Sarah Palin Rejects Ethics Finding

The Bottom Line

Thomas M. Daniel, the independent investigator hired by the Alaska Personnel Board to produce a report on Sarah Palin's 18th ethics complaint (see list below), finds that:

In light of the evidence that the governor expressly authorized the creation of the trust and the fact the trust website quite openly uses the governor's position to solicit donations, there is probable cause to believe that Governor Palin used, or attempted to use, her official position for personal gain in violation of Alaska Statute 39.52.120(a). (Full report, PDF)

The Irony - a Double Whammy

Daniel concludes there is probable cause to believe that Palin violated the Executive Branch Ethics Act when she allowed and authorized the establishment of a legal defense fund (Alaska Fund Trust, AFT for short) to pay for her personal attorney costs associated with defending against ethics complaints. 

Keep in mind that Palin takes credit for reforming Alaska's ethics laws, one of her first achievements as governor.  CNN quotes Daniel as saying, "I can only apply the Ethics Act as currently written.  And as currently written, it does not allow a state official to use her position to solicit funds to pay for a private attorney or any other personal expense."

The Denial - or What the Meaning of 'Is' Is

CNN prints this response from Sarah Palin, via her spokeswoman, Meghan Stapleton:

The fund itself was not created by me nor is it controlled by me. Neither I nor my lawyer has received a penny from this fund.

I find the notion that I have taken any action pertaining to the legal defense trust fund misguided and factually in error. I have not 'acted' relative to the defense fund, and it is misleading to say I have.

I can think of several actions the soon-to-be ex-governor took that related directly to the Alaska Fund Trust.  Let's take a look.

The Rebuttal - Oh Yes You Did

First, we find in Daniel's report:

[Ms. Kristan Cole, Trustee of the Alaska Fund Trust] stated...that the governor gave her approval to create the trust as the "official" legal defense fund for the governor and authorized the use of her photograph on the trust's website.

Next, remember all the occasions during which Sarah Palin, along with her staff and spokespersons, bemoaned the heavy financial burden on her family from battling "frivolous" ethics complaints? I certainly see her frequent "poor me" comments as actions taken to stimulate donations to the AFT.

Then there's SarahPAC.  This is a separate political action fund guided by FEC reporting regulations.  As soon as the Alaska Fund Trust was established, however, the following message appeared on the Home page of the SarahPAC Web site urging contributors to pay the AFT a visit:

In fact, for a time on the SarahPAC site, visitors were explicitly told to wait for the official fund that Sarah was setting up instead of donating to the unofficial fund established by businessman Clayton Paslay.

SarahPAC is authorized by Sarah Palin. On the PAC's site, in answer to the frequently asked question, "Who is behind SarahPAC?" we read:

Gov. Sarah Palin believes all Americans must work together for the future, regardless of their party affiliation. Gov. Palin is the honorary chair of SarahPac, and its supporters are Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and those unaffiliated with any political party.

Daniel didn't mention the SarahPAC connection, but it lends further credence to the notion that Sarah most definitely took action of some kind by pointing prospective donors to the AFT.

The Questions

According to question #8 on the FAQ page for the Alaska Fund Trust, contributions and expenditures shall be disclosed by the Trustee on a quarterly basis in a categorized accounting.  The AFT was founded on April 22, 2009, three months ago.  Three months is also a quarter of a year.  When will this disclosure be published and who gets to see it?

I'm particularly interested in this question because of statements made by Meghan Stapleton and John Coale (husband of Greta Van Susteren and unofficial advisor to Sarah Palin) that seem to contradict Palin's assertions that neither she nor her lawyer has gotten a penny from the fund.

The Washington Post reported on July 13, 2009:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s political action committee raised nearly $733,000 in its first five months, according to a report filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission.

Stapleton said about $1.2 million has been raised between SarahPAC and a fund set up to help Palin pay more than $500,000 in legal debts stemming from multiple ethics complaints filed against her.

And this from Newsweek on July 18, 2009:

John Coale, a Washington lawyer who helped Palin set up a legal-defense fund and PAC, tells NEWSWEEK the fund is "well on its way" to paying off $500,000 in legal debt from the campaign and another $100,000 in bills incurred later, leaving questions about how big a part money woes played in her decision to resign.

According to Stapleton, the AFT has or had close to $500,000 in it, just about equal to Palin's supposed $500,000 debt due to ethics complaints. How much has been paid out so far, and to whom?

According to Coale, the AFT has plenty of money and is already paying off legal debt.  Except in this case, the $500,000 figure is as a result of the campaign, not ethics complaints from Alaskan "anklebiters."  So if the money was there why was Palin still whining about how the ethics complaints were bankrupting her?

What did the ethics complaints really cost Sarah Palin? Who released the Daniel report marked 'confidential' and why?  Did Sarah Palin resign so she could take the money and run without further oversight or annoying rules?  Why is the AFT still open for business and soliciting donations?  Why is there still a link on SarahPAC directing visitors to the fund?

Please find more posts on this topic at The Mudflats, Shannyn Moore, Progressive Alaska here and here,  Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis, and Palingates here and here.

The Wasillabilly Grifters

Backstory for those not aware:

AK blogger Celtic Diva is trying to get copies of some AK executive branch e-mails and the Palin administration wants an arm and a leg for finding and copying them, so readers of her blog are contributing so that the fee can be paid. The request for e-mails has to do with the executive branch leaking private information to certain media outlets to smear someone who filed an ethics complaint against Sarah Palin.

Part of Celtic Diva's fundraising campaign has included a 'thermometer' type graphic illustrating the fundraising progress. Each day a new image with a new "percent raised" has been posted. One day's image showed Sarah Palin holding a baby Eddie Burke (a radio host who broadcast the leaked information).

Sarah's disciples at one of her more prominent worship sites have gotten into a humongous uproar about this thermometer image because Eddie Burke's face was 'shopped on top of the body of Trig Palin, Sarah's [grand]son. They began informing everyone they could think of about Celtic Diva's horribleness and word must have reached Sarah herself. We know this because her spokesperson Meg Stapleton distributed a statement today, likening the 'shopped image to desecrating a holy icon. I'm not kidding.

As a result, Politico and even CNN reported the extent of Sarah's latest outrage, which probably sent an awful lot of traffic to Celtic Diva's site. Congratulations Linda!! Based on most of the comments on those stories, another result is that Sarah's bulb has gotten even dimmer (if possible). They are fun to read if you have the time.

So I thought, hey, I can 'shop too! With that, let me introduce my latest (hilarious) creation, titled "The Wasillabilly Grifters and Their Enablers." :-)

Feel free to reproduce and use anywhere you want!

An Elaborate and Systematic Plan of Action

Bristol Palin's answers to Greta Van Susteren's questions included several key words that we've heard Sarah use before:  advocate, had to grow up a lot faster, focusing on getting through school, I just am so blessed...

So it struck me when Bristol used the term "game plan" not once but twice in the interview, that those were not her words, either.  Here's the relevant section of the interview to put this phrase in context (bolding is mine and the transcript comes from Fox):

VAN SUSTEREN: And I imagine [your mom and dad] had some guidance for you, or some thought.

BRISTOL: Yes, they just wanted us to sit down and make a game plan, like, what we were going to do and stuff.

VAN SUSTEREN: Had you told Levi's family?

BRISTOL: No, not yet.

VAN SUSTEREN: When did that come about?

BRISTOL: That came about probably, like, the following day.

VAN SUSTEREN: And how did that go over?

BRISTOL: Well, his mom was -- she was scared for us, too. Just we needed to sit down and make a game plan. But she was excited. We were all excited for the baby, of course.

What sort of "game plan" do you need to sit down and devise when your high school junior tells you she's pregnant?  Here's a definition for "game plan" from an online dictionary:

Noun	1.	game plan - (figurative) a carefully thought out strategy for achieving an objective in war or politics or business or personal affairs; "newscasters speculated about the President's game plan for an invasion" scheme, strategy - an elaborate and systematic plan of action
	2.	game plan - (sports) a plan for achieving an objective in some sport athletics, sport - an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition scheme, strategy - an elaborate and systematic plan of action

Schemes, strategies, achieving objectives, and sports metaphors -- that sure sounds like Sarah and not Bristol to me.  So what kind of "game plan" exactly was needed?  You don't have to make a game plan to figure out what maternity clothes to wear.  Or when to have pre-natal visits.  Or how to get the vitamins and nutrients your body needs during pregnancy.

No, I think this "game plan" refers to something much larger -- a plan to achieve an objective that requires careful thinking-out, diversions, and a flexible strategy.  What was the objective of the "game plan" that Bristol and Sarah and Todd (and possibly Sherry and Levi Johnston) worked out?  If we hypothesize that Bristol is Trig's birth mother, we might have this plan.

The Trig Plan

Objective

Cover for underage, unwed daughter Bristol's pregnancy by making it look like Sarah is having the baby instead.

Bonuses

1. Avoid embarrassing the Governor and disrupting her political ambitions
   
2. Avoid embarrassing the family members
3. Gain sympathy from community and church
4. Use DS baby as a political pro-life credential

Strategy

1. Hide Bristol during last 4 months of pregnancy by sending her to Sarah's sister in Anchorage.
   
2. Preemptively deny rumors of Bristol's pregnancy to the press, to 'nip it in the bud.'
   
3. Wait until 4-6 weeks before Bristol's due date, then have Sarah announce she is pregnant and due in 2 months.  This will cut down on the amount of time Sarah has to fake her pregnancy.
4. Have Sarah start wearing scarves, jackets and coats to disguise body.
   
5. Explain away lack of sharing the news of Sarah's "pregnancy" with family and staff as needed.
6. Keep Bristol and Trig out of sight if the baby comes too early. 
7. Get Sarah's picture taken with a fake belly a couple of times.  Release them if necessary.
   
8. Announce the birth of Trig after Legislative session is over and Texas speech delivered, saying he was born 4-5 weeks prematurely.  Refer to him as a gift, a joy and a blessing.
   

Another quote from the transcript noted above leads me to think there was also a "game plan" for Tripp.  Sarah mentions twice that Bristol's pregnancy was a shock.  In the context she says this, I take it to mean Bristol's second pregnancy was a shock since who would have thought Bristol could get pregnant again so soon?

SARAH PALIN: I'm still getting used to having a -- you know, my last child, Trig, much less that, you know, knowing that we would have another little bundle of joy in our midst. So yes, it was a surprise. It was a shock.

VAN SUSTEREN: Did you give her hell or were you -- at first? I mean, what...

SARAH PALIN: Yes, I kind of did. I mean, I was...

BRISTOL: We were all surprised.

SARAH PALIN: We were all surprised. Let me put it this way. And this is -- I think Bristol's kind of an example of, truly, it can happen to anybody. [...] But still an absolute shock that it happened.

Sarah says, "I'm still getting used to having a -- you know, my last child, Trig..." Why would having recently had Trig contribute to Sarah's shock on learning of Bristol's pregnancy with Tripp?  One answer is that Sarah couldn't believe that Bristol went and did it again.  So then, we have need for another "game plan."

The Tripp Plan

Objective

Get the most benefit out of releasing information about Bristol's (second) pregnancy, in light of already being nominated for Vice President.

Bonuses

1. Use the announcement to quell rumors that Sarah did not give birth to Trig.
2. Sarah gains sympathy by being supportive of Bristol.
3. Sarah gains further cred with the religious right because Bristol made a mistake getting pregnant but at least she is going to have the baby and get married (we'll see about that).
   
4. Bristol will become an 'advocate' for something... like the benefits of abstinence, or why you should just say No, or what a pain it is being an unwed mother unless you are a Governor's daughter, or...
   

Strategy

1. Preemptively announce Bristol's pregnancy as soon as possible after the VP selection announcement (throw her under the bus) to quash Babygate rumors.  After all, McCain has made his choice and can't back out now.
   
2. Have some anonymous aide say that Bristol is about five months along, which will be about one month too early for her to have also birthed Trig.
3. Keep Bristol on the bus as much as possible to avoid speculation on the stage of her pregnancy.
4. Once the campaign is over, hide Bristol away.
5. Push the supposed birth date out from middle to late December, and then announce it just before the year ends no matter what.
6. Procrastinate if magazines come calling to get baby pictures.
   
7. Keep Bristol hidden until she does give birth.
8. As soon as Tripp no longer looks obviously newborn, get a friendly TV personality to do an interview with Bristol and finally show the new arrival.
9. Use the interview to start Bristol's career as an 'advocate' for something and as another way to get Sarah's political positions on prime time TV.

[Disclaimer - I have never seen a real Palin family "game plan."  This is just what I imagine one might have looked like.  YMMV!]

Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

In the Pure Gossip Category

I thought of Crystal Gayle's song when I heard, from more than a couple people, that Bristol Palin's "fiance" has fathered another child besides Tripp.  This is being whispered by a few sources... and then I listened to Bristol's very vague answers about Levi Johnston during her recent exclusive interview with Greta, available here on YouTube.  "Eventually, we'd like to get married," said Bristol.  It sure doesn't sound like there are any firm plans.  We all thought the wedding was to take place last year, before Tripp's birth.  And then the wedding was supposed to happen this summer.  Could Levi's dallying around have anything to do with the hesitation?

Babies, Babies, Who Are Those Babies?

The baby that Sarah Palin brought into camera range as Greta was talking to Bristol could be, finally, the missing Tripp!  We didn't get to see much of him close up, but during the interview, several photographs of babies floated on the screen, interspersed with the live shots.  Just to play devil's advocate, we saw no attribution for any of the photos, nor any dating for the photos.  We should not assume that all the photos were of the same baby. Especially that one image of a grumpy-looking wide-nostriled baby sitting up. Just sayin'...

The Birth Date Issue

Since we have no way of verifying Tripp's birth date, I spent some time looking at babies on YouTube...

Here's a baby at 4 weeks:


And here's one at 7 weeks (Tripp's age if he was born 12-27-2008):


A seven-week infant seems to have more awareness of its surroundings, and responds more affirmatively to stimulus.

The shot we had of "Tripp live" could be at four weeks, five, six or seven weeks of age.  From what I've read, it is not at all uncommon to get pregnant again within 2-6 weeks of giving birth.  A little fudge on Trig, a little fudge on Tripp, and you've got a creamy bowl of Mudflats #4 winner of the new Sarah Palin Ben & Jerry's flavor:  "I Can See Fudge From My House!"