yawn On Sep 10, 3:39 pm, PoliticalAmazon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Newsweek goes for Troopergate. Besides the fact that the judge > ordered Palin and her family to quit harassing the brother-in-law, > they have continued to do so, which defies an order from the court. > > Send her porker ass to jail. She is not above the law. > > --------- > > http://www.newsweek.com/id/158140 > > 'TROOPERGATE' > Warned by the Court > A judge repeatedly told Palin and family not to badmouth her sister's > ex > > Mark Hosenball > Newsweek Web Exclusive > > Updated: 7:36 PM ET Sep 9, 2008 > > An Anchorage judge three years ago warned Sarah Palin and members of > her family to stop "disparaging" the reputation of Alaska State > Trooper Michael Wooten, who at the time was undergoing a bitter > separation and divorce from Palin's sister Molly. > > Allegations that Palin, her husband Todd, and at least one top > gubernatorial aide continued to vilify Wooten—after Palin became > Alaska's governor and pressured state police officials to take action > against him—are at the center of "Troopergate," a political and > ethical controversy which has embroiled Palin's administration and is > currently the subject of an official inquiry by a special investigator > hired by the state legislature. > > Court records obtained by NEWSWEEK show that during the course of > divorce hearings three years ago, Judge John Suddock heard testimony > from an official of the Alaska State Troopers' union about how Sarah > Palin—then a private citizen—and members of her family, including her > father and daughter, lodged up to a dozen complaints against Wooten > with the state police. The union official told the judge that he had > never before been asked to appear as a divorce-case witness, that the > union believed family complaints against Wooten were "not job- > related," and that Wooten was being "harassed" by Palin and other > family members. > > Court documents show that Judge Suddock was disturbed by the alleged > attacks by Palin and her family members on Wooten's behavior and > character. "Disparaging will not be tolerated—it is a form of child > abuse," the judge told a settlement hearing in October 2005, according > to typed notes of the proceedings. The judge added: "Relatives cannot > disparage either. If occurs [sic] the parent needs to set boundaries > for their relatives." > > A spokesperson for the law firm that represented Palin's sister, now > known as Molly Hackett, said Hackett's lawyer would have no comment > because custody issues are still in litigation. Other lawyers > representing Sarah Palin in connection with the state legislative > investigation—which is examining whether she abused her powers as > governor in trying to have Wooten fired or disciplined—had no > immediate comment. Palin's official gubernatorial spokeswoman did not > respond to e-mails and a phone message requesting comment. > > Wooten's lawyer also did not respond to messages requesting comment. > John Cyr, executive director of the State Troopers union, who > testified at the divorce hearing and is acting as Wooten's spokesman, > said Wooten has avoided giving media interviews because he wants to > avoid criticizing his former relatives (to date, Wooten has granted > just one interview, to CNN). > > As the divorce case dragged on, the judge's concern about family > "disparagement" appeared to deepen. In an order signed Jan. 31, 2006, > which granted Palin's sister and Wooten a final divorce decree, Judge > Suddock continued to express concern about attacks by Palin's family > on Wooten. The judge even threatened to curb Palin's sister's child > custody rights if family criticism of Wooten continued. > > In monitoring how a joint-custody arrangement worked out, the judge > said in his order that he would pay particular attention to problems > noted by a "custody investigator," specifically "the disparagement of > the father [Wooten] by the mother [Molly Hackett, Sarah Palin's > sister] and her family members." > > "It is the mother's [Hackett's] responsibility to set boundaries for > her relatives and insure [sic] they respect them, and the > disparagement by either parent, or their surrogates is emotional child > abuse," Judge Suddock wrote. He added that: "If the court finds it is > necessary due to disparagement in the Mat-Su Valley [the area north of > Anchorage where Palin and her extended family live], for the > children's best interests, it [the court] will not hesitate to order > custody to the father and a move into Anchorage." Cyr, the union > official, said that to his knowledge, no such move was ever ordered. > > The "Troopergate" special investigator, former prosecutor Steve > Branchflower, was hired by a unanimous vote of state legislative > leaders. His mission: to investigate whether Palin fired Walter Monegan > —her State Public Safety Commissioner (and the official in charge of > the State Police)—when he refused to dismiss or open a new > disciplinary investigation of Wooten after receiving complaints about > him from Gov. Palin and her husband Todd. Initially, Palin indicated > she would cooperate with the investigation. But more recently, a > lawyer hired by the state to represent her in the case asked the > Alaska Attorney General to request that a state personnel board > conduct its own special-counsel inquiry and demanded that the state > legislature back off. > > At the heart of the continuing "Troopergate" flap is evidence that > despite Judge Suddock's warnings back in 2005 and 2006, Palin and her > husband continued to make disparaging allegations against Wooten, even > after she went to the statehouse. During her first security briefing > with a representative of the state police, Palin and Todd were both > asked whether they knew of any potential physical threats against > them, according to a deposition taken from one of Palin's top aides > following her election in Nov. 2006. Both said the only threat they > were aware of was posed by Wooten. > > The Palins later raised allegations about Wooten with public-safety > chief Monegan, according to an account Monegan gave to The Washington > Post. Last February, a top Palin gubernatorial aide named Frank Bailey > criticized Wooten in detail in a conversation with another senior > state-police official. Bailey repeated previous charges made by the > Palins against the trooper—including allegations that he had Tasered > his stepson; driven a cop car while holding a beer; and shot a moose > without a permit (charges which resulted in his suspension for five > days without pay as a trooper). But Bailey also made a new allegation: > that Wooten might have submitted a questionable workers' compensation > claim. The state police recorded Bailey's conversation, and Palin > later released it after Monegan's sacking. > > Palin and Bailey both said that Palin did not instigate Bailey's > complaints about Wooten to the police. Bailey, who is now on paid > leave from his state job, has said that in trashing Wooten to state > police management, he had "overstepped my boundaries … I should not > have spoken for the governor, or Todd, for that matter." > > In a press release issued last week by her new lawyer, Palin continued > to attack the character of Wooten—still serving as a state trooper in > Palin's hometown of Wasilla. The release repeats allegations that > Wooten had threatened members of her family, including her father, > with violence; that Wooten had threatened to "bring" Palin and members > of her family "down;" and that Wooten had once been the subject of a > court-imposed domestic-violence protection order. A court filing by > Wooten's lawyer indicates that within months of being issued, the > violence protection order was dismissed. > > URL:http://www.newsweek.com/id/158140 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
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