ANCHORAGE — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin violated ethics laws and abused her power as governor in pressing to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, an independent legislative investigation concluded Friday.
In a report whose release was the subject of a high-stakes political showdown that went all the way to the Alaska Supreme Court, investigator Stephen Branchflower documented that former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan was subjected to a veritable barrage of demands from Palin, her husband and her staff to fire the trooper, Mike Wooten, whom they saw as unfit for the job. Wooten had been involved in a bitter divorce and custody battle with Palin's sister.
The report found that his refusal to fire the trooper was "likely a contributing factor" in Monegan's termination in July, but it also concluded that the governor's decision was "a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority" to hire and fire department heads.
Though the findings partially vindicate Palin's claims that she had legitimate reasons for firing Monegan, their suggestion that she used her husband and staff to conduct a campaign against a state employee in what was perceived by some as a personal vendetta could damage her ability to portray herself as a reform-minded, experienced executive ready to step into the White House as John McCain's vice president.
The Democratic Party was quick to use the report as fresh ammunition. "Gov. Palin has violated Alaskans' trust," said Patti Higgins, Alaska's state Democratic Party chairwoman. "I hope that in light of this finding, Gov. Palin will stop playing partisan politics to the detriment of Alaska's future."
Palin has insisted that Monegan was fired because he flouted her plans to limit spending in his department. Todd Palin has admitted he made several inquiries about Wooten because of concerns that the trooper had behaved improperly, by driving under the influence of alcohol, shooting a moose without a permit, threatening Palin's father and striking his own stepson with a low-level electric Taser.
"We feel the governor is vindicated. . . . She had the authority and acted with the proper authority" in removing Monegan, Meghan Stapleton, a McCain-Palin campaign spokeswoman, said in an interview.
She said neither the governor nor her husband had done anything "but what the state dictates" and had legitimate concerns about Wooten's behavior. "Todd will do what he has to do to protect his family and the community against an abusive trooper," Stapleton said.
