Despite accusations of political mudslinging, Alaska Legislature's investigation of Gov. Palin to continue
Published Tuesday, September 9, 2008
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — Provocative remarks by Sen. Hollis French about Gov. Sarah Palin’s firing of former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan aren’t enough to justify scrapping the investigation, said the chair of the Legislative Council.
Sen. Kim Elton, D-Juneau, made the decision on Monday in response to concerns of Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole, who asked that the Legislature’s investigation be stopped in light of Gov. Palin’s recent nomination as Republican candidate for vice president. Coghill, who said he was worried the process was becoming too political, also had asked that French, an Anchorage Democrat and project director for the probe, be removed from the investigation.
On Sept. 2, French was quoted in an ABCNews.com article as saying the Legislative Council’s report was going to be an “October Surprise” and “Likely to be damaging to the governor’s administration.”
French said Palin “had a credibility problem” and further stated, “If (the McCain campaign) had done their job, they never would have picked her.”
French later conceded that he probably shouldn’t have made those remarks and stated he would not be personally investigating, gathering facts or writing the final report.
Elton’s decision to continue with the investigation was largely based on the fact that French’s involvement in the investigation had thus far been “appropriate, bipartisan, in-line with the charge of the council and unchallenged by any of the principals,” he said.
“French acknowledged that his comments were not reflective of Lead Investigator Steven Branchflower’s yet-to-be-made conclusions and were regrettable,” Elton stated in the response.
Elton recognized Coghill’s primary concern that, in light of the recent national attention Palin has received, the unanimously approved investigation has become far more intense in the last week and that any comments made by those involved in the investigation could threaten its integrity.
“Comments that suggest that there is a pre-determined outcome are very harmful and can be as incendiary as napalm,” Elton said. “In this case, the comments were acknowledged by Sen. French and the wrongful impressions corrected in a very public way in the media.”
According to Elton, Branchflower is the only one who will be investigating the issue.
Branchflower has not and will not discuss the status of the investigation with the media, the press release said. Elton declined to comment further on the investigation.
Coghill received the letter on Monday afternoon and, after a brief spout of disappointment, began drafting an appeal letter to the chairman.
“My desire is to restore integrity to the process so I asked for a reconvening of the meeting to discuss the investigation process,” Coghill said.
“The chairman doesn’t think it’s necessary, but I still do.”
Coghill’s next step is to discuss the matter with other committee members and seek majority backing to issue another appeal to the chairman.
“The idea is to keep it as less political as possible,” Coghill said. “Once it’s put into the political realm, it becomes very difficult to manage unless we meet and settle some issues, including who’s managing the investigation.”
Community Discussion
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French, merry-go-round party is over > http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/Communicat...
Oh, come on, Representative Coghill! I have always liked and respected you but the very fact that you, a staunch and conservative Republican, jump up and try to derail the rightful investigation into the Palin administration's handling of the trooper thing and firing of the Commissioner of Pubic Safety is clearly political and not in the best interest of Alaska. Let the investigation continue and question the process once its happened. When a person is brought to trial - the trial continues and the defense can use improper proceedings in their appeal. That is the better approach - to stop the investigation stinks of - "Now that Sarah is in the national spotlight, we shouldn't call attention to her questionable actions in Alaska." I say the opposite is true - "Now that Sarah is in the national spotlight, we should pursue the investigation and make sure she is fit for office." If she is as pure, transparent, and open as she claims, she has nothing to fear.
The House and Senate Judiciary committees meet on Friday on the issue of issuing subpoenas. Senator French, having destroyed any appearance of impartiality and fairness, should step down. The committees should issue no subpoenas until an unbiased investigation can be assured. Senator French has destroyed any claim to statesmanship on his part in favor of becoming a political flack.
Wow! On Sept. 2, French was quoted in an ABCNews.com article as saying the Legislative Council’s report was going to be an “October Surprise” and “Likely to be damaging to the governor’s administration.”
Trooper, tell all America, what he did wrong!Twisting his hands as he talked.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/...
What are Seekins and the other Republicans afraid of? That Palin might have abused her power? That she is following the same path as governor as she did as mayor of Wasilla--firing people to test their "loyalty" to her? If she's not guilty, what are they so worried about?
"If she's not guilty, what are they so worried about?"
You seriously don't know? How about the fact that the guy in charge of the investigation (French) is a democrat and the guy charged with keeping him honest (Elton) is a democrat. They're both Obama people and you have French openly talking about an "October surprise." If this isn't a put-up job, I don't know is. This whole thing is tainted and any conclusion reached invalid. Here is French and Elton:
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/5350/...
Your comment sounds like something that would be said to a black man in the deep south being tried in the 1950's for the rape of a white woman with an all-white jury..."if you're not guilty, what are you worried about?"
Umm...maybe the partisan hacks in charge of this sham?
If anyone should be looked into, it is French. I'd like to know if he has been talking with the Obama campaign since Palin's selection about this investigation.
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