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The AP (Asinine Press) today published yet another distorted article, mauled further by the Erie Times-News's inaccurate headline over an article out of Alaska on the findings of a so-called "independent investigator" appointed to investigate an ethics claim against Alaska Governor Sarah Palin,
The headline states: "Investigator rules against Palin in ethics probe"
In fact, the investigator," Thomas Daniel, an Anchorage attorney who works for the law firm that represents President Barack Obama and other leading Congressional Democrats, Perkins Coie,did not rule against, nor implicate Palin, merely finding that "she may have violated" a state ethics law, an unsurprising finding from an attorney who works for the nation's top Democrats. Whether or not she did remains to be determined by the state Personnel Board which will consider the investigator's findings. This is a pro forma process.
The "investigator" released his findings to Palin 's political foes in violation of state law which requires all matters in an investigation to be held confidential until the Personnel Board issues its ruling.
The AP Story was initiated in Anchorage by its only daily newspaper, The Anchorage Daily News, the largest in Alaska, which is owned by McClatchy Newspapers in California, the second-largest newspaper chain in the U.S., a leftwing federation. Along with it stepchild, the Daily News, it has been critical of Palin since she was nominated for Republican vice president and has become an international celebrity.
The Associated Press says Palin "is securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust, set up by supporters."
These are false and unproven allegations, though presented as factual by the"independent investigator", and Palin and her attorney have denied them.
According to the AP, the investigator,the Obama hireling, said "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 Alaska Fund Trust as the "official" legal defense fund."
In fact, Palin neither authorized nor controls the trust fund, which was established without her express consent by supporters based in Washington D.C. and has received no money from it. It was formed by her supporters to help her pay for her defense against a barrage of ethics complaints filed under Alaska law against her as governor by Obama supporters for which Alaska, unlike other states and the federal government, does not provide funding.
The complaints, so far 19 of them, which have all been dismissed or resolved without any finding of guilt, have incurred half a million dolars in legal costs for Palin.Most of them have been found to be trivial or without merit.
According to the AP, "The practical effect of the ruling on Palin will be more financial than anything else, although the fate of the tens of thousands of dollars in the fund is unclear, said Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein. The report recommends that the complaint be resolved without a formal hearing before the board. That allows her to resolve the issue without a formal ethics reprimand," another veiled but false implication.
There would be no "formal ethics reprimand" unless the Personnel Board finds that allegations filed by the "investigator," an Obama henchman, are true. Palin posted an entry on Twitter in which she said the "matter is still pending," a statement echoed by her attorney.
The fund aims to help Palin pay off debts stemming from multiple ethics complaints against her, most of which have been dismissed. Palin says she owes more than $500,000 in legal fees, and she cited the toll of the ethics probes as one of the reasons she is leaving office on Sunday.
Kristan Cole, the fund's trustee, said organizers have frozen the fund pending the personnel board's review. Many federal politicians, including Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and others are routinely allowed to have such funds to pay off legal bills, but quirks in Alaska law can present ethics issues.
Van Flein said the potential loss of money from the fund had absolutely no bearing on Palin's decision to resign.
He said Palin received the report 11 days after her July 3 announcement that she was leaving office. He also noted that the investigator recommended the governor seek reimbursement from the state for the cost of fighting ethics complaints that have been dismissed.
"It's cheaper for the people of the state of Alaska to have the bills paid for through the trust fund," Van Flein said. "But if that can't be done, then it looks like the state of Alaska could pay."
The investigator, Thomas Daniel, suggested that Alaska lawmakers may need to create a law that reimburses public officials for legal expenses to defend complaints that end up being unfounded.
Palin's friends and supporters created the Alaska Fund Trust in April, limiting donations to $150 per person. Organizers declined to say how much it has raised, and had hoped to raise about $500,000. A Web-a-thon last month brought in about $130,000 in pledges.
The ethics complaint was filed by Alaska resident Kim Chatman, a longtime Palin critic and Obama supporter shortly after the fund was created, alleging Palin was "misusing her official position and accepting improper gifts," both untrue.
John Coale, a Washington lawyer who helped set up the fund, called the probable cause finding by the "independent investigator" "crazy," adding that if upheld, it would mean that no governors of Alaska could ever defend themselves against frivolous ethics complaints.
"Anybody can keep filing ethics complaints and drive someone out of office, even if you're a nut," Coale said.
Unlike other states, he said, Alaska has no legal counsel's office devoted to defending the governor from allegations brought against her in her official capacity.
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