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Palin hires attorney for Troopergate probe
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Was the motive personal?
State lawmakers have long said they understand that Monegan and other commissioners serve at will, meaning they can be fired by Palin at any time.
But they want to know if Palin abused her power with the potential motives of this firing being personal rather than work-related.
It began with a July 17 blog posting from Halcro, whose accusations gained momentum when Monegan publicly said he felt pressure from Palin’s administration to fire Wooten.
A few days later, the state approved $100,000 to hire an outside investigator, Branchflower, a former Anchorage prosecutor, to look into the firing.
Monegan could not be reached for comment, but he recently told the Anchorage Daily News that he was never directly told by Palin or anyone to fire Wooten. But he maintained that Palin, members of her administration and her husband, Todd Palin, raised the issue about Wooten’s employment numerous times.
A month after Monegan was dismissed, Palin revealed that at least two dozens calls were made from her staff members to Department of Public Safety officials, also questioning Wooten’s employment. But she denied orchestrating the calls.
One of those took place between Frank Bailey, Palin’s director of boards and commissions, and an Alaska state trooper serving as a liaison to the Legislature.
In the recorded conversation, Bailey is heard saying: “Todd and Sarah are scratching their heads, why on earth hasn’t, why is this guy still representing the department? He’s a horrible recruiting tool. ... You know, I mean from their perspective, everyone’s protecting him.”
Palin has said she had no knowledge of the call, and Bailey told The Associated Press that he made the call without direction from anyone.
A separate federal probe
This investigation is separate from a higher profile federal probe of corruption of Alaska politics.
Stevens, the longest serving Republican in U.S. Senate history, faces trial later this month for allegedly lying on federal disclosure forms to hide $250,000 in gifts from VECO Corp. The state’s only congressman, Rep. Don Young, also is under investigation. Five former and current state lawmakers have either been sentenced to federal prison or await trial on bribery and conspiracy charges.
This investigation into Monegan’s dismissal has more than its share of subplots as well. The probe into Palin’s involvement if any was ordered by a Republican-dominated state legislative council that includes one of the lawmakers under a federal bribery indictment. And Branchflower, the investigator, is a former Anchorage prosecutor whose wife used to work for Monegan at the Anchorage Police Department.
Wooten did not a return message left Sunday on his cell phone by The Associated Press.
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