Showing posts with label todd palin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label todd palin. Show all posts
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Bush/McCain/Palin contempt for subpoenas and the rule of law
The Bush/McCain/Palin contempt for subpoenas and the rule of law
Friday Sept. 19 - Salon.com
Bill O'Reilly, Wednesday night, calling for the arrest of Gawker's owners and managers:
The website knows the law, and says "you know -- I'm going to do it anyway. I dare you to come get me."
Associated Press today, on Todd Palin's refusal to comply with the Alaska State Senate's subpoena:
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband has refused to testify in the investigation of his wife's alleged abuse of power, and key lawmakers said Thursday that uncooperative witnesses are effectively sidetracking the probe until after Election Day.
Todd Palin, who participates in state business in person or by e-mail, was among 13 people subpoenaed by the Alaska Legislature. Palin's lawyer sent a letter to the lead investigator saying Palin objected to the probe and would not appear to testify on Friday. . . .
Ignoring a legislative subpoena is punishable by a fine up to $500 and up to six months in jail under Alaska law. But courts are reluctant to intervene in legislative matters and the full Legislature must be in session to bring contempt charges, Wielechowski said. The Legislature is not scheduled to convene until January.
It is illegal in the State of Alaska to fail to comply with legislative subpoenas. But Todd Palin has announced he will do exactly that which the law prohibits for one simple reason -- because nothing can be done about it until after the election, and even then, it's unlikely much will be done to punish him for breaking the law. Sarah Palin has similarly ordered all of her aides to refuse to comply with these subpoenas even though doing so is illegal, because she, too, doubts there will be consequences for this illegal behavior. Or, as Bill O'Reilly put it in his righteous Rule of Law tirade: "I'm going to do it anyway. I dare you to come get me."
Read the rest of the story:
The Bush/McCain/Palin contempt for subpoenas and the rule of law
Friday Sept. 19 - Salon.com
Bill O'Reilly, Wednesday night, calling for the arrest of Gawker's owners and managers:
The website knows the law, and says "you know -- I'm going to do it anyway. I dare you to come get me."
Associated Press today, on Todd Palin's refusal to comply with the Alaska State Senate's subpoena:
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband has refused to testify in the investigation of his wife's alleged abuse of power, and key lawmakers said Thursday that uncooperative witnesses are effectively sidetracking the probe until after Election Day.
Todd Palin, who participates in state business in person or by e-mail, was among 13 people subpoenaed by the Alaska Legislature. Palin's lawyer sent a letter to the lead investigator saying Palin objected to the probe and would not appear to testify on Friday. . . .
Ignoring a legislative subpoena is punishable by a fine up to $500 and up to six months in jail under Alaska law. But courts are reluctant to intervene in legislative matters and the full Legislature must be in session to bring contempt charges, Wielechowski said. The Legislature is not scheduled to convene until January.
It is illegal in the State of Alaska to fail to comply with legislative subpoenas. But Todd Palin has announced he will do exactly that which the law prohibits for one simple reason -- because nothing can be done about it until after the election, and even then, it's unlikely much will be done to punish him for breaking the law. Sarah Palin has similarly ordered all of her aides to refuse to comply with these subpoenas even though doing so is illegal, because she, too, doubts there will be consequences for this illegal behavior. Or, as Bill O'Reilly put it in his righteous Rule of Law tirade: "I'm going to do it anyway. I dare you to come get me."
Read the rest of the story:
The Bush/McCain/Palin contempt for subpoenas and the rule of law
Australia: Palin's husband will not testify
Palin's husband will not testify
From correspondents in Anchorage
September 19, 2008
Article from: Agence France-Presse
THE husband of the US Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is refusing to comply with a subpoena issued in an abuse of power probe of his wife, the family's lawyer says.
Todd Palin, father of five children with John McCain's running mate, was among 13 people ordered to testify in the potentially explosive "Troopergate" investigation of his wife, who is the Alaska governor.
In a letter to independent investigator Stephen Branchflower, lawyer Thomas van Flein described the legislature's investigation into whether Palin improperly removed a commissioner for refusing to fire a state trooper who was her former brother-in-law as politically biased and lacking legal authority.
"We maintain our general objections that the legislative council investigation, besides being pursued for partisan purposes, is being conducted in violation of all accepted norms of due process," Mr van Flein wrote.
He also argued that the subpoena was "unduly burdensome" because of Todd Palin's travel schedule with his wife ahead of the election.
The probe is being overseen by the head of the Alaska state Senate judiciary committee, who is a Democrat.
But shortly after Governor Palin was tapped to join John McCain's ticket she called for a formal review of her actions by the Alaska Personnel Board, a panel which is under her authority...
Read the rest of the story:
Palin's husband will not testify
From correspondents in Anchorage
September 19, 2008
Article from: Agence France-Presse
THE husband of the US Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is refusing to comply with a subpoena issued in an abuse of power probe of his wife, the family's lawyer says.
Todd Palin, father of five children with John McCain's running mate, was among 13 people ordered to testify in the potentially explosive "Troopergate" investigation of his wife, who is the Alaska governor.
In a letter to independent investigator Stephen Branchflower, lawyer Thomas van Flein described the legislature's investigation into whether Palin improperly removed a commissioner for refusing to fire a state trooper who was her former brother-in-law as politically biased and lacking legal authority.
"We maintain our general objections that the legislative council investigation, besides being pursued for partisan purposes, is being conducted in violation of all accepted norms of due process," Mr van Flein wrote.
He also argued that the subpoena was "unduly burdensome" because of Todd Palin's travel schedule with his wife ahead of the election.
The probe is being overseen by the head of the Alaska state Senate judiciary committee, who is a Democrat.
But shortly after Governor Palin was tapped to join John McCain's ticket she called for a formal review of her actions by the Alaska Personnel Board, a panel which is under her authority...
Read the rest of the story:
Palin's husband will not testify
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Palin's husband refuses to testify in probe
Palin's husband refuses to testify in probe
By MATT VOLZ – Associated Press
September 18, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband has refused to testify in the investigation of his wife's alleged abuse of power, and key lawmakers said Thursday that uncooperative witnesses are effectively sidetracking the probe until after Election Day.
Todd Palin, who participates in state business in person or by e-mail, was among 13 people subpoenaed by the Alaska Legislature. Palin's lawyer sent a letter to the lead investigator saying Palin objected to the probe and would not appear to testify on Friday.
"The objections boil down to the fact that the Legislative Council investigation is no longer a legitimate investigation because it has been subjected to complete partisanship and does not operate with the authority that it had at the time of its initial authorization," McCain-Palin presidential campaign spokesman Ed O'Callaghan said.
Sarah Palin initially welcomed the bipartisan investigation into accusations that she dismissed the state's public safety commissioner because he refused to fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper. "Hold me accountable," she said.
But she has increasingly opposed it since Republican presidential candidate John McCain tapped her as his running mate. The McCain campaign dispatched a legal team to Alaska including O'Callaghan, a former top U.S. terrorism prosecutor from New York to bolster Palin's local lawyer.
In the letter, Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein lists nine objections to the Legislature's investigation into Gov. Palin. Van Flein also argues the subpoena is "unduly burdensome" because Palin has travel plans that require him to be out of the state.
Earlier this week, Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg said the governor, who was not subpoenaed, declined to participate in the investigation and said Palin administration employees who have been subpoenaed would not appear.
State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, a Democrat, said the McCain campaign is doing all it can to prevent the Legislature from completing a report on whether the GOP's vice presidential nominee abused her power as governor.
Read the rest of the story:
Palin's husband refuses to testify in probe
By MATT VOLZ – Associated Press
September 18, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband has refused to testify in the investigation of his wife's alleged abuse of power, and key lawmakers said Thursday that uncooperative witnesses are effectively sidetracking the probe until after Election Day.
Todd Palin, who participates in state business in person or by e-mail, was among 13 people subpoenaed by the Alaska Legislature. Palin's lawyer sent a letter to the lead investigator saying Palin objected to the probe and would not appear to testify on Friday.
"The objections boil down to the fact that the Legislative Council investigation is no longer a legitimate investigation because it has been subjected to complete partisanship and does not operate with the authority that it had at the time of its initial authorization," McCain-Palin presidential campaign spokesman Ed O'Callaghan said.
Sarah Palin initially welcomed the bipartisan investigation into accusations that she dismissed the state's public safety commissioner because he refused to fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper. "Hold me accountable," she said.
But she has increasingly opposed it since Republican presidential candidate John McCain tapped her as his running mate. The McCain campaign dispatched a legal team to Alaska including O'Callaghan, a former top U.S. terrorism prosecutor from New York to bolster Palin's local lawyer.
In the letter, Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein lists nine objections to the Legislature's investigation into Gov. Palin. Van Flein also argues the subpoena is "unduly burdensome" because Palin has travel plans that require him to be out of the state.
Earlier this week, Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg said the governor, who was not subpoenaed, declined to participate in the investigation and said Palin administration employees who have been subpoenaed would not appear.
State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, a Democrat, said the McCain campaign is doing all it can to prevent the Legislature from completing a report on whether the GOP's vice presidential nominee abused her power as governor.
Read the rest of the story:
Palin's husband refuses to testify in probe
Saturday, September 13, 2008
NYTimes: In Office, Palin Hired Friends and Hit Critics (please read!)
(My note: This is a very telling and important article...please read it in its entirety.)
In Office, Palin Hired Friends and Hit Critics
By JO BECKER, PETER S. GOODMAN AND MICHAEL POWELL
Published: September 13, 2008
WASILLA, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin lives by the maxim that all politics is local, not to mention personal.
So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as one of her qualifications for running the roughly $2 million agency.
Ms. Havemeister was one of at least five schoolmates Ms. Palin hired, often at salaries far exceeding their private sector wages.
When Ms. Palin had to cut her first state budget, she avoided the legion of frustrated legislators and mayors. Instead, she huddled with her budget director and her husband, Todd, an oil field worker who is not a state employee, and vetoed millions of dollars of legislative projects.
And four months ago, a Wasilla blogger, Sherry Whitstine, who chronicles the governor’s career with an astringent eye, answered her phone to hear an assistant to the governor on the line, she said.
“You should be ashamed!” Ivy Frye, the assistant, told her. “Stop blogging. Stop blogging right now!”
Read the rest of the story:
In Office, Palin Hired Friends and Hit Critics
In Office, Palin Hired Friends and Hit Critics
By JO BECKER, PETER S. GOODMAN AND MICHAEL POWELL
Published: September 13, 2008
WASILLA, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin lives by the maxim that all politics is local, not to mention personal.
So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as one of her qualifications for running the roughly $2 million agency.
Ms. Havemeister was one of at least five schoolmates Ms. Palin hired, often at salaries far exceeding their private sector wages.
When Ms. Palin had to cut her first state budget, she avoided the legion of frustrated legislators and mayors. Instead, she huddled with her budget director and her husband, Todd, an oil field worker who is not a state employee, and vetoed millions of dollars of legislative projects.
And four months ago, a Wasilla blogger, Sherry Whitstine, who chronicles the governor’s career with an astringent eye, answered her phone to hear an assistant to the governor on the line, she said.
“You should be ashamed!” Ivy Frye, the assistant, told her. “Stop blogging. Stop blogging right now!”
Read the rest of the story:
In Office, Palin Hired Friends and Hit Critics
Friday, September 12, 2008
Alaska Lawmakers Vote to Subpoena Todd Palin
Alaska Lawmakers Vote to Subpoena Todd Palin
By SERGE F. KOVALESKI NY Times Online
Published: September 12, 2008
ANCHORAGE — Alaska lawmakers voted Friday to issue a subpoena to Todd Palin, the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, in an escalation of the inquiry into whether Ms. Palin improperly tried to have her former brother-in-law dismissed from his job as a state trooper.
The subpoena was one of 14 approved by the Judiciary Committee of the State Senate in a vote of 3 to 2 in a joint hearing with the House Judiciary Committee, which served in an advisory role during the proceeding. The subpoenas were requested by the legislative investigator conducting the inquiry, Stephen E. Branchflower, a former Anchorage prosecutor who now lives in South Carolina.
The vote set the stage for a possible legal clash between the Legislature and the Palin administration, which threatened this week to go to court to quash any subpoenas. Ms. Palin, the Republican candidate for vice president, has hired a lawyer, who did not return calls seeking comment.
“It seems that we are heading for a branch-against-branch smack-down,” said Senator Gene Therriault, a Republican who voted against approving the subpoenas and instead advocated that the investigation be handled by the state Personnel Board. “This is a nuclear route that should be avoided at all costs.”
Read the rest of the story:
Alaska Lawmakers Vote to Subpoena Todd Palin
By SERGE F. KOVALESKI NY Times Online
Published: September 12, 2008
ANCHORAGE — Alaska lawmakers voted Friday to issue a subpoena to Todd Palin, the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, in an escalation of the inquiry into whether Ms. Palin improperly tried to have her former brother-in-law dismissed from his job as a state trooper.
The subpoena was one of 14 approved by the Judiciary Committee of the State Senate in a vote of 3 to 2 in a joint hearing with the House Judiciary Committee, which served in an advisory role during the proceeding. The subpoenas were requested by the legislative investigator conducting the inquiry, Stephen E. Branchflower, a former Anchorage prosecutor who now lives in South Carolina.
The vote set the stage for a possible legal clash between the Legislature and the Palin administration, which threatened this week to go to court to quash any subpoenas. Ms. Palin, the Republican candidate for vice president, has hired a lawyer, who did not return calls seeking comment.
“It seems that we are heading for a branch-against-branch smack-down,” said Senator Gene Therriault, a Republican who voted against approving the subpoenas and instead advocated that the investigation be handled by the state Personnel Board. “This is a nuclear route that should be avoided at all costs.”
Read the rest of the story:
Alaska Lawmakers Vote to Subpoena Todd Palin
'Troopergate' Inquiry Reaches Palin Husband
'Troopergate' Inquiry Reaches Palin Husband
State Legislators Approve Subpoena of Todd Palin
By RHONDA SCHWARTZ and JUSTIN ROOD ABC News
September 12, 2008
Alaska state legislators approved subpoenas for the husband of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and 12 others, as part of an ongoing investigation into whether Palin abused her power as state governor.
Troopergate investigator Sen. Hollis French seeks subpoenas for 13 witnesses and the phone records of Sarah Palin aide.
(ABC News)
In a nondescript conference room filled to capacity, a Republican-dominated panel of lawmakers voted to issue subpoenas to force testimony by Alaska "First Gentleman" Todd Palin and a dozen current and former state officials, including aides to Gov. Palin, to determine whether she had misused her authority in firing one of her commissioners in July.
A lawyer for Palin and her aides, Thomas V. Van Flein, said the subpoenas were "a legal issue that will have to be evaluated and discussed with clients."
Read the rest of the story:
'Troopergate' Inquiry Reaches Palin Husband
State Legislators Approve Subpoena of Todd Palin
By RHONDA SCHWARTZ and JUSTIN ROOD ABC News
September 12, 2008
Alaska state legislators approved subpoenas for the husband of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and 12 others, as part of an ongoing investigation into whether Palin abused her power as state governor.
Troopergate investigator Sen. Hollis French seeks subpoenas for 13 witnesses and the phone records of Sarah Palin aide.
(ABC News)
In a nondescript conference room filled to capacity, a Republican-dominated panel of lawmakers voted to issue subpoenas to force testimony by Alaska "First Gentleman" Todd Palin and a dozen current and former state officials, including aides to Gov. Palin, to determine whether she had misused her authority in firing one of her commissioners in July.
A lawyer for Palin and her aides, Thomas V. Van Flein, said the subpoenas were "a legal issue that will have to be evaluated and discussed with clients."
Read the rest of the story:
'Troopergate' Inquiry Reaches Palin Husband
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