KEY EXCERPTS FROM THE REPORT
"For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin Abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act." [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, Page 8]
"The Attorney General's office has failed to substantially comply with my August 6, 2008 written request to Governor Sarah Palin for information about the case in the form of emails." [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, Page 8]
"I find that, although Walt Monegan's refusal to fire Trooper Michael Wooten was not the sole reason he was fired by Governor Sarah Palin, it was likely a contributing factor to his termination as commissioner of Public Safety." [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, Page 8]
"While in Juneauu working and talking to legislators about the state's proposed new crime lab, Deputy Chief Glass ran into Todd Palin at the top of the stairs on the third floor of the state capitol building near the Governor's office. This time it was Glass wo raised the Wooten issue with Mr. Palin. Glass testified: ...Todd was adamant that Wooten was a very poor example for a trooper and needed to be fired,...I went through the same exact conversation that I had had with Mr. Bailey, in that Wooten had already been penalized for his actions that he had taken. It was two and a half/three years ago, we could not fire him. ...I also warned him that it was going to cause some extreme amount of discomfort and embarrassment for the Governor if they continued to pursue this and it should have never become public. That it would just be not good for the Governor if it continued, and that they needed to cease and desist. He persisted in telling me that Wooten needed to be fired, he should not be a trooper." [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, pg. 63-4, 10/10/08]
"The terms of my contract with the Legislative Council establish the framework within which I have been required to conduct my investigation and make my findings....Todd Palin is not an employee of the executive branch, so his conduct is not a violation of AS 39.52.010 - 39.52.965. Given the terms of the contract, I make no findings as to Mr. Palin's conduct." [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, pg. 67-8, 10/10/08]
"Compliance with the code of ethics is not optional." [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, p 65]
"The evidence supports the conclusion that Governor Palin, at the least, engaged in 'official action' by her inaction if not her active participation or assistance to her husband in attempting to get Trooper Wooten fired [and there is evidence of her active participation. She knowingly, as that term is defined in the above cited statutes, permitted Todd Palin to use the Governor's office and the resources of the Governor's office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired. Her conduct violated AS 39.52.110(a) of the Ethics Act." [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, p 65-6] (emphasis added)
"Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda." [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, p 66]
"In this case, Governor Palin has declined to provide an interview. An interview would have assisted everyone to better understand her motives and perhaps help explain why she was so apparently intent upon g Trooper Wooten fired in spite of the fact she knew he had been disciplined following the Administrative Investigation." [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, p 66]
"Governor Palin has stated publically that she and her family feared Trooper Wooten. Yet the evidence presented has been inconsistent with such claims of fear." [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, p 67]
"Finally, it is noteworthy that in almost every contact with subordinate employees, Mr. Palin's comments were couched in terms of his desire to see Trooper Wooten fired for reasons that had nothing to do with fear." [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, p 67]
"I conclude that such claims of fear were not bona fide and were offered to provide cover for the Palin's real motivation: to get Trooper Wooten fired for personal family related reasons. [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, p 67]
"The Attorney' General's Office failed to substantially comply with my August 6, 2008 request to Governor Sarah Palin for information about the case in the form of emails." [Branchflower Report to the Alaska Legislative Council, p 74]
INVESTIGATION WAS BIPARTISAN FROM START TO FINISH
JULY 28: Joint Legislative Council of the Legislature Voted Unanimously to Appoint a Special Counsel to Investigate Palin Abuse of Power Claim. The Alaska State Legislature's Legislative Council voted 12-0 to approve $100,000 for a special investigator to begin an investigation into claims Palin fired a former state official because he would not fire a state trooper who was involved in a bitter custody battle with Palin's sister. [KTVA 11, 07/28/08]
· Legislative Council Is a Bipartisan, Bicameral Panel. "The decision came from the Legislative Council, a bipartisan panel of state senators and representatives... The Legislative Council is a panel of lawmakers who tend to legislative business when lawmakers are not meeting in regular session." [Anchorage Daily News, 7/29/08]
· Independent Investigator, Not the Committee Will Conduct the Investigation. "The committee itself will not conduct the probe. Rather, it will hire an independent investigator to explore whether Palin, her family or members of her administration pressured Monegan to fire an Alaska state trooper involved in a rough divorce from Palin's sister." [Anchorage Daily News, 7/29/08]
Palin Supporters AND Detractors Agreed the Investigation Was Needed. "Supporters as well as detractors of the Republican governor generally agreed the legislative investigation is needed into the circumstances leading up to Monegan's dismissal." [Anchorage Daily News, 7/29/08]
· Republican Senator Therriault, a Palin Ally, Hoped Investigator Could See If There's Any Legitimacy to the Accusations Against Governor Palin. Republican Sen. Gene Therriault, a Palin ally, said, "Unfortunately, with partisan politics and talk shows and bloggers, there's probably just as much noise as substance." He added, "Hopefully, what the investigator can do is sift through it and see if there's any legitimacy." [Anchorage Daily News, 7/29/08]
· Republican Senate President, Who Had Clashed With Palin, Said Investigation Was "Absolutely" Needed. Republican Senate President Lyda Green, from Wasilla, said the investigation is "absolutely" needed. "I'm hoping for a clean bill for everybody -- that everyone has acted honorably," said Green. [Anchorage Daily News, 7/29/08]
· Republicans Rep. Nancy Dahlstrom Said "For the Overall Good of Our State, We Just Need to Get to the Bottom of This." Republican Rep. Nancy Dahlstrom said, "We've had a cloud over our body the last few years since the (federal) investigations have occurred. For the overall good of our state, we just need to get to the bottom of this." [AP, 7/29/08]
· Republican House Speaker John Harris Said If Laws Were Broken That Needs to Be Curbed and "It Needs to Be Done Quickly." Republican House Speaker John Harris said, "If there were laws broken, or if somebody used abuse of power, that needs to be curbed. And it needs to be done quickly.'" [AP, 7/22/08]
SEPTEMBER 12: Two Democrats and One Republican Voted to Issue Subpoenas to Compel Palin Administration Officials and Todd Palin to Appear Before the Independent Investigation. "Alaska lawmakers voted Friday to subpoena the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, in a move that transformed a messy state personnel issue into a national campaign controversy. The lawmakers acted at the request of Stephen Branchflower, who is in the midst of an investigation into the governor's dismissal of the state's director of public safety. Branchflower said he also wants to interview the governor, but omitted her from the 13-person list of subpoena targets he presented to the lawmakers overseeing his investigation... Two Democrats and one Republican voted for the subpoenas, rejecting attempts by the other two Republicans on the panel to delay them until after the November election. Sen. Charlie Huggins, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla, appeared in camouflage pants on a short break from moose hunting to cast his vote." [AP, 9/12/08]
· Republican Effort to Stop the Independent Investigation Was Shot Down By Republican Senator From Wasilla. "Republican efforts to delay the probe until after the Nov. 4 election were thwarted when GOP state Sen. Charlie Huggins, who represents Palin's hometown of Wasilla, sided with Democrats. 'Let's just get the facts on the table,' said Huggins, who appeared in camouflage pants to vote during a break from moose hunting." [Anchorage Daily News, 9/12/08]
OCTOBER 10: Legislative Council Voted Unanimously to Release the Report. "The report by investigator Steve Branchflower was made public late this afternoon by a 12-0 vote of the Legislative Council, which authorized the investigation." [Anchorage Daily News, 10/10/08]
PALIN WELCOMED THE INVESTIGATION
JULY 19: Palin Said "We Would Never Prohibit, or Be Less Than Enthusiastic About Any Kind of Investigation." On July 19, 2008, KTUU reported that Palin stated, "We would never prohibit, or be less than enthusiastic about any kind of investigation. Let's deal in the facts, and you do that via investigation." [KTUU, 7/19/2008]
JULY 21: Palin Herself Urged the Legislature to Hold Her Accountable. "I've said all along, 'Hold me accountable,'" Palin said. "I did not ask him to hire or fire anyone in the two years that we worked together. If it takes an investigation to prove that to Alaskans, then so be it, certainly." [AP, 7/22/08]
JULY 29: Palin's Spokeswoman Said She Would Answer Questions About Troopergate. On July 29, 2008, according to the Anchorage Daily News, "Sharon Leighow, the governor's spokeswoman, said Palin 'doesn't see a need for a formal investigation,' but is willing to answer questions. Leighow added, 'The governor has said all along that she will fully cooperate with an investigation and her staff will cooperate as well.'" [Anchorage Daily News, 7/29/08]
JULY 31: Palin on the Investigation - "It's Cool. I Want them to Ask Me the Questions." Asked in an interview about the investigation, Palin said, "A couple of lawmakers who weren't happy with that decision certainly are looking at me as kind of a target right now and wanting to probe and find out why I did replace this Cabinet member. And it's cool. I want them to ask me the questions. I don't have anything to hide and didn't do anything wrong there. And it is a governor's prerogative, a right to fill that Cabinet with members whom she or he believes will do best for the people whom we are serving. So I look forward to any kind of investigation or questions being asked because got nothing to hide.' [Kudlow & Company, 7/31/08]
AUGUST 13: Both Palin and AG Colberg Pledged to Cooperate With the Investigation. In a news conference, both Palin and AG Colberg pledged to cooperate with the investigation. Palin said, "As we have said all alone [sic] all along we will fully cooperate with the legislature's investigation." Colberg said, "Instead of saying we're throwing up the barriers and we're going to resist this from day one and we're not going to cooperate, we're going to provide what we've found." [Palin Press Conference, 8/13/08; video available here]
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