Governor, husband testifies about Troopergate

MAT-SU — Gov. Sarah Palin testified under oath Friday, giving her side of the story in an abuse-of-power investigation now known as Troopergate.

Palin and her husband, Todd, sat down with the state Personnel Board’s investigator, Democrat Timothy Petumenos, in a St. Louis hotel to give their depositions.

A legislative report found earlier this month that Palin violated state ethics laws by trying to get her former brother-in-law fired from the Alaska State Troopers. The report, however, was mired in controversy and largely dismissed by Palin supporters. The probe met resistance after staff members from Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s campaign came to Alaska soon after Palin became his running mate.

The so-called Palin Truth Squad held almost daily press conferences, giving various reasons as to why former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan was fired.

The legislative report, from independent investigator Stephen Branchflower, ultimately found Plain was within her rights to fire Monegan, but that she abused her power by using the governor’s office to try to get Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten fired. Wooten is in a custody battle with Palin’s sister.

The Personnel Board’s investigation started gaining speed after the Legislature wrapped its own up. Some findings and information from the Legislature’s investigation were provided to Petumenos for use in his probe.

After giving her testimony Friday, Palin, who has been stumping around the country for McCain, said she was happy she had the chance to tell her side of the story.

“I am so pleased to finally have gotten the chance to tell what really happened and get the truth out,” Palin said in a statement released by her attorney. “It was the right thing to do to bring this before the Personnel Board and have a true arm’s length, unbiased and apolitical investigator look into this.”

The Troopergate saga gained national attention after McCain chose Palin as his running mate in August. What was largely news in Alaska suddenly became a hot issue ahead of the Nov. 4 presidential election.

Palin initially agreed to cooperate with the legislative probe, but after being picked as the Republican running mate said the investigation had become too partisan. She maintains the Personnel Board is the proper venue for this type of investigation and filed an ethics complaint against herself to prompt the board’s probe.

A unanimous vote among eight Republicans and four Democrats laid the groundwork over the summer for the legislative investigation.

The Palins have maintained publicly they were afraid for their safety and felt Wooten posed a threat to their family.

Many critics say that claim doesn’t hold water and cite Branchflower’s conclusion that such fear was “not bona fide” and was “offered to provide cover for the Palins’ real motivation: to get trooper Wooten fired for personal family related reasons.”

Branchflower said in putting pressure on officials to fire Wooten, Todd Palin never mentioned a fear for his family’s safety. In his report, Branchflower says Todd Palin’s complaints about Wooten “were couched in terms of his desire to see trooper Wooten fired for reasons that had nothing to do with fear.”

Critics also note that Palin reduced her security staff after taking office, which runs counter to having a fear for your family’s safety, they say.

For his part, Todd Palin said he is unapologetic for the actions he took.

“I make no apologies for wanting to protect my family and wanting to publicize the injustice of a violent trooper keeping his badge,” he says in an affidavit submitted for the Legislature’s investigation.

It can’t be known at this point what the Personnel Board’s probe will find, but according to recent polls, the legislative investigation into Palin had a minimal affect on her popularity rating.

In numbers released Thursday from Ivan Moore Research, Palin’s positive approval rating is 64 percent, with a negative rating of 33 percent.

The numbers only changed by one point and three points, respectively, from polls prior to the Troopergate report’s release.

The recent ratings pale in comparison to numbers from January, which found Plain to have an 82 percent favorably rating and 11 percent negative rating at that time.

Moore said the recent numbers show Alaskans had already made up their minds about Troopergate before the damaging legislative report came out.

“They didn’t buy the report,” Moore said of the majority of Alaskans.

There has been no word as to when Petumenos will release his report or if Palin’s testimony from Friday will be made public.

Palin’s attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said Palin wants to release a transcript of her deposition, the Associated Press reports. It’s unknown whether Petumenos will allow that because others in the administration have not waived their rights to privacy.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.