Alaska Lawmakers Release 'Troopergate' Report Criticizing Gov. Sarah Palin
After meeting in closed session for much of the day, an Alaska legislative committee released an investigative report concluding that Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power by trying to get her former brother-in-law fired from his job as a state trooper.
The report states that “Gov. Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda,” according to CNN.
“The bipartisan Legislative Council, which commissioned the investigation after (state public safety commissioner Walt) Monegan was fired, unanimously adopted the 263-page public report after a marathon executive session Friday,” the news agency writes. “About 1,000 more pages of documents compiled during the inquiry will remain confidential,” according to the council’s chairman, state Sen. Kim Elton.
Lawmakers considered four options, according to CBC News: “Release the lengthy report, recommend the case be closed, have another committee continue to probe the matter, or hand it over to criminal investigators.”
“Lawmakers closed the session because the report was considered attorney work product,” notes the Associated Press, in an article written before the report was made public.
As discussed in previous ABAJournal.com posts, the so-called Troopergate controversy centers on whether Palin abused her authority by firing the state public safety commissioner after he allegedly resisted pressure from the governor’s office to fire her former brother-in-law, who continues to work as a state trooper. The issue took on national import after Palin was selected as the Republican nominee for vice president.
