"This morning the world was asking 'who is Sarah Palin?'" the wiki Sarah Palin Scandal commented on Aug. 29. "By the afternoon, people were asking 'what is Troopergate?'... John McCain's seemingly unblemished choice for a running mate might have a big ugly ethical stain on her young political career. This whole thing is a big messy he-said she-said that reeks of a bad Jerry Springer episode." (1)
The tale of "Troopergate" begins in the fall of 2004, when Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten and his wife, Molly McCann, began divorce proceedings. (McCann is Sarah Palin's younger sister; Charles Heath is their father). As Andrew Halcro, an Alaska political blogger who has covered the story extensively, tells it:
The beginning of the divorce proceedings set off a chain of bizarre and chilling events that has continued through today.... Beginning in spring of 2005 and for the next ten months, over 25 formal complaints were filed by Palin and Heath family members against Trooper Mike Wooten. From drinking while driving his patrol car to making threats to shooting a moose without a permit....
But it didn't stop there. Threatening phone calls, private detectives that were hired to follow Wooten, notes left on windshields, Todd Palin [Sarah's husband] taking pictures then submitting them to Wooten's supervisor, all designed to intimidate Wooten into backing off from demanding equal child custody rights.
But every time they filed a spurious complaint, the Troopers would bring in an Administrative Investigator who after seeing more than two dozen of these ridiculous and time consuming complaints stated that in all his years he had never seen such a shotgun pattern against one officer. (2)
Most of the complaints turned out to be unfounded. "According to Trooper records, Sarah Palin said that in January and February of 2005, Wooten was drinking while driving. After investigating the complaint, the investigator found that Palin never actually saw what she reported.
"In another complaint, Sarah's father said that Wooten made threatening remarks. Again, the investigator found there was no probable way that it could have happened."
According to Halcro's original reporting, Wooten admitted to one of the charges; two years previously, he had shot a moose without a state moose-hunting permit:
In 2003, Wooten, his wife and a friend were moose hunting. Upon spotting a moose, Wooten instructed his wife to shoot the moose since she had the permit, she refused so Wooten did.
After carting the moose back to town, Sarah's father actually butchered it in his garage, and Wooten shared the meat with both Sarah and Todd Palin as well as her parents.
(Palin-booster Bill Kristol's Weekly Standard blog reveals that Sarah Palin "says her favorite meal is moose stew or mooseburgers.") (3)
Two years later, "during the divorce battle, the family filed a complaint alleging that Wooten had taken that moose illegally. At least they waited until they finished the meat to file the complaint against Wooten."
Other sources have since reported that three other charges against Wooten were upheld:
Wooten was reprimanded and suspended for 10 days without pay (which was reduced to five after his union filed a grievance).
Meanwhile in court, Wooten prevailed at every turn as Judge Suddock quickly realized there was a concerted effort to damage Wooten. Finally the judge warned that if any of their actions caused Wooten to lose his job or pay in anyway, Molly and her family would be held liable.
In another article, Halcro notes that "In Wooten's eight year career, the only complaints that have been filed against him came from people associated with Governor Palin during a divorce and child custody fight in which they were trying to get him fired so he wouldn't be able to get custody of his children." (6)
Palin was elected Governor of Alaska in November 2006. In December, she appointed Walt Monegan, former Anchorage chief of police, as Alaska's new Commissioner of Public Safety.
Shortly afterward, Todd Palin met with Monegan and gave him
a dossier of information on Wooten compiled by Todd and a private investigator. Monegan looked at the information and determined that, "There was no new evidence, no new complaints."... After looking at Wooten's file, Monegan called Todd Palin back and said there was nothing he could do. "I tried to explain to him, 'You can't head-hunt like this.... What you need to do is back off, because if the trooper does make a mistake, and it is a terminable offense, if can look like political interference.'"
Monegan also called Gov. Palin on her cell phone. "I explained to her there was no new evidence, the issue was closed. She also was unhappy with that." (7)
In February 2007, Gov. Palin herself allegedly told Monegan, "to fire Wooten because he was giving Troopers a bad name. However Monegan said he would do no such thing." (Monegan later said his actual reply was, "Ma'am, I need to keep you at arm's length with this. I can't deal about him with you. If need be, I can talk to Todd." ) (7)
The following year, "At the request of the court, Wooten and his ex-wife were instructed to return to re-visit the custody schedule. Once the paper work started in April of 2008, the complaints and the intimidation started all over again. Twice in the last few months complaints were filed by the governor's office accusing Wooten of improperly using his patrol car. Both times he was visiting his kids at school and both times he had permission from his sargent. The last complaint came in May after Todd Palin saw Wooten pulling out of the school parking lot and six days later the complaint landed on Wooten's supervisor's desk....
A short time afterwards, it was discovered that confidential material in Wooten's Administrative Investigation file had been released to his ex-wife and her attorney. This drew outrage from the Public Safety Union as well as the Commissioner. AI files are strictly confidential and can only be released with the written signature of the Trooper, but yet no one could explain how the detailed confidential information was released.
Reportedly, both Commissioner Monegan and Colonel Audie Halloway [Commander of the State Troopers] warned that if they found out the file was leaked by the governor's office, they would pursue charges.
Monegan was fired by Palin's office on July 11. Her chief of staff told Monegan that the governor wanted "to go in another direction," Monegan said. "When I was let go, I was a little surprised. There was not a warning shot or anything." (7)
There was also no public explanation from the Governor, who was out of town. She was still out of town, and there was still no explanation for the firing, on July 15 when Monegan's successor, Chuck Kopp, was announced.
On July 17, Halcro posted on his blog "that Monegan was fired because he disagreed with the governor on budget priorities and that he was being pressured to fire a State Trooper who happened to be Governor Palin's ex-brother in law." The same day, "the Public Safety Employees Association, at the request of Trooper Mike Wooten, released to the media his personal file detailing the lengthy list of complaints filed against him by Governor Palin and her family." (8)
Palin responded with a public statement later in the day, declaring: "To allege that I, or any member of my family, requested, received or released confidential personnel information on an Alaska State Trooper, or directed disciplinary action be taken against any employee of the Department of Public Safety, is, quite simply, outrageous." (9)
Rumors began circulating that Halcro's charges were politically motivated. (Halcro, a former state Republican, had run against Palin for Governor as an Independent, receiving 10% of the vote.)
However, Monegan went public the next day, telling KTUU-TV that "Todd Palin, Frank Bailey (of the Governor's office), and Annette Krietzer, Commissioner of Administration, all pressured him to fire Wooten, which he declined to do, and he also said that he finally told the administration that the conversations about firing Wooten had to stop." (8)
On July 28, the Joint Legislative Council voted 12-0 to formally call for an investigation; which prompted Gov. Palin to tell CNBC's Larry Kudlow that "a couple of lawmakers who weren't happy with that decision, certainly are looking at me as a target right now." (10)
On Aug. 1, former state district attorney Steve Branchflower was hired to investigate Palin's dismissal of Monegan. Branchflower, who has subpoena power and a budget of up to $100,000, is in the midst of an investigation lawmakers hope to have concluded before the November elections. (11)
Palin ordered Attorney General Talis Colberg to launch his own pre-emptive investigation, while continuing to proclaim her administration's innocence. That phase lasted for two weeks; then, on Wednesday, August 13:
Bailey was placed on indefinite suspension. He will continue to collect his $78,528 salary while suspended.The governor hastily called a press conference to announce that her administration did in fact make calls regarding Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten. Palin said her administration made more than 20 calls to the Department of Public Safety regarding Wooten, the governor's former brother-in-law. Palin previously had denied her administration pressured Monegan but at least one of those calls was caught on tape....
The governor released the tape to the media Wednesday and called it "out of bounds."
In the call [Palin aide Frank] Bailey told [Trooper Lt. Rodney] Dial the Palins were frustrated Wooten had kept his job.
"Everything that has come back to Todd and the governor, there's nothing we can do and that's very frustrating," Bailey said.
Bailey goes on to say the governor is unhappy Monegan won't take action.
"The CD of this conversation is obviously problematic because Mr. Bailey seemed to be speaking on my behalf -- and because he complained in this conversation that Trooper Wooten had not been terminated," said the governor. "But Mr. Bailey was not speaking for me. His comments were unauthorized as well as just wrong." (12)
According to Halcro, there are more revelations to follow: "Palin and her staff have been using their state issued Blackberrys and computers to conduct acts of personal retribution, and the attorney general is covering for them.... According to one of my sources who tipped me off about the Bailey phone call days before it was publicly released as well as the Kopp payout days before it was publicly released;... there is credible evidence of Blackberry communications that Palin herself communicated with her staff and Monegan about firing Wooten." (13)
For her part, Palin describes Halcro as "a very, very bitter person, obviously." She calls his website a gossip blog and says she doesn't read it. (14)
When Sarah Palin ran for Governor in 2006, her campaign website promised voters: "Sarah will open the door wide to transparent and accountable government."
As late as November 2007, Palin was issuing press releases stating things like: "Public trust and integrity are the foundation of good government. This reaffirms my commitment to conduct the people's business in an open and transparent fashion." (13)
However, things have changed. Attorney General Colberg (a Palin appointee) recently ruled "that state employees have a right to privacy while using state issued communication equipment," meaning Branchflower cannot investigate those communications at will. (Hence Halcro's charge of cover-up.)
Palin's Communication Director, Bill McAllister, defended the abandonment of the "open and transparent government" promise by telling the Anchorage Daily News that it was never meant to apply to everything: "Open and transparent government was something that came up during the campaign and was largely in reference to the stranded gas act versus the AGIA concept under Governor Palin." Pressed further, he added: "Open and transparent does not mean you lose all common sense and conduct everything out in the open." (13)
In July, 2007, neocon Bill Kristol's Weekly Standard blog was hailing Palin as "a politician of eye-popping integrity," adding: "Her rise is a great (and rare) story of how adherence to principle -- especially to transparency and accountability in government -- can produce political success." (3)
Whom, if anyone, the "Troopergate" scandal eventually destroys -- Bailey, Colberg, Todd Palin, maybe even Gov. Palin herself -- that promise of integrity and open, transparent government appears to be its first victim.
--------------
(1) "Sarah Palin Scandal Could Wreck McCain's Campaign," Sarah Palin Scandal, Aug. 29, 2008. http://www.zimbio.com/Sarah+Palin+Scandal/articles/4/Sarah+Palin+Scandal+Wreck+McCain+Campaign
(2) All quotations in italics are from:
"Andrew Halcro, "Why Walt Monegan got fired: Palin's abuse of power," AndrewHalcro.com, July 18, 2008.
http://www.andrewhalcro.com/why_walt_monegan_got_fired,
(3) Fred Barnes, "The Most Popular Governor," The Weekly Standard, 12:41 (July 16, 2007).
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/851orcjq.asp
(4) Julie Demers, "Is Wooten a good trooper?", Anchorage Daily News, July 27, 2008. http://www.adn.com/politics/story/476430.html
(5) Anchorage Activist, "The Truth about Tasers," Alaska Pride, July 20, 2008. http://alaskapride.blogspot.com/2008/07/truth-about-tasers-tools-of-trade-or.html
(6) Andrew Halcro, "The Wooten Challenge," AndrewHalcro.com, Aug. 15, 2008. http://www.andrewhalcro.com/the_wooten_challenge
(7) "Monegan to Palin: 'Ma'am, I Need to Keep You At Arm's Length'," Washington Post, Aug. 30, 2008. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2008/08/monegan_to_palin_maam_i_need_t.html
(8) Andrew Halcro, "The Anatomy of a Scandal," AndrewHalcro.com, July 19, 2008. http://www.andrewhalcro.com/the_anatomy_of_a_scandal
(9) Andrew Halcro, "Parsing Sarah Palin," AndrewHalcro.com, July 17, 2008. http://www.andrewhalcro.com/parsing_palin
(10) "Gov. Sarah Palin on the Wooten scandal and VP," YouTube, July 31, 2008. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Pak-rH0dCeA
(11) Bob Tkacz, "Northern Fights," Part 2, Crosscut Seattle, Aug. 30, 2008. http://www.crosscut.com/law-justice/16935/Northern+fights/
(12) Jason Moore, "Palin: Monegan was pressured to fire Wooten," KTUU, Aug. 13, 2008. http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=8837801
(13) Andrew Halcro, "Palin circles the wagons: Transparency a casualty," AndrewHalco.com, Aug. 28, 2008. http://www.andrewhalcro.com/palin_circles_the_wagons_transparency_a_casualty
(14) Kyle Hopkins, "Halcro chronicles: Folk hero or sore loser?", Anchorage Daily News, Aug. 18, 2008. http://www.adn.com/front/story/497064.html
(15) Alan Suderman, "Agency leader changed ruling in trooper case," Juneau Empire, July 28, 2008. http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/072808/sta_310532640.shtml
©2008 George Dance, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Saturday, August 30, 2008
Last modified: Monday, September 22, 2008
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Reader Comments:
Posted By: Walt Thiessen
Date: 2008-08-31 03:55:35
Wow! Thanks for all the good research George. You and I might differ about Bob Barr, but your research has always been very detailed and in-depth, and I appreciate that.
I was wondering what the details were of this Palin scandal. It's sad, but not surprising, that McCain would nominate her. He must have known about all this. VP candidates routinely get vetted by a presidential candidate's staff, so I'm sure they knew all about this mess. But McCain, being the "maverick" that he is, decided that it all didn't really matter. He probably decided, in a cynically political way, that her mess would actual improve his support among divorced women with children who have fought for child custody using any trick they can use, no matter how underhanded.
Most likely, he decided that what Palin was doing to the state troopers constituted some form of "family values" case. She was fighting for child custody for the mother (Palin's sister), and I won't be surprised if Palin comes out during the campaign claiming that the state trooper is some kind of sicko, and that she was simply doing her part to fend off an evil person in defense of her sister and her sister's children. That may sound sick and twisted in and of itself to you and me, but it would be consonant with McCain's own, apparent value structure on various issues.
Add in the fact that the initial public response from social conservatives to Palin has been so positive, and I'm guessing that McCain figures the whole, sorry episode is a win/win for his campaign.
Posted By: Jake, the champion of the constitution
Date: 2008-08-31 09:05:06
George -
Perhaps you should change the title to Moosegate? Same reaction as Walt, have no idea who Gov Palin is, thanks for the research!
Seriously though... mooseburgers? Maybe McCain's strategy was simply to stimulate media interest in a pretty face and generate a little media buzz. Voters will need something to relieve the monotony of Obama reciting McCain's views in a different way, and vice versa "Now this is where Senator Clinton - I mean Senator McCain - really differ, I prefer venison burgers to mooseburgers."
Jake
Posted By: Dave Nalle
Date: 2008-08-31 11:43:17
Don't dis the mooseburger until you have one.
Good research, George. But all the work you've done makes this whole thing seem far more significant than it is. It's really pretty simple.
Wooten made a death threat against his father in law. Palin tried to get him fired for it. Who wouldn't? Cops of all people should not be threatening relatives with violence.
I don't see this hurting her one bit as a candidate. It might even help her.
And bringing Kristol really is a cheap shot. Palin can't help the fact that Kristol likes her.
Dave
Posted By: Joel Johnston
Date: 2008-08-31 17:17:04
This story helps to bring to the forefront an issue in this election. We are so focused on the vote of women, that we may be missing the vote of men.
Biden's VAWA is definitely a law that is hurtful to men. Had it been the Violence Against Family Act, rather than the Violence Against Women's Act, maybe men could support it. But, its name along is bias, and cause for concern for men.
I was excited when I saw Palin's resume, I actually thought she brought a refreshing change to the republican party that I support. However, her behavior, to destroy a man over his desire to remain a responsible father to his children after divorce is deplorable. It makes me think she and Biden have a lot in common, and that scares me.
When we look a the presidential candidates themselves, Obama reprimanded men on Fathers day, ignoring the fact that fathers are important in the lives of children and he did not take the opportunity to strengthen that bond, but instead blaned the issue on men, which is not helpful, and very narrow minded on his part.
McCain has already been blasted when he told a fathers rights advocate that he has nothing he can to do help fathers, and that divorce today is fair.
Men need to MAN UP this election season, and demand something from the candidates that will help protect them and their children. We need candidates that stand up for family values, not ones that support the extraction of a father out of the lives of childre - Governor Palin, or one that promotes the ideas that only wife abusing men want more time with their kids - Senator Biden.
Scare - do we vote for Obama bin Biden, or McCain McCon
Who's behind door number three?
Posted By: Joseph
Date: 2008-08-31 17:17:21
I don't think McCain knew much about this. There were reports that he only made up his mind a few days ago and the vetting had really only had a few days to take place; he'd really only spoken with her twice. It feels to me more an act of desperation on his part; he believes his only chance of winning is to get disaffected Hillary supporters.
Dave - no, I wouldn't begin a months-long campaign of attrition and intimidation against someone who'd threatened my relative. They reported that act; he admitted it; he served his suspension for it. And I sure as heck wouldn't fire someone who refused to illegally fire the man. I can't imagine this whole story helping McCain. It immediately brings to mind comparisons of the outing of Valerie Plame and the political firings in the Justice Department. I don't think that's what McCain wants people thinking about.
As for Mooseburgers - there needs to be a cookoff. Palin brings her moose, and Gov. Huckabee brings his popcorn popper-cooked squirrel. Hmm... wait a second... moose and squirrel? If only their names were Boris and Natasha instead of Mike and Sarah....
Posted By: George Dance
Date: 2008-09-01 19:45:46
I did try my first rhinoburger this summer. Yum!
I appreciate the (mainly) kind words from all, though I only have comments to make on two of them.
WaltThiessen: I won't be surprised if Palin comes out during the campaign claiming that the state trooper is some kind of sicko, and that she was simply doing her part to fend off an evil person in defense of her sister and her sister's children. That may sound sick and twisted in and of itself to you and me, but it would be consonant with McCain's own, apparent value structure on various issues.
I think you're right; if Branchflower's investigation proves that Palin's been lying, that will be the fallback defense. I see it's already being prepared; Iread this today in the American Thinker: "Even if this investigation shows that someone in Palin's office did pressure the Public Safety Commissioner to fire Wooten, this is a fight that we should relish having with the white male hierarchy of the Democratic Party and the drive-by media. Let's get all of the dirt about Wooten out in the open."
Which seques smoothly into:
Dave Nalle: Wooten made a death threat against his father in law. Palin tried to get him fired for it.
If that's the case, then (1) Palin abused her office, using it for a personal end; (2) she fired Monegan because he wouldn't help her with that abuse; (3) she lied about it initially, when she denied her office put pressure on Monegan; and (4) she's still lying now, when she admits the pressure but says she knew nothing about any of it. As you say, none of that may hurt her a bit.
And bringing Kristol really is a cheap shot. Palin can't help the fact that Kristol likes her.
I find that accusation of 'cheap shot,' coming from someone who seemingly cannot write one article on Ron Paul that doesn't contain the words "Truthers," "Stormfront," or "David Duke," a wee bit hypocritical.
Posted By: George Dance
Date: 2008-09-01 19:54:44
Correction: "my first bisonburger"
Posted By: Carol O
Date: 2008-09-07 18:45:55
McCain is using her simply for votes that would have gone to Hillary and to gather the Evangelist voters. If they get in office, you will see very little of her. McCain will keep her hid because she has more popularity than he does and he certainly doesn't want to loose the spotlight. She has yet to utter a word of her own. Everything she says is written on paper by McCain writers.
I can't believe this old buzzard would put the country in this much jeopardy taking his age into consideration. She was Governor of a state the size of San Diego. Whoopeee.