with a $5 voluntary donation from Kansas? To date, approximately 90% of the contributions are from Outside Alaska and many are $5, $10 and $20 donations. Not one penny has been paid to any law firm or entity for the Governor’s financial gain. If the Governor has not solicited or accepted personal gain, how can she be in violation of soliciting and accepting monies for personal gain?

Let’s review what has been deemed lawful. Creation of the PAC and fundraising was deemed lawful. Writing a book was deemed lawful. All other legal defense funds similar, but not as restrictive as this one, have been deemed to be lawful. The very firm who put together Senator Kerry’s legal defense fund which was deemed lawful was put together by the very law firm that Mr. Daniel is employed by. These are inconsistent conclusions and defy common sense. That is why this matter was not final and Mr. Daniel and Mr. Van Flein were discussing these issues.

Potential future gain, based upon no active solicitations, in one of the most stringent legal expense funds in the country does not merit a situation much less a violation. Mr. Daniel says that because the Trust was an “official” Trust he felt it violated the law. This overlooks the necessity of having one “official” fund. The unofficial funds are the very ones that had the potential to harm the public by unscrupulous people.

We knew that in fairness to Alaskans and Americans, this site needed to be official because of the potential scams that could arise. How ethical would it be for a pensioner in Iowa or a single mother in New Hampshire to have their donation diverted by someone who had no intention of helping the Governor and may keep the money for themselves or other equally harmful things?

But let’s think through the same logic, if a foreigner wanted to set up his or her own fund, collect a handsome payoff, and accept $5 million donations from rogue groups even, as long as that person did not tell the Governor, that would be okay? That is the conclusion that is being reached here in Mr. Daniel letter and flies in the face of good logic, common sense, and the good necessity of protecting the public.

Every aspect of the Alaska Fund Trust follows the law. Precedent allows for it. The Palins haven’t been involved with it. It is unfortunate that some in the media were so quick to point the finger at the Governor for something others are responsible for and have established to assist her in the fight against these outrageous attacks. And this acceptance that the law can be continually violated for pure political gain … is wrong.

As yet more proof that Andree Mcleod not only has no respect for Alaskan law, nor the taxpayers wallets, this loser of human has now filed her sixth attempt to throw mud at Sarah to see if she can get anything to stick.

To say hell hath no fury may be an understatement when it comes to this one… You might also recall Ms. Mcleod (photo to left) was also the same wacko that appointed herself the state government employees fashion facist… complaining there was just “too much cleavage” being shown by the staffers.

Just a week before she walks out of the Alaskan gubernatorial offices, Sarah, on July 20th, 4:40pm Alaskan time, tweeted:

AKGovSarahPalin: In violation of Ethics Act more allegations were filed today by serial complainer;gave to press be4 we could respond;ridiculous, wasteful…

Didn’t take me long when I saw that yesterday to figure out who best fit the profile of “serial complainer”. Conservatives4Palin was on top of it the same day, but it didn’t make a more national medium until it’s appearance today on Salon by, none other than Rachel D’Oro. She is, of course, the same reporter that’s feeding the BS to AP about the Chatman ethics complaint being a done deal as “guilty” in my Pt VI series.

D’Oro’s dribblings today:

The latest complaint alleges she abused her office by accepting a salary and using state staff while campaigning outside Alaska for the vice presidency. It’s the third complaint filed against the Republican since she announced July 3 that she was stepping down.

~~~

In her complaint, Andree McLeod said that two days before Palin was named John McCain’s running mate, she signed travel documents that stated “conclusion of state business.” A similar document soon after the election stated “return to duty status.”

McLeod said Palin’s signature on the documents demonstrated a “willingness to forgo her duties as governor” to travel on the national campaign. She added that she filed the complaint now only because she was waiting for a final document from the state in response to a public records request.

McLeod said that given that temporary absence, Palin should have turned over the governor’s responsibilities to Parnell as required by the state constitution.

“The reason this is so serious is because the transfer of power should have taken place but did not,” McLeod said Tuesday.

UPDATE: It seems that Ms. D’Oro, an Alaskan resident as well as an AP hack, continues to get her facts wrong. The newest Handee Andree complaint is clarified by Palin counsel, Thomas Van Flein, on Facebook.

FOR RELEASE: JULY 20, 2009
Another Ethics Complaint Filed Against the Governor

July 20, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska – Once again, an ethics complaint has been filed and publicly released in violation of state law. This is the sixth complaint filed by Ms. McLeod. In addition, she has filed a lawsuit against the Governor’s office and multiple public records act requests.

All of her prior complaints that have been ruled on have been dismissed.

The Ethics Act serves important state interests in ensuring ethical state government and was intended to prevent the various forms of corrupt misconduct that had plagued the Legislature in prior years and which resulted in the prosecution of legislators and others. It is unfortunate that the law has been abused and trivialized in the current manner.

Today’s complaint, filed just six days before the Governor leaves office, alleges that Governor Palin violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act by failing to submit complete gift disclosure forms in a timely manner, and obtained “free” services. The apparent primary goal of this complaint has been achieved, namely, an effort to keep the complainant’s name in the paper. We anticipate another dismissal of this complaint as with the complainant’s other complaints. This is the fourth ethics complaint filed against the Governor since the announcement of her resignation on July 3. In every case, the complainers violated the confidentiality provision of the Ethics Act in making their complaints public knowledge.

THOMAS VAN FLEIN—Personal Attorney for Governor Palin

END UPDATE

Mcleod evidently needs to move fast since Palin steps down on Sunday, so this sixth smear attempt comes only days after her fifth filing was thrown out the door almost upon arrival.

As is usual with our bizarre societal obsessions, one has to wonder if Mcleod isn’t out for her own last seconds of her 15 minutes of fame. For timed with her sixth filing of complaints was a Vanity Fair profile feature of Mcleod, calling her Sarah’s “worst nightmare”.

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.”

As I pointed out in the Troopergate series, and again in the Alinsky Perfected II/III pieces, the three personnel board members are all appointees of Mcleod’s prior boss, Frank Murkowski. Vanity Fair’s Christopher Batement, apparently less informed on facts that dedicated to slipping sly little demeaning remarks about Palin in his feature on McLeod, let this truth go by with nary a clarification.

Batement did, however, follow it up with a quote from the AG’s office stating repeatedly to his questions that Palin’s not been found guilty of anything…. only to follow it up with his own personal observation: “In fact, he said it enough times that I started to wonder if he was trying to convince himself.”

… or perhaps he was trying to get it thru Bateman’s thick skull?

Work quick, Mcleod. Because your next attacks on the soon to be ex-governor will no longer be paid for by your neighbors, and will cost you dearly in a counter lawsuit. And I say it’s about time.

AP’s Rachel D’Oro must have the Palin beat… either that, or she’s assumed the Woodward/Berstein role to Kim Chatman’s “Deep Throat” character.

Chatman, complainant #18 in Part III of my Alinsky Perfected series, accuses Sarah of “…misusing the governor’s office for personal gain by securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust” April 27th. Since that time, the Personnel Board has, as their normal procedure, hired an investigative counsel to determine probable cause prior to any Board hearing or determination.

Thomas Daniel of Perkins Coie in Anchorage assumed that task, and issued his confidential report to the Board on July 14th.

Within 7 days, D’Oro releases an AP story, mysteriously in possession of a report that, by ethics complaint provisions, is mandated as confidential information until released publicly by the Board with waiver by the Governor. The headline screams “guilty”… “Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin implicated in ethics investigation of legal defence fund”

Mata Musing: As Mel from Conservatives4Palin notes, the AP has since changed their headline to read instead… “Investigator rules against Palin in ethics probe”. Yeah… there’s an improvement to reflect the facts… *not*.

From the story with the ever morphing headline….

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

The report obtained by The Associated Press says Palin was 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 her legal defence fund.

ummmmm… not quite. And of course they did not provide a link to the leaked investigative report to the Board.

By releasing this to the press, Ms. Chatman’s intent appears not to be waiting for Board recommendations and actions but to drive a media kangaroo court of justice for Sarah Palin.

So let’s look at that confidential report, now part of now public domain via ADN, and see what warrants a headline that screams “guilty”.

Daniel’s investigative task is solely meant to establish probable cause that may, or may not, lead to a hearing to determine a violation and penalty, or dismissal. They [investigative counsel] can only recommend corrective actions. It was specific excerpts that D’Oro chose to highlight in her story that drives her intent to find Palin guilty in the court of public opinion.

The analysis, beginning on page two of the above linked “confidential” report, discusses not only the two pronged complaint of using the gubernatorial seat for personal gain, but also the establishment and receipt of funds collected thru the legal defense fund. And the only probable cause “guilt” Palin is suspected of is giving permission for the defense fund to use her photo and address her as “Governor”, and that she would “personally benefit” from any funds she received from that fund…..

…. if she had received any such gifts.

Fact is, Ms. Palin has not taken a dime from the legal defense fund.

Per the report INRE the first charge, investigation of the origins of the Alaska Trust Fund – set up legally to emulate those of John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, etal – was in order.

As Daniel notes in his final summaries, legal defense funds are common practice for federal office holders. The Alaska Trust fund adheres to similar, if not identical, restrictions as those for members of Congress. However while donors may, with all rights, make contributions to Sarah as a national stage politician, her picture as Alaskan governor muddies the waters legally, and intrinsically ties the fund to the state of Alaska, and thereby their laws.

Alaska ethics laws, or other statutes, make no provisions for state officials to create legal defense funds as Congress members can. And in fact, Mr. Daniel notes this as a flaw that should be addressed stating:

Perhaps there should be, but that is a matter for the legislature to address. My job is to apply the statute as currently written.

Thus Daniel did recognize that Palin could indeed stand to benefit from these funds. And of course, that was the purpose of the fund to begin with… no one will argue the obvious.

But he concluded this benefit was not as easy, saying:

The more difficult question is whether the first part of the statute is satisfied – did the Governor “use, or attempt to use, an official position” in order to obtain this personal gain?

~~~

If third parties created the legal defense fund completely on ther own, free from any direction, influence or guidance from the governor, it would not seem that the governor “used her position” in violation of the statute.

The legal defense fund was created by Kristan Cole, also functioning as trustee of the fund, in concert with other Palin supporters who felt Sarah should not have to pay for escalating legal bill for frivolous assaults. Daniel interviewed Ms. Cole, as noted in the report, who confirmed that it was she and supporters who set up the fund, not Palin.

The lone statement that made this not totally dismissable for Daniel was that Ms. Cole stated she asked for Palin’s approval to create the fund as her “official” legal defense fund, and for permission to use her photo. Palin gave this approval. Per the report, that was the extent of Palin’s involvement.

When strictly interpreting the statute, and Daniel’s assumed that an ordinary citizen would not enjoy the success for fund solicitatation that a public figure the stature of Sarah could. So he concluded that Palin’s photo and title gave some probable cause to her position being used for personal benefit.

But obviously, we’re teetering on the borderline of reason and legalities. ala the nature of the donations. Can they separate each as being related to her position as Alaskan governor or as a national political figure? Then combine that with her disassociation with the fund other than to say “yes” to the use of a picture, and “thanks” for an official site that couldn’t be advanced as a fraudulent scam on well meaning supporters. More on creation of these legal defense funds below the subheading “Investigator addresses “fairness” of Alaskan law”.

The next charge by Ms. Chatman had to do with accepting “gifts” … i.e. the donated funds… that were “intended” to influence her performance as Governor. This would be what we know as lobbyist dinners, trip and entertaining of Congress in exchange for favorable votes on legislation.

Two avenues of this were written off as absurd. First, the donors to the fund were from everywhere, and limited to a maximum of $150. This amount is interpreted by the AG as “…unlikely to be intended to influence judgment”. Somehow I’m pretty sure that $150 is way too low a price to buy any modern politician so it’s not believable that any individual donor could expect political favors in return.

Second would be the combination of those donations as a gift – the result of a “series” of $150 donations. Meaning the trust would be receiving multiple $150 donations, and providing them as a gift in a large, substantial lump sum. This requires that single large donation to be reported as a “gift”. This in no way violates the ethics act unless that payment of combined trust gift funds could be inferred to assume influenced performance from an elected official.

Because the trust was the giver, it was also unlikely that there are any avenues for “influence” that can benefit a single trust entity.

There was only one way for any appearance of impropiety for a gift from the legal defense fund to Palin… the trustee, Kristan Cole, herself.

Cole and Palin go back some time, as good friends in intimiate rural states usually do. And it’s highly unlikely that a mere acquaintance, with little concern personally for the Palin family’s financial crisis, would go thru the hoopla of setting up a legal trust fund. So in order to dig as deep into appearance of impropriety, he also took into account the relationship between Kristan and Palin.

Palin appointed Ms. Cole as chairman of Board of Agriculture and Conservation, had appointed her to the board of the Royalty Oil and Gas Commission, and she also serves on the Creamery Board, a “private corporation owned by the State of Alaska”… huh? uh, nevermind.

Because of their past, Mr. Daniel decides it’s “reasonable” that the trustee… not the donors or the trust itself… *may* bear looking at in an attempt to gain influence. On this, Daniel says:

I cannot read Ms. Cole’s mind and therefore it is possible that her formation of the legal defense fund is entirely altruistic without an expectation of anything in return. But as explained above, the standard for interpreting this section of the Ethics Act is an objective one. The circumstances around the creation of the trust fund suggest that the organizers will expect “that when policy decisions are made in the future, the [governor] will be favorably disposed to give more weight to [their] viewpoint”.

In addition, my role as an independent counsel for the personnel board is only to decide whether there is probable cause to believe a violation of the Ethics Law has occurred – not to reach a definitive conclusion. See AS 39.52.320 The ultimate determination fo whether the governor has violated the Ethics Act can only be made by the personnel board after a formal hearing and a report by a hearing officer. See AS 39.52.360-370

Apparently a minor little sentence that Ms. D’Oro missed when composing her various “guilty” headlines…

But wait… let’s look at Ms. Kristan Cole and those shadowy associations that Mr. Daniel brings up as “reasonable” probable cause.

As the ADN article on this BS yesterday notes, those appointments were all made prior to the legal defense fund’s creation… therefore they are completely unrelated. It should also be noted these are volunteer positions.

However Daniel cannot afford to leave any stone unturned in a thorough investigation. Quite frankly, had he left out the relationship between Palin and Cole, there would be an uproar about the quality of his work.

But that was then, and this was now. I’m not sure what favors a volunteer board member or chair of these particular entities can expect from a governor specifically, and I certainly question just how high up in the food chain of importance they would be for policy as volunteers. But I’m darned sure they could expect few favors from an embattled governor under the microscope 24/7, and can expect absolutely no favors from an ex-governor.

Somehow I would expect even Daniel’s third and only possibility of “gifts for influence” probable cause would get thrown out at a formal hearing as irrelevant because of the nature and timing of the appointments.

There’s an interesting Section C on it’s own… Mr. Daniel addressing the fairness of a governor who is unable to set up a legal defense fund for charges that have been dismissed or cleared. And he had a chat with the AG’s office to find out why the State wasn’t paying for Palin’s expenses on these cleared ethics charges. The short AG answer was that they only pay for officials’ defense when they are charges incurred while carrying out state duties, while the theoretical essense of ethics charges is that the state official was acting to their own personal benefit. So even the innocent get stuck with the bill.

After some checking into it, the AG’s office said they could reimburse Palin for hiring legal defense, perhaps with a *capped* limit, from state funds… as long as it met certain conditions. [See pg 8, paragraph 2 for specifics that aren't paramount here]

You do see what this means, yes? I’ll spell it out..

Reimbursing Palin’s legal defense from the state’s funds nails the taxpayers *twice*! First for processing and investigating probable cause on all these BS complaints, and a second time to pay for Palin’s lawyers after she’s been cleared.

Palin is already on record that she’s unhappy with the bill the taxpayers are shoulding so that her political opposition can wage an agenda war to destroy her. I highly doubt she would be happy seeing them get stuck with additional bills involuntarily.

And about that formal hearing… Mr. Daniel’s recommendations of corrective actions are found on page nine. And apparently nothing smacked of serious juju here because he feels this doesn’t even meet the needs for a hearing.

I can recommend that corrective action be taken to resolve this complaint without the necessity of a formal hearing on the matter See AS 39.52.330 My recommendation is that the governor should refuse to accept payment of her legal fees and costs from the Alaska Fund Trust and withdraw her authorization for the trust to be recognized as her “official” legal defense fund. I also recommend that she seek reimbursement from the state for the cost of defending the ethics complaints that have been dismissed.

I also recommend that the legislature consider amending the Ethics Act to require the state to reimburse a public official for reasonable legal fees and costs incurred to defend against an Ethics Act complaint that is dismissed.

I’m not sure how this trust fund nonsense plays out when Sarah is no longer governor, and I’m sure she’ll be speaking with attorneys on this. But I just can’t see her dumping these costs on the Alaskans. And if she does, I would truly be disapointed.

The last state of this “confidential” report states:

Notice of this decision will be communicated to the governor and to Ms. Chatman. However this decision is confidential pursuant to AS 39.52.340, unless confidentiality is waived by the governor.

Ms. Palin has *not* waived confidentiality, and addresses Ms. Chatman in their response on this leak of the report.

Mrs. Palin’s private attorney Thomas Van Flein says it’s too early for the AP to judge the outcome of the investigation. “I have been working with the investigator regarding supplemental information,” he said. “The matter is still pending.”

“Whatever you have seen was released in violation of law,” he said. “There has been no Board finding of an ethics violation and there is a detailed legal process to follow before there is a final resolution.”

Mrs. Palin may turn the tables on the leakers in the future, too.

“All options are open in terms of legal remedies,” Mr. Van Flein said.

Kim Chatman, who filed the complaint, spoke to the Associated Press on the record ahead of the report’s release, an action prohibited by the ethics procedures. Palin’s aides believe Ms. Chatman leaked the report as well.

“It is a clear violation of Alaska law that Mr. Daniel explicitly reviewed with Ms. Chatman prior to her illegal actions,” Mr. Van Flein said. “We will be contacting the appropriate authorities for review and action.”

If Kim Chatman sets up a legal defense fund, would anyone care let alone donate? You go, Sarah. Because Ms. Chatman is out to get you… it is she who signed on to the unbelievably offensive Juneteenth lawsuit, accusing Palin of being a racist, in order to get it into Alaska’s federal court system. Ms. Chatman, herself caucasian, is married to a black American.

But that’s another story in progress, and to come in the “trials and tribulations of Sarah category.

Now… this story isn’t over, and Mel at Conservatives4Palin keeps updating his post today with tweets and FB updates.

That didn’t take long. Ray Ward’s beef that accused Sarah of being paid for interviews on State time has been dismissed.

The complaint was filed July 6.

It was rejected in part because it was not properly notarized, the statement said.

In addition, the Personnel Board had previously determined that interviews do not violate the state Ethics Act. And the complaint offered no evidence to support the claim the governor was paid, the statement said.

If you’re going to abuse the system, you at least may want to learn how to do it properly. Perhaps Ray should have consulted Zane Henning, who already tried that route and fell flat on his face. The other system abuse expert is Andree McLeod, with four loser attempts under her belt.

Speaking of the devil, this leaves Zane Henning’s latest and greatest complaint accusing Palin of collecting per diem against the rules as the long ranger left standing at the Personnel Board… at least as of today.

Ah… so little time left to abuse Governor Sarah Palin. After all, after she becomes “citizen” Sarah, the costs of attacks are no longer borne by the taxpayer, but by the complainant.

So, predictably, the ethics complaints have stepped up a new notch! And the latest events are proof that these complaints are *not* about driving Palin from office, but to attempt to politically destroy Palin in the elected office battlefield.

First of all… if you are not up to date on the Trials and Tribulations of Sarah, and the “Alinsky Perfected” section that is devoted to the ethics complaints only, (meaning not including personal lawsuits at the Palin family personal expense, via Alaskan taxpayer expense….), then go read. You’re not going to follow the “characters in the play” here if you don’t, and I’ve not time to re’educate you at every turn. It’s there… read. If you come in with comments unprepared, you will be nailed with your historically deficient knowledge.

Second, we do have a number count discrepancy. The Alaskan pro-Palin bloggers are noting this as the “18th complaint”. This all depends on how you look at it. Technically, there has already been 18 complaints, three of those attributed to Troopergate. So let’s assume that’s 15 complaints we know about. (thus explaining when the media says “15 complaints).

But as I pointed out in my Alinsky Perfected series, one of those 15 was by a bogus, cowardly citizen hiding behind a British soap opera character… and thrown out. So let’s assume that’s “17 complaints”. (or 14 excluding Troopergate). Another was a complaint via “the wardrobe”, that ran thru the FEC. So that’s 16 (or 13 sans Troopergate) complaints.

So adding two more Alaskan citizen complaints to the mix … we do come to 18… including Troopergate. But truth be told, the assaults have been flying so fast and furious, I wouldn’t be surprised to have had some come in under the media radar.

’nuff for the numbers discrepancy.

On the latest/greatest of these new complaints, I’m going to refer you to the local alaskan bloggers (Anchorage Activist over at AlaskaPride and Tim Lindell at Conservatives4Palin), who are on top this today, as I’ve not done my complete homework. This is late breaking news on the internet, as not even the MSM has picked up on the latest Alinsky political assault via the “system”.

One complaint is by a new entry… Ray Ward, the first hypenated American – aka an african American – who is the first Alaskan of his race to file a complaint. His beef is that Palin is being paid for radio and television interviews dating back to just after she lost her vice-presidential bid.

Any of this sound familiar? Try the Zane Henning complaint #9, found in Part II of the “Alinsky Perfected” series… where he whines about Palin doing interviews with the press from his office. Oh wait… maybe it’s closer to Celtic Blue’s snorting/whining complaint #16 about Palin wearing a jacket with an Arctic Cat logo. Hard to gauge as they both relate about abuse of office via advertising.

Evidently, Ward believes that if he describes a red apple as “burgandy” instead of “red”, he can get to a more favorable result than Zane or Celtic Blue achieved in their complaints. I’ll let the Alaskan bloggers take lead on this first before I explore deeper…. as we’re all digging into just who Ray Ward is, and what his connections are. Especially considering most of these complaints smell of incestuous political imbreeding. Ward’s base complaint, however, is old news.

And speaking of Zane Hennings… he’s not letting up either. After all, the time to beat the snot of out Palin by using the government system at the taxpayers expense (thus “Alinsky perfected) is running out with Palin’s resignation. And Zane’s already been busted out of the complaint business once already.

So a perservering Henning has filed yet another charge -post Palin resignation – that Sarah’s been pocketing per diem for her home use, and using the system for political gain.

Zane Hennings…apparently not about to let Andree McLeod to be outdone in the number of personal complaints filed without a last minute, herculean effort… may just possibly be acting as the setup man using the per diem at home issue, to segue into the fantasy FBI investigation about supposed fraudulent expenses when the Palin’s were building their Wasilla home.

In the usual six degrees of separation way, this also sorta threads back into the repetitive “TravelGate” attempts by Frank Gwartney in ethics complaint #8 in Party II.

Anyone sensing a pattern here?? Like, when the mud doesn’t stick the first time, heave another mud pie? Or perhaps, not one Palin hater has an original thought… just variations on the same thought.

Oddly enough, this (the per diem issues) is a subject that Palin, herself, brought up in February of this year.

“Last fall we raised questions about longstanding practices within the Department of Administration regarding tax treatment of per diem payments,” Kreitzer wrote in an exchange of e-mails over the past few days with the Daily News.

“At the Governor’s request, we reviewed the situation to determine whether we were in full compliance with the pertinent Internal Revenue Service regulations,” Kreitzer wrote. “As a result of this review, we determined that per diem needs to be treated as income, requiring a revision of W-2 forms for any affected employees.”

Can you say too little, too late?

Meanwhile, coming soon to a blog… (like FA)… near you, the mounting offensive to paint Palin as a racist vial lawsuits. Hint… the complaint players start reappearing with the lawsuit. Give me time. This story is morphing daily, and goes back to 1990, when a pregnant Sarah, working as a waitress, supposedly – according to a “he said” type lawsuit by Gregory Charles Royal (yes, of American’s Hot Musician) – rejected him in a flirtatous encounter because she didn’t recognize he was “black”.

Here’s his picture… are you confused?

ummmm… does “willing suspension of disbelief” comt to mine? As I said, story to come…

In the meantime… good news for the Alaskans to celebrate! Instead of the costs to them for this political assault on Sarah being 1.9 mil (rounded off by Palin as $2 mil in media reports…), it turns out it’s actually $26,849 less.

Well ain’t that a relief?

10: Dec. 2, 2008: A charge that Sarah violated ethics laws by campaigning for GA Republican Senator, Saxby Chambliss, and filed by Alaskan resident, Anthony Martin of Talkeetna.

The expenses for both Palin and her staff employee, Kris Perry, were paid for by the Chambliss campaign. Additionally, it was the first stop to a second destination for a Governor’s meeting with then PEBO Obama.

As a result of the ethics investigation by the Board’s investigator, Michael Geraghty, stated:

The Act does not prohibit a public official from engaging in political pursuits independent of their position as a public officer and the campaign efforts undertaken by Governor Palin are not prohibited by the Act.

That wasn’t enough, as there was also lip flap about Kris Perry receiving per diem while with Sarah in GA. Now I’m pretty sure that Ms. Perry’s per diem was pennies on the C-note when compared to the price of investigating this BS, but that aside… Geraghty agreed with the nature of the trip have benefit to Alaskan issues. Most specifically Perry’s assigned task as liaison to the Alaskan State government officials… plus Alaska’s vested interest in seeing ANWR developed. However Geraghty also stated that, even if he disregarded the Alaskan benefit to campaign for ANWR support, the complaint validity didn’t measure up. On Perry’s per diem, he stated:

[The] trip to Georgia was undertaken to further an issue impacting the state of Alaska. Thus, the conduct alleged does not support a violation of the Ethics Act and the facts do not otherwise support an independent violation by Ms. Perry.

He further stated:

“To constitute a violation of the ethics act, the facts alleged would have to support a finding that Governor Palin coerced Perry to benefit her own personal and/or financial interests. The Martin complaint does not allege facts suggesting coercive conduct by Governor Palin.”

Watch for Ms. Perry to come under assault again by Andree McLeod in late January.

As for Mr. Martin, the man who filed the complaint. He’s relatively low profile on the Internet. Even the pro and con Sarah Alaskan blogs don’t give much detail on him. What we do know is he certainly doesn’t appear to be a Palin fan.

There are a couple of comments by an Anthony Martin that may be tied to the same individual, as they relate to Palin and MudRacker… er, Mudflats.

The first comment by an “Anthony Martin” was Feb 4th on a post by MudFlat having his/her knickers in a twist about Palin endorsing Rick Perry for Texas Governor. Mudflats then referenced Chambliss, expressing his thanks and stating that Palin’s support was key to his victory via a Huffpo piece.

This, of course, had one of the Mudflats echo chamber devotees pondering if this endorsement may have constituted another ethics violation…. i.e. “was it on State stationary?” The “Anthony Martin”, the same name as the man who filed an ethics charge INRE Chambliss just a couple months earlier, responded:

Unless Governor Palin dictated her letter to a state employee or or wrote it it on the ‘actual’ Governor’s desk or used a state owned computer to print it (on piece of paper with the state seal) or used a state bought envelope and stamp to send it, then there’s no ethical problem in Mrs. Palin, on her own time with her own money, engaging in ‘partisan politics’ ( did she sign the letter Sarah Palin or Governor Palin?) . And , her newly formed PAC (independent slush fund) inserts a layer of murkiness into all her political actions. It’s the ‘on the state’s time’ and ‘with the state’s dime’ that don’t mix with ‘partisan politics’.

I’d lay a strong bet it’s the same “Anthony Martin”, which would mean… unsurprisingly… that he hangs on Mudflats’ site for info.

One month later, another “Anthony Martin” posted a comment on a the March 17th Washington Examiner piece by Noemie Emery titled, “Palinphones and the audacity of type”. Summarized, it’s a satire on the leftist hysteria over Palin’s experience and judgment… which looks inordinately foolish when compared to the Community Organizer in Chief’s actual record of faux pas and ineptitude during his first three months (i.e. treasury openings not filled, a stock market plunging 2000 points six weeks into office, DVDs to the British PM that can’t even be played, etal).

To which, this “Anthony Martin” commented:

“Check out the March issue of Portfolio & http://www.themudflats.net/ to get an in depth scope of Governor Palin’s accomplishment (or lack thereof).”

The same guy? If not, it’s another Anthony Martin with the same attitude.

11: Dec. 18, 2008: Oddly enough, none of my resources I’ve used seem to know who filed a complaint that accused Sarah – who’s image was used in advertisements by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute last year in National Fisherman – of using the funds and ads to promote her political Veep ambitions. Of course, the problem is that Palin’s only involvement was to give them permission to use her image, and that was done long before she was named as running mate to McCain.

Yep… another one dismissed. This one on Jan 12th.

12: Jan. 12, 2009: This one may be my favorite… there was a complaint alleging that Sarah had interfered in hiring for a position. Problem is, it was filed by someone who wouldn’t use their real name, and insisted on using Edna Birch…. a fictional character in a British soap opera, Emmerdale.

Edna is the hard-faced, plain-speaking type. She is in her seventies, very religious and easily outraged. She would never dream of drawing attention to herself with powder or paint and her femininity is not something that she would ever dream of flaunting. Her top button is always done up and she would never touch a mascara brush.

Edna is somebody who, speaks her mind and doesn’t care what the consequences are. Her age and experience somehow lend her an air of (spurious) authority and she knows it. She is a fast talker (snappy and strident in equal measure) and is forever commenting on the behaviour of others in the Woolpack.

Complaint dismissed Feb 20th… buh bye.

13. and 14. Jan. 26, 2009: Ah yes… we’re back to Andree McLeod. And I hope that you caught my correction on Part II, because I just realized McLeod, herself and alone, is reponsible for four of the 15 complaints that aren’t related to Troopergate. (originally said three). See also complaint #15 below. But back to #13 and #14.

Once again McLeod goes after some staffers. This time she names Kris Perry, director of Palin’s Anchorage office. (Remember she was also named in the Chambliss complaint by Anthony Martin). And another complaint filed simultaneously against Bill McAllister, the (then) Press Secretary. Again just as before, Ms. McLeod is accusing the Palin staffers of misusing their positions to promote the governor’s political ambitions.

INRE Perry, McLeod concentrated on Perry’s travels with the Governor on the campaign trail. This actually tag teamed Anthony Martin’s complaint charge above INRE Kris Perry’s stay in GA while Palin was campaigning for Chambliss. Ms. Perry’s complaint was sent on to the AG’s office because it was against a state employee, and not a Governor or Lt. Governor.

Palin’s office stated that Perry’s position was as the liaison with State officials, and was instrumental in making sure she was staying abreast of her gubernatorial duties and responsibilities.

Makes sense… and apparently the attorney for the AG’s office, Julia Bockman, agreed when she sent a letter and a report to Kris Perry, informing her they were dismissing McLeod’s complaint on June 17th, and finally making the ADN news on the 23rd.

McLeod’s not taking the news well, calling it an in-house “whitewash”… especially when told she couldn’t appeal.

“Beyond a shadow of a doubt this dismissal demonstrates a breakdown in the complaint process. All the evidentiary documents I have point to Kris Perry campaigning on the public’s dime and time.”

McLeod’s beef with McAllister is her accusation he was doing “partisan work” on State time… suggesting “…”an ongoing collaboration with Republican National Committee convention staff.” To prove this, she cited an email to Palin on Aug. 27, shortly before the Republican Nat’l Convention, and two days before she was picked as McCain’s running mate. Per a Jan 27th ADN article, one day after the complaint filing, the email text to Sarah is:

“The convention itself is requesting you [Palin] to act as a surrogate for McCain for national media. Available blocs of time, daily, are 5-9 a.m., 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Within those, they ask when you might be available for this purpose,” McAllister wrote in the e-mail, which he copied to Perry and other staffers.

As McAllister pointed out, he was not working for the RNC, the McCain Campaign or any partisan organization. He was, as Press Secretary, fielding and passing on requests to Sarah.

McLeod also zero’d in on an interview McAllister did with a local Alaskan TV station, KTUU, at the Convention site in St. Paul.

“The McCain folks definitely know what they want. They’re working with her all day long on various aspects of how this is going to go,” McAllister said in the television interview.

McLeod charges this proves McAllister was involving himself in partisan convention politics, and also cites his criticism of statements made by Bob Poe, a Democrat who is running for governor, after the conclusion of the McCain/Palin campaign. McAllister states the only items he responded to were the Democrat’s criticisms of Palin’s job performance… as is his job as Press Secretary.

Wow… wonder if McLeod knows Robert Gibbs? Imagine holding him to the same standards she demands of McAllister? LOL

This one I’m going to label still pending… as is one other (#18). I haven’t heard any news since the dismissal of the complaints against Perry, filed the same day, so perhaps word will come soon.

Worthy of repeating is McAllister’s comments about McLeod’s personal motivation when he had heard about the charges…

McAllister said the claims are just part of an ongoing vendetta by McLeod, a former state employee.

“This is a person who I think was disgruntled because she wasn’t considered for a (Palin administration) job, has some time on her hands, apparently, and wants to wreak havoc with people’s lives and reputations,” McAllister said.

This, BTW, is Andree “The Cleavage Queen” McLeod’s “Custer’s last stand”… meaning it is the last of her personally filed complaints remaining… at least, for now. So far, she’s 0 for 4.

15: March 18, 2009: Another complaint that Palin was misusing State staffers, property, time and equipment for partisan political purposes. Filed by… say it all together now… Andree McLeod. One of her grievances this time? Sarah posted notice of her VP candidacy on the Governor’s website.

The Board found the complaint “without merit”, and dismissed it May 27th.

16: March 24, 2009: Self-described progressive blogger, Celtic Diva – aka Linda Kellen Biegel – comes in with the #2 brain fart of a complaint. Sarah demonstrated conflict of interest when she wore a jacket to the Iron Dog Snow Machine Race that bore “Team Arctic” on the back… One of Todd Palin’s largest sponsors, Arctic Cat.

The wannabe “diva” certainly lives up to her name with her own post about her complaint, insisting Palin was there, acting in the capacity of Governor, as starter of the race.

Not only was she well aware that there would be extensive Alaska media coverage, the Palins also knew that international magazine Sports Illustrated was coming to do a story on Todd.

Biegel [Mata note: don't you love how people write about themselves in the 3rd person?] provides links to the Palins’ APOC Financial Disclosure Statements for the last two years, which reveal the thousands of dollars Todd Palin receives in sponsorship benefits from Arctic Cat. While there is nothing illegal in actually receiving sponsorship money, this makes the Governor’s wearing of Arctic Cat gear while representing Alaska the equivalent of a walking billboard, providing benefits to a private company from whom she and her family derive income.

Here’s the “scene of the crime”…

Palin, of course, has no agreement to advertise and market Arctic Cat. Her comment upon hearing the wannabe “diva’s” complaint filing back on March 24th? And BTW, notice the recurring theme of the costs of this stuff to the State….

Yes, I wore Arctic Cat snow gear at an outdoor event, because it was cold outside, and by the way, today, I am wearing clothes bearing the names of Alaska artists, and a Glennallen Panthers basketball hoodie,” Palin said in the release. “I am a walking billboard for the team’s fundraiser! Should I expect to see an ethics charge for wearing these, or the Carhartts I wear to many public events? How much will this blogger’s asinine political grandstanding cost all of us in time and money?

Are Alaskans outraged, or at least tired of this yet — another frivolous ethics charge by a political blogger? This would be hilarious if it weren’t so expensive for the state to process these accusations and for me to defend against these bogus harassments.

When the complaint was dismissed June 2nd, the “diva” deferred much of her own commentary to Robert Wechsler of City-Ethics.org. (no, not an Alaskan…). She took great pleasure in passing on he didn’t consider the complaint “frivolous”… but forgot to mention he considered it “minor”.

In fact, his main thrust of the column was aimed at Sarah for what he considered *her* harassment of a blogger. Personally, I don’t consider labeling this bloggers “minor” complaint “asinine political grandstanding” personal harassment.

Mr. Wechsler, like most of the Lower 48, was unaware of just how many of these… yes, asinine… complaints were flooding in over a period of months, and the Personnel Board costs that were adding up to a third of a mil in that short time span. Nor was Mr. Wechsler aware of this same political grandstanding blogger’s venomous demeanor and her assistance and support for Andree McLeod – she of the FOUR complaints.

Quite in fact, Mr. Wechsler doesn’t admit to reading thru the complainants blog to “get to know the rabbit”, and was only aware of what he read in the complaint. This means he was a far cry shy of full facts which Palin was addressing.

And if he considers asinine political grandstanding as “harassment”, he should keep his eyes peeled for the real thing now. The slander, libel, and general attempts to destroy a family based on rumors, harassment and lies, will be met with legal response.

17: April 22, 2009 Another short lived complaint filed by Anchorage resident, Sondra Tompkins. Tompkins says Sarah’s role in her SarahPAC is a conflict of interest with her gubernatorial duties.

The complaint was brought by Anchorage resident Sondra Tompkins, who describes herself an advocate for children with disabilities and mother of a special-needs child. Her son has autism.

The complaint says the governor abdicated her governor duties at a critical time — the end of the legislative session, when she went to Indiana for two events, a Right to Life banquet and a breakfast for families with Down syndrome children.

“The recent partisan trip to Indiana by the Governor was purely to benefit personal interests, had no benefit for the State of Alaska and was in direct conflict with her official duties,” the complaint said.

It could be that it’s just late, and I have one more dang complaint to go… but aren’t they are starting to sound repetitive? If the Governor’s office response is correct, this is all about 36 hours that Palin spent out of the State.

But is it about that at all?

From the April 22nd ADN article:

McAllister said Palin left Alaska during the legislative session for just two trips — a total of four days — and conducted state business both times. For instance, he said she stopped in Chicago on a leg of the Indiana trip to meet with officials from TransCanada, which has a state license to build a natural gas pipeline.

But the new [Tompkins] complaint noted that during Palin’s trip to Indiana, the Legislature voted down her nomination for attorney general, Wayne Anthony Ross, and other critical business was left unfinished, including whether Alaska will accept all the federal stimulus money.

Mudflats seemed to do some live blogging of a radio interview with Tomkins on KUDO back on April 22nd. But something has me scratching my head…

Mudflats’ cyber scribbles:

CC notes that Tompkins has a special needs child, and that Palin had attended the SMILE breakfast for special needs kids. Tompkins responded that she’d like to be paid a state salary to go advocate for special needs children. Advocacy is good, but what can you do at home with our own children with challenges? She is not supportive of stimulus money for special needs children.

Let’s see… on her blog, Celtic Blue emphasizes Tompkins is a “child disability advocate”, but Mudflats reports this woman doesn’t want stimulus money for special needs kids??

Well that’s a first.

There’s an avenue I’d like to see explored. Tomkins was pretty up front about her dissatisfaction with Palin and the stimulus cash. Considering that Palin was “refusing” it (at least at first), wouldn’t that fit in with Tompkin’s attitude towards the “no” stimulus for special needs bit… at least in the world of Mudflats?

And speaking of… the radio station turned into an old home week of usual suspects. Celtic Diva calling in and welcoming Mr. Tomkins to the “ankle biters” club. (formerly comprised of the “diva” and the every busybody, McLeod) Mudflats then ponders why they don’t refer to any of the others complainants like that.

Hint, Mudflats… because between McLeod, and her cheerleader/verbal body guard, Celtic Diva, they are responsible for 1/3 of the total complaints that didn’t evolve from Troopergate… 5 out of 15. Ankle biters is kind… “unsightly warts” is what comes to my mind.

And yes… this is another dismissal. Lasted a big 16 days before going down in flames for lack of merit. Statement with excerpts from the Governor’s office here. The ADN article is here.

In fact, for all those who are thinking this is in-house, love Sarah slam dunk stuff, the Board’s investigator, Thomas Daniel, did have some pointed opinions about the complaint…

“The recent partisan trip to Indiana by the Governor was purely to benefit personal interests, had no benefit for the State of Alaska and was in direct conflict with her official duties,” the complaint said.

Daniel, an Anchorage attorney, said that’s a political issue, not an ethical one.

“The governor’s decision to leave the state at the end of the legislative session, may have been unwise. But the voters should express their opinion on that subject at the ballot box – not in an ethics complaint,” he wrote.

Daniel also wrote that “the fact that the Governor traveled to Indiana to attend a dinner (and a breakfast meeting the next morning) did not take significant time, if any, away from the Governor’s duties…the Governor has staff members who interface with the Legislature, and the Governor herself can communicate with members of the Legislature by phone or email, even when she is in another state.”

He also noted that the SarahPAC was lawfully set up, rejected Tompkins assertation that Palin was an “employee” of the PAC, and noted that Tompkins has no reasonable explanation as to why this PAC relationship was in conflict with the Governorship.

And now for the finale…

18: April 27, 2009: Eagle River resident, Kim Chatman, accuses Sarah of “…misusing the governor’s office for personal gain by securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust.”

Governor Palin is using her official position for personal gain and to intentionally secure unwarranted benefits to state workers who are poised to derive benefits from the Alaska Trust Fund; a newly formed group whose primary purpose is to collect huge amounts of money from people in Alaska and the Lower 48 for the Palin’s and selected state officials’ personal use for a time in perpetuity, under Alaska law.

Governor Palin is perched to improperly receive an enormous amount of money for herself and her family and position a pool of pre-paid defense lawyers organized to deflect consequences of wrongdoings, among other things. This fund corrupts the integrity of the Governor’s Office, the governmental and public process. It corrupts the people’s right to hold their governor and administration officials accountable. It increases Palin’s conflicts of interests and erodes the faith and confidence of Alaskans in their public officers. This fund violates
the intent, purpose and spirit of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.

Ms. Chatman is objecting to is the official site of the Palin legal defense fund. Following the above, Ms. Chatman then launches into a diatribe and personal assault, stating Palin’s legal bills were brought upon herself for “misconduct” by the Governor, her husband and her staffers…

…. serious chutzpah considering all the complaints up to hers, save McAllister’s, have been dismissed (and one settled – the Palin travel expense reimbursement). Most often, in the civil litigation world, the prevailing party can sue for attorney expenses. In lieu of the defense fund, where citizens from all over the nation can donate, perhaps Ms. Chatman would prefer Palin lodge a lawsuit against her, McLeod and ilk?

What’s most notable about the site is the Alaska Fund Trust has a dedicated webpage to compare it to other fund trusts. Those linked, and offered for comparison belong to Hillary, hubby, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Ted Stevens, and Dick Gephardt.

Ms. Chatman’s lengthy tirade in her complaint exposes her core belief that Palin is guilty, despite the findings of the Board and various investigations (including the FEC INRE “the wardrobe), and thereby deserves no opportunity to engage in what other politicans do.

Instead she insists “…this fund interferes with Alaskans’ right to address the wrongdoings of their public officials.”

Really? Just what does she think these investigations and reports were about except the “right to address the wrongdoings”. However, there is no guarantee you will be finding the “wrongdoing” of your dreams.

That’s it for the ethics complaints for now. Enough typing, surfing, linking and reading to make my eyes both glaze and roll. I have not yet located a single source for all complaints plus their final reports, but Alaska Pride’s got a May 9th post with some, and a link to at least one story or blog on each. The ADN has some, and not others. It’s a hit and miss right now. If any of you find some in your travels, do feel free to contribute with links in the comments below.

Once you’ve piled thru all this, you should have a fair idea of what Palin and her admin were up against on a daily level, the costs, and the nature of the “complaints”. Personally, it’s amazing that got anything done in the Governor’s office in between it all.

And obviously whatever anyone “wore”, emailed or said the next day was going to be material for the next day’s complaint from the Palin attack machine.

Now that we who the players are… and how some of them have most certainly been interacting for a common cause… you have to wonder if this is really a “me, too!” event by random Alaskans. Or… is there some cooperative collusion behind the scenes to keep this complaints coming at a breakneck speeds? … and organized by whom?

With Sarah’s resignation, it’s obviously going to be “series” time again… Palin may be stepping away from her gubernatorial duties, but it’s readily apparent no vaccine exists for Palin Derangement. No conservative figure brings out the wrath, disdain, and downright ugly side of liberal progressives (and some GOPers) than the mere mention of the name, Sarah Palin. Downright funny to watch, it is. So I suspect I, and the other authors will be contributing often to a new FA category called the “Trials and Tribulations” of Sarah.

In this segment, I’ll add some data to the first nine of the eighteen complaints that have lodged again Sarah. I’m breaking this down in several posts because there’s lots of links, and there’s just too much to put into one.

And oh… BTW, when we’re done with the ethics complaints and Personnel Board, we can move on to some of the personal lawsuits the progressive assault machine is piling on Sarah as well.

No doubt, about the time I think I’m getting to the end of it all, a new complaint or lawsuit will hit the media.

You’ll find there’s some repetitive names in this cast of characters that are playing the frivolous ethics complaint game. And it’s worthy to start having a look at who’s doing what because… well… Alaskans are, unwittingly, bellying up to the bar to pay for all this. It’s almost another slap in the face not to have a close look. In fact, Alaskans have paid a bundle for the media to provide us with a “how to abuse the system” guidebook…. and here it is. So read and learn how “winning” politics are waged… meaning keep slinging the mud and clogging up the legal and state systems until something sticks. And even if it doesn’t, the public will think there’s something *really* wrong…

Alinsky tactics, gang. Time to learn, and remember them for a new election.

There are 18 ethics complaints on record, per the ADN. As I mentioned, three of these were related to Troopergate, and all but one were brought by Alaskans. They are below, in chronological order.

1: July 28, 2008: The Alaskan legislature launches it’s legislative witchhunt on Troopergate. This is the beginning of the now familiar circus as to whether or not Palin fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan because he refused to fire ex-brother in law, Alaskan Trooper Mike Wooten.

If you remember, this entailed dualing investigations… the Alaskan legislation investigation headed up by Dem Sen. Hollis French, and the Personnel Board’s investigation (which is #4 in this chronology).

Not to beat an already dead horse, just refer to the Troopergate series to recap in depth.

It might be interesting to note that French is now broadly hinting he will be tossing his hat into the gubernatorial ring against Sarah’s successor, Sean Parnell. Parnell, BTW, is calling Sarah “Alaska’s greatest gift to the US”.

“I was very surprised at first,” he said of Palin’s decision to resign, which he said she told him Wednesday.

“But then as she began to explain why she was doing it, I began to see it was Sarah Palin, once again, moving to put Alaska’s interest first,” Parnell told CNN.

~~~

“She’s accomplished more in these two and a half years than most governors accomplish in one or two terms,” he said. “Our governor has been a great governor. She is going to be Alaska’s and is Alaska’s greatest gift to our country.”

2: Aug. 6, 2008: One of the three [Corrected] FOUR complaints filed by Andree McLeod of Anchorage. Now here’s one piece of work… Ms. McLeod. She was an employee of the Murkowski admin prior to Palin’s admin. While she likes to tout herself as a Republican, she also happens to be the darling of the self-admitted progressives who race to her defense because… rather like the jihad movements… they share a common enemy – Sarah Palin.

Please note, Celtic Diva, an Alaskan progressive blogger who’s defense of M. McLeod is linked above, is also known as Linda Kellen Biegel… and responsible for one of her own laughable ethics complaints (see #16). This stuff is almost like inbreeding… But back to Ms. McLeod.

One needs to remember Alaskan politics. The lines in the sand are not Republican/Democrat when it comes to Palin. She has armies of enemies in both political camps. While Ms. McLeod loves to tout that she is a Republican in order to take a partisan slant off her obsession with Palin, McLeod was a Frank Murkowski Republican…. remember that jet on e-Bay? Another example that there was no lost love between admins was the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission story. It was Gov. Frank Murkowski who appointed Palin to the Commission, and it was Palin who resigned on ethics because Murkowski appointed the chairman of the Alaska Republican Party to a seat on her commission while allowing him to keep his partisan post.

Ms. McLeod was employed by Gov. Murkowski on the Alaska Workforce Investment Board, a department of the Labor & Workforce Development. Palin notes she’s very disgruntled that she didn’t get a job – specifically the head of the Alaska Public Offices Commission — the state campaign finance watchdog agency – with her admin. And considering Palin’s opinion of her boss and his financial and moral ethics, that’s not surprising.

“This is the same Andree McLeod that follows us around at public events and camps herself out in our waiting area and hounds us for a job, asking us if there’s a way she can go around Workplace Alaska and not have to go through the system to get a job with this administration,” Palin said.

To which McLeod said: “The messenger always gets clobbered. I’m not interested in getting into a catfight — the issue at hand is this complaint.”

For a bit more bizarre insight into Ms. McLeod, you should know she’s also appointed herself the “chief of dress code police” for state workers, whining about how there was too much cleavage being shown.

Now that you know a bit about this woman who’s filed three FOUR complaints alone, and backed by a progressive Democrat who filed one herself, we’ve covered some groundwork on a few recurring players here. These two women are responsible for four of the remaining 15 complaints (excluding Troopergate’s three).

In this early August complaint, McLeod’s beef was that Palin’s staffers helped Tom Lamal get a job in the State department as a surveyor, and he also co-hosted a campaign fundraiser for Palin in his past. This complaint, like all the others, was dismissed. However when examining some emails, the Personnel Board did recommend some “ethics training” classes for one of the staffers, based on some email comments. sigh….

3: Aug. 20, 2008: This one is filed by Brian Kraft, founder of Bristol Bay Alliance. For some background, the Bristol Bay Alliance and Mr. Kraft were opposing mine development in the Bristol Bay area for environmental reasons and their perceived risk to fish. Palin, along with a then candidate Obama, desperate for miners’ support in Alaska, wanted the mine developed. Alaskans subsequently voted 57% to 42% to allow the mine development, but that didn’t stop Kraft from lodging an ethics complaint saying Palin violated elections laws by taking a public position on the ballot initiative in the days before the vote.

Interesting concept… no one wants to know where their governor stands on a ballot initiative??

The complaint was rejected by the Alaska Public Offices Commission May of this year.

We’ve now moved into the post campaign era, where the political motivation now has national repercussions … and 15 complaints to go.

4: Sept. 2, 2008: Palin files an ethics complaint request on her Troopergate charges, saying that the legislative investigation has now become too political. This is the first of the three Troopergate related ethics charges, atop the legislative investigation. One day before the election, the Personnel Board dismissed the charges, saying the firing of Monegan violated no ethics laws. As I said… already been there, done that… see the Troopergate series archives.

5: Sept. 3, 2008: The Alaskan State Troopers union, Public Safety Employees Association, joins the Troopergate fray with the second of the three complaints, accusing Palin of having unauthorized access to Wooten’s medical files. It was later amended to include harrassment charges. The PSEA’s allegations were investigated alongside Palin’s filing and also dismissed.

6: Oct. 13, 2008: THe last of the three ethics charges in Troopergate… Walt Monegan requests a Board hearing to “clear his name”. The Board’s attorney, Timothy Petumenos, says there was no legal basis or jurisdiction for such a hearing. History…. live with it, Walt.

7: Oct. 23, 2008: The only ethics charge filed by an entity other than an Alaskan citizen. This was brought by the Federal Election Commission by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics over “the wardrobe”… charging that the GOPs purchase of the clothes violated election laws. The FEC ruled that party money is not covered by the ban.

8: Oct. 24, 2008: “Travelgate”… Anchorage resident, and retired lineman, Frank Gwartney, filed a three page complaint accusing Palin of “Misuse of Official Position” by “securing unwarranted benefits for her daughters.” Meaning, she took her daughters on some campaign trips with McCain and some of it was charged as State expenses.

There were 72 excursions total, and 40 examined. The Board’s attorney, Petumenos again, evaluated them with the ultimate end of whether the personal benefit for Palin outweighed the public benefit. Nine were found to be more in favor of Palin’s personal benefit than the State…. but only portions, as some legs did involve State business. (I guess you just ship the kids home then, and bring ‘em back again for the next applicable leg…. huh?).

As both Palin and the Board described the State travel rules for a Governor’s family as “dizzying and circular”, and in serious need of reform thru new and clarified regulations, Palin agreed to reimburse what seemed questionable and not contest findings, and the Board agreed to not file a formal accusation or take the case to a hearing.

It should come as no huge surprise that Frank Gwatney is a registered Democrat, and a contributor to Obama’s campaign. When asked if it was a filing that was politically motivated, he just said:

Sarah had run on this platform of ethics and cleaning up the state,” Gwartney said. “It’s fairly hypocritical. She’s just repeating the same thing everyone else has done.”

~~~

But Gwartney said he didn’t time the complaint to hit during the heat of the campaign. He said he filed it after new information about the children’s travel was revealed in news reports.

Palin reimbursed the State an estimated $6,800. Small peanuts when you consider all the crisscrossing of the nation, hotel rooms, food, plus the trips to and from Alaska.

Someone ought to call ol’ Frank up and see if he’s just as bugged about this big taxpayer bill for frivolous crap… In fact, it would be interesting to know if Palin’s reimbursement was enough to cover for the costs of Gwartney’s complaint.

9: Nov. 14, 2008: Zane Henning. A former North Slope worker who’s now an environmental coordinator for Pioneer Natural Resources, an oil and gas firm out of Texas. Mr. Henning calls himself “politically conservative”, and is a member of The Last Frontier Foundation.

Mr. Henning filed a complaint that Palin was, as he put it, engaging in “post-election damage control” from her office, and promoting her career. [Warning... it's a McClatchy report] He specifically seems to take exception to Greta VanSusten’s interviews.

“These video reports show Sarah Palin speaking to numerous reporters in her Republican vice-presidential candidate capacity defending and still promoting herself and not as the governor of Alaska representing Alaskans,” Henning writes.

The Board’s investigation, Michael Geraghty, dismissed the complaint, saying:

“There was no indication that Governor Palin presented her official position as governor of the State of Alaska for an improper personal or financial purpose.”

Speaking of interviews, Mr. Henning’s given at least one himself… most notably to that braintrust “documentary group” who created a 2-3 minute schpiel dissing Palin, called the Wasilla Project. “Intrigued” by McCain’s choice, they decided to head out to Wasilla to find out how the residents there feel about Sarah.

Here’s who they interviewed, and how they described them:

Anne Kilkenny – longtime Wasilla resident and government observer.
Zane Henning – is a Wasilla resident, politically conservative, and active as a researcher and government watchdog.
Andree McCleod – is a government watchdog who has been investigating Palin’s use of Yahoo email while governor.

Well now, there’s some unbiased opinions for you. Two filed complaints… one of them filed *three FOUR* complaints, PLUS a lawsuit. And Ms. Kilkenny? Her claim to fame was “the letter”… which even the St. Pete Times Politifact needed to clarify with numbers and context. Ms. Kilkenny is a Democrat and, along with the above two, no fan of Palin.

To keep the inbreeding alive, Zane seems to be part of a husband/wife hit team on the file-an-ethics-charge-daily game. Well, almost. The Mrs., Valerie Henning, is quoted as “fearing retaliation” if she files a complaint.

Valerie Henning told the board that fear of a backlash has prevented her from filing a complaint against the governor’s practice of collecting per diem for time spent at her home in Wasilla. Henning’s husband, Zane, earlier had an ethics complaint dismissed by the board. His complaint alleged Palin violated ethics law by holding national television interviews concerning her run for vice president from the governor’s office.

Valerie Henning brought up to the board the statement that Palin’s chief of staff, Mike Nizich, made on April 22 after the filing of an ethics complaint against Palin that was released to the press.

“I hope that the publicity-seekers will face a backlash from Alaskans who have a sense of fair play and proportion. I served six previous governors, and I’ve never seen anything like the attacks against governor Palin,” Nizich said in a press release distributed by the governor’s office.

Valerie Henning tried to get board members to suggest some alternative to making the ethics complaint, saying “I’m afraid of retaliation, basically.”

Palin spokesman Bill McAllister said Nizich was simply asking that Alaskans who have a “sense of fair play and proportion” speak up about what’s going on.

“I don’t know what she means by retaliation, but certainly some people have been raising their voices in protest of this abuse of the ethics act,” McAllister said. “People make these allegations against the governor and they keep getting dismissed and dismissed and dismissed, and some people are saying ‘What’s going on here?’ “

Yup… runs in the family.

Countdown for the last nine complaints that have been dismissed continues next in the series… nuff for now.

Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.

If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside; this is based on the principle that
every positive has its negative.

Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

from Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals

Alinsky was an expert at teaching “have nots” how to take power away from the “haves”. But even Saul himself would have to admire how the anti-Palin attack machine is not only waging a relentless legal (and media) campaign war on a soon to be former Governor for a political agenda, but they are getting the Alaskan denizens to foot the bill.

Now how perfect is that? You get the rabid Sarah haters to swamp the system with ethics complaints, then alert the media that swarms like flies to a turd on anything Sarah. That, of course, is the same media that studiously ignores William Jefferson using his freezer as a bank for his ill gotten cash, and Murtha’s shady connections with a plethora of firms under investigation.

And it doesn’t cost the liberal attack machine a thin dime…. instead it’s all courtesy of the Alaskan residents.

Yes… Saul and those that sat at the feet of Alinsky (ahem… the big Zero)… must be smug with pride, congratulating themselves at how well their low budget operation [for them] appears to be working.

Well, news flash: don’t celebrate too soon. Those bent on destroying Sarah may think they won the war and are busy printing up their “mission accomplished” banners while screaming “quitter!” at the top of their lungs. But they may find citizen Sarah a bigger handful than they bargained for. She’s not only on record now as alleviating future monetary attacks on Alaskans by the attack machine, but she is now able to engage the nation while honing federal and int’l issues from the lower 48, and free from the Gubernatorial restraints for expense disclosure.

And just wait until a Sarah Palin book comes out… can anyone say “best seller”?

What’s been the head scratcher all this time is this… why haven’t the Alaskans hadn’t spoken out on this highway robbery at their expense for a political smear campaign? There have been articles in the local Alaskan papers, documenting dismissal after dismissal. And while they’ve pointed out how asinine some of this stuff is, no one ever brought up the price tag for this activist BS.

There have even been some pundits who’ve suggested this seems to be a campaign to bankrupt the Palins, noting her personal expenses for legal defense have passed the half mil mark. In fact, it’s become so outrageous that even Palin critics are questioning the validity of this onslaught of complaints, and Palin supporters set up a campaign to donate to a Palin legal defense fund in mid June that, within a week, and racked up $109K.

Hang… the press doesn’t care if lawsuits bankrupt that family. But it’s truly amazing that no one ever cared to explore the costs to the State… meaning to the taxpayer.

Well, we now have the answer as to why the Alaskans weren’t up in arms … they had no clue their wallets were being tapped by those who would stop at nothing in their attempts to run Palin out of politics.

… until now, that is…

A very frustrated Alaskan Personnel Board - irritated at the volume and petty level of complaints lodged against Palin, and wanting to inform the Alaskan public just what was going on – worked with the AG’s office INRE confidentiality rules, and released the Board’s cost of processing just the complaints lodged since Troopergate – less than a year ago, and just before Palin was named as McCain’s choice for Veep.

And the cost for the Personnel Board alone is a staggering $296,042…. all on the taxpayers’ dime. But hold on to your hats, folks, because… as Sarah said in her press conference announcing her intent to retire, when you include the pricy legislative investigation, those costs skyrocket to over $2 mil.

But back to the ethics complains, the Personnel Board, and a public kept in the dark about the costs.

“We’ve spent pretty close to about a third of a million dollars, and it’s getting to be really expensive,” said Al Tamagni, a member of the board.

~~~

“I hope that the publicity-seekers will face a backlash from Alaskans who have a sense of fair play and proportion. I served six previous governors, and I’ve never seen anything like the attacks against governor Palin,” Nizich said in a press release distributed by the governor’s office.

~~~

Palin spokesman Bill McAllister said Nizich was simply asking that Alaskans who have a “sense of fair play and proportion” speak up about what’s going on.

~~~

One of the personnel board members, Tamagni, last fall asked a state attorney if the board could charge attorney fees for Alaskans who file “a frivolous or meritless” ethics complaint. It’s not clear how the state would judge a complaint frivolous, but charging for them would require changing the law.

Personnel board members spoke Wednesday about possibly pursuing changes in the law regarding their ethics complaint procedures — such as changing the “thresholds for investigations.”

[Mata note: if you will remember from the Troopergate series of posts, the three members of the Personnel Board are Governor appointees... and all three are carried over from the previous Murkowski admin. One came up for contract renewal, and Gov. Palin extended the appointment.]

Per an ADN account of the same staggering costs, it’s difficult to assign complaint numbers to a cost, but clearly the Troopergate complaints… three out of the eighteen… were the bulk of the costs. The price tag for Palin’s complaint that she filed against herself to clean the mud off the fan was estimated to be over $100K.

So who are the players? “Alinsky Perfected Part II” has more info on the first nine out of eighteen complaints.