More facts about the Palin Legal Defense Saga
Jeanne did a great overview of yesterday’s press conference and the ensuing report from Independent Counsel Tim Petumenos on the illegality of Palin’s Alaska Fund Trust. Of course, now the hamsters running the Palin spin machine are all running their furry little butts off and some amazing lies are being tossed out there as if they are factual. As an Alaskan who has not only followed this year-long process, but has also researched it and testified to the Legislature, I wanted to correct some of the downright bizarre Palinista claims.
– Palin camp claim: The Petumenos findings are just a rubber stamp of the previous Tom Daniel report = FALSE
Thomas Daniel withdrew (for ridiculous reasons) from his Independent Counsel position and Tim Petumenos took over, starting the investigation over from scratch. It’s not a surprise that both Daniel and Petumenos reached the conclusion that The Alaska Fund Trust violated the Executive Branch Ethics Act on the same basic points…because it blatantly does. Palin’s own attorney, Thomas Van Flein, had “concerns” regarding the EBEA and even told Palin she should run the fund by the Attorney General before she ran with it. Not coincidentally, Van Flein was the only Alaskan attorney consulted and therefore the only one who understood the possibility of violating the EBEA. Heck, with his experience on all of those complaints…
When one looks at the two reports, the Tom Daniel decision was very different from that of Tim Petumenos. It appeared to many (including me) that Daniel was very deferential to the Governor and ignored many important points while focusing on non-relevant ones (like whether the State should reimburse her). This was best pointed out by an East Coast lawyer on Blue Oasis last year when she emphasized that the Tom Daniel report actually completely ignored the legal trust document regarding The Alaska Fund Trust and focused only on the website verbage. Also, the Blue Oasis guest attorney pointed out that according to the trust document, this money could be used on just about anything:
There is NOTHING in the official purpose of the AFT related to legal defense or legal proceedings or ethics complaints. In fact, the purpose of the trust is for any expense at all incurred by Sarah Palin “as a result of the fact that she is Governor . . . or as a result of the performance of her duties as Governor.” Those are the only limitations instilled by the purpose clause.
So the purpose of the AFT is to collect money for…basically anything and everything, short of overt criminal activity. This includes legal expenses, of course, along with everything else under the sun. It also covers her family and staff, as well as “any other person determined by the Trustee.”
Independent Counsel Petumenos clearly studied the trust document and made some of the same points in his findings:
11. The trust document in its final form allows for reimbursement for Governor Palin for all defense costs and other expenses related to the defense of virtually any claims related to her, her family, or her aides, and defense of claims arising from her employment as governor. The claims are not limited to those under the Ethics Act. Expenses are not limited to attorneys’ fees. In addition, the Trust contains a so-called “Crummy Provision” that permits a beneficiary under the Trust to demand withdrawals from the Trust for any reason whatsoever.
(…)
The beneficiaries as described by the Trust, expressly include Governor Palin and describe the members of her immediate family as potential beneficiaries. Moreover, the Trustee is given the discretion to name additional beneficiaries, who by description could be sitting public officials. The Trust, by its terms, confers a personal financial benefit upon Governor Palin and is written to authorize a potential benefit to her immediate family as the term “personal benefit” is defined under the Ethics Act.
Investigator Petumenos’s report was much more thorough in showing exactly how the Fund violated the EBEA point by point.
A stark difference between the two reports can be seen in the remedies offered. Both required repayment as a remedy, which is required by AS 39.52.210 when the Fund itself is a violation:
(2) direct the divestiture or removal by the employee of the personal or financial interests that give rise to the potential violation.
However, Investigator Daniel also suggested that the Governor “seek reimbursement from the State” and suggested that the Legislature look at amending the EBEA.
Investigator Petumenos avoided the entire reimbursement discussion and required further action, including:
- all monies repaid within 90 days,
-all donors to the Fund to be made public,
-Kristan Cole must resign as Trustee (or resign from various State boards),
-any public officers must be removed as beneficiaries, and
-all expenses incurred by the Fund previous to her resignation must be paid out of the monies collected since her resignation.
The alternative per the EBEA had she refused this settlement–a public hearing and decision by a judge.
– Palin camp claim: Lawsuits and Ethic’s Complaints filed against Palin were all by Democrats and/or supporters of President Obama = FALSE
I am a member of the Democratic Party and I filed exactly ONE Ethics Complaint. I only know of only two other active Alaska Democrats involved in either Ethics Complaints or lawsuits. Everyone who actually lives in Alaska knows that the vast majority of both were filed by Republicans.
Plus, BOTH attorney’s involved in The Alaska Fund Trust complaint ruled IN PALIN’S FAVOR on other complaints. Tim Petumenos contradicted the Branchflower Report in the “Troopergate” Ethics Complaint Palin filed against herself. Thomas Daniel ruled in Palin’s favor on several complaints, including Arctic Cat. At both of those times, it was already common knowledge that both gentlemen were registered Democrats or had donated to Democratic candidates. However, they were still the darlings of the Palinista psycho-media.
Funny how Palin’s followers have taken on all of her most odious characteristics.
– Palin Camp claim: Palin and her minions voluntarily offered not to spend a dime of the Alaska Fund Trust money until the “issue was resolved.” = MISREPRESENTED
One point Tim Petumenos made in his report:
18. Governor Palin complied fully with AS 39.52.210(a) by declining to take any proceeds from the Trust once the Complaint was filed pending resolution of this matter.
This is being portrayed by the Palinistas as though an altruistic Palin made the supreme sacrifice and refused to spend the money. However, when we look at AS 39.52.210(a):
(a) A public employee who is involved in a matter that may result in a violation of AS 39.52.110 – 39.52.190 shall
(1) refrain from taking any official action relating to the matter until a determination is made under this section
When Palin was still Governor, her personal media minions used to make a HUGE deal when she did something as simple as sign a bill. In other words, they would praise and worship her for (finally) doing her job. Now, these same minions portray her as a saint when she makes the supreme sacrifice and chooses NOT to BREAK THE LAW!
Amazing.
Keep watching the spin-machine and look for our responses. This issue is far from resolved.
Sarah’s shiny new Legal Defense is just announced today, and already we can prove that the people who run this new Defense Fund are LIARS!
On the website of this new Defense Fund, it says:
“Is this site officially sanctioned by Sarah Palin?
Yes, the legal defense fund is sactioned by Sarah Palin. However, this website and fund are not associated with SarahPAC or other entities. Governor Palin is not the trustee of the fund. She has sanctioned the use of her name and image for the website and trust to help raise funds for her legal defense.”
However, somebody forget to cover his tracks.
The new “Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund”, which officially has absolutely nothing do to with SarahPAC, Sarah Palin’s political action committee, shares the same address and phone number with SarahPAC!
http://palingates.blogspot.com/
Ah Linda!
Was waiting to see this…
The website language (re : “official ” ) is being spun into great clouds of cotton candy by the whatzername camp…
and the real meat lies in the determination that the language which established and governed the trust is illegal under Alaska law
and whether through her spoke-mouth Meg or on her own whatzername accepted the creation of this trust
Good job
Thank you, Linda, for clarifying those points. Amazing that the Palin camp thinks it can create its own reality once again. Thank goodness there are so many intelligent and diligent people in Alaska who can ferret out the truth and present it to the American public in a coherent and meaningful way. Many, many thanks to you and all Alaskan bloggers who are serving telling it the way it really is.
Well, to be fair, it probably was a huge sacrifice for Scarah not to break the law, her being so good at it and everything.
One point from something I read last night: it seems Van Flea did his own throwin’ under the bus when he made it clear that he advised $P to run the trust document past the review board, and she refused. He obviously wanted it known that she had the opportunity to determine the legality of the trust, but decided not to bother. Certainly calls into question, in my mind, how she “acted in good faith”. Very interesting that Van Flea shared that.
He did…it’s in the report AND he announced it to all the media when they were surrounding him.
I believe he has seen the writing on the wall…that when all of Palin’s Alaska legal issues are over, he won’t be “on the team” anymore. So, in order to continue to work in Alaska…hello bus!
Check this article out. Van Flein does throw her under the bus. Very interesting comments made by him.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alaskadispatchcom/palins-continuing-drama_b_625055.html
So what’s up with Van Flea? He outed her to Petumenos and then attempted to cover her a$$ by lauding her ‘honest intent’. But he also tells us to ‘read the details closely’ which brings us to the revelation that her ‘honest intention’ was that she wanted a trust and, by golly, she was gonna have one, Ethics Act be damned.
She ‘honestly’ invited the ethics complaint along with its personal and SOA cost. Oh, yeah, no need to worry about the personal debt when you can grift to cover it.
24. “…and followed instead the advice of another attorney who recommended
against seeking the advice of the Governor’s ethics supervisor (the attorney general), who advised to simply contest the “inevitable” complaint when it came.”
Sounds like he may see the writing on the wall. Move out of the way or be run down. Maybe a good thing to remember. Read Huffingtonpost.com and her link to why Obama is Hitler like. For heavens sakes, the Hitler thing gets old. Change of subject but the people of the gulf deserve more than a guarantee of 20 billion, they deserve their lives back. I realize their need to drill as they need jobs… I just pray no other major spills (spillings) happen.
I wonder if Tim Petumenos believes the personal attacks against him emanating from Angry Meg Stapleton on behalf of Palin are consistent with the spirit of the settlement.
Well, Geoffrey Dunn certainly has fodder galore. Guess he’ll just have to publish a series of books: ‘Palin’s Lies from Date X through Date X’, followed by ‘Palin’s Lies from Date X+ through Date X+’, etc. He could have a lifework ahead of him.
Anyone see McGinnis at the press conference?
Shame Ms Liar Palin didn’t have her own press conference afterward. Tsk tsk.
Maybe she will someday absorb the fact that Alaskans are NOT dumber than she is…..or maybe not, psychiatric patients often have trouble with such concepts.
Yes, I think there would be an audience for a multi-volume set of books exposing Sarah’s lies.
You’re right, her ego and mental illness combine to help her see herself as better and brighter than everyone else. Me thinks she is in for a rude awakening some day soon.
There is only so-much spin you can put on the facts (truth) –
but they have a super speed spin cycle.
I loved the fact Cole either had to resign as trustee – or from all state appointments.
Lady Justice is a beautiful sight. Too bad we don’t see her more often.
So in general, the trust was ok, but her state appointee being in charge of it and calling it the “official” one were the problem? Didn’t some Texan want to do something like this and they didn’t want the money to not go to her family/cronies? Wasn’t the “official” trust done by the Blattmachers? Wasn’t Jonathan B involved in much of AKs laws on trusts? Don’t you think he’d know how to draft it so it was legal, but Bimbo Barbie and Grifter Cole and MegaMouth screwed up?
I’ll bet there are other trusts behind the scenes that will be having monies funneled to them from the “new” trust for her and the family. I don’t bet unless I’m sure I can win.
Keep investigating. Smells like moose turds to me.
The trust was NOT ok under Alaska law.
A number of ethics issues were violated in the way it was formed and governed .
from page 3 of the released report
http://media.adn.com/smedia/2010/06/24/14/Palin%20report%202010-06.71097.source.prod_affiliate.7.pdf
“11. The trust document in its final form allows for reimbursement for Governor Palin for all defense costs and other expenses related to the defense of virtually any claims related to her, her family, or her aides, and defense of claims arising from her employment as governor. The claims are not limited to those under the Ethics Act. Expenses are not limited to attorneys’ fees. In addition, the Trust contains a so-called “Crummy Provision” that permits a beneficiary under the Trust to demand withdrawals from the Trust for any reason whatsoever. This provision was inserted to prevent the donors from being required to file gift tax returns in connection with their donations. In order to obtain this result (exemption from the filing of gift tax returns by donors), the IRS requires that this provision must be enforceable and real.
Though it was the expectation that no such withdrawals would actually be made and no such request for withdrawal actually occurred, such withdrawals are clearly authorized by the Trust language, and, therefore, for purposes of evaluating the Trust under the Ethics Act, the clear provisions of the trust document itself control.
The Trust document also provides that if there is any income tax consequence to any beneficiaries for payments from the Trust, that tax liability was also an authorized payment that could be made to the beneficiaries of the Trust. The beneficiaries as described by the Trust, expressly include Governor Palin and describe the members of her immediate family as potential beneficiaries. Moreover, the Trustee is given the discretion to name additional beneficiaries, who by description could be sitting public officials. The Trust, by its terms, confers a personal financial benefit upon Governor Palin and is written to authorize a potential benefit to her immediate family as the term “personal benefit” is defined under the Ethics Act.
The Trust also contemplates the payment of a personal financial benefit to other public officials in the discretion of the Trustee. In the absence of any request to have existing debts to lawyers and others defrayed by application of public funds to pay for such services and other expenses incurred (which have never been tendered), the payments authorized by the Trust may be payments to reduce private debts, payment of private income taxes and, theoretically at least, are subject to withdrawal demand for any purpose. Thus the Trust itself contemplates personal gain and financial benefit to executive branch employees as these terms are defined by the Ethics Act. See AS 39.52.960(3), (9), (10) & (18); and 9 AAC 52.990(6). Whether or not a portion, but not all, of the expenses covered by the Trust could have been submitted for public reimbursement does not affect the conclusion that the Trust, as written, confers a private benefit as that term is defined under the Ethics Act. ”
page 5-sec 15
“The test is an objective one. The selection of a public official as Trustee for this Trust, which conferred a substantial benefit upon the then-Governor and authorizes other beneficiaries who are public officials and close family members, coupled with the power and discretion to administer funds and expand the list of beneficiaries, is an impermissible conferral of a private benefit under AS 39.52.130(a). The Trust was able, in a short period of time, to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. Using a public official as Trustee of a private trust, to raise private money for a public official’s private benefit, who is chosen by the public official beneficiary herself, when the beneficiary public official has ultimate supervisory authority over the official acts of the trustee, violates AS 39.52.130(a) – even in the absence of evidence of an actual improper motivation or evidence of undue influence, which concededly, there is none here. AS 39.52.130(a). ”
The website “official” thingy was dealt with in a seperate section.
Thank heavens Ms Chatman made this complaint!
Thanks for the post, Linda. I remember you saying that the fund could be used pretty much for anything.
The Palin clan are a pack of despicable liars. They will say anything to back her up, facts be damned. So, I’m thinking now that they got wind of an unfavourable outcome a few months ago, and that was when Meg was thrown under the bus, only to make a brief reappearance yesterday to take some of the heat off Palin.
It is interesting that Van Klein covered his back with those comments!
Looks like Sarah thinks she always knows best.
She did not follow the advice to use a secure email account for State of Alaska business and she did not follow the advice of her attorney to let the state review her legal fund.
Only an idiot has paid experts working for them yet fails to follow their recommendations.
That’s why the Rethugs can’t use her like they did GWB, she’ll never let someone else call the shots. In fact, she’ll do the opposite just to prove that no one can tell her what to do. And that, Scarah, will keep you from getting anywhere near the White House. (I guess she could take the WH tour, but then again she wouldn’t listen to advice about how to get tickets,so…)
That’s right, she’s going “rogue.” That’s exactly what McCain’s staff were complaining about. She actually considers this such a good quality she named her book after this behavior. Some day this going rogue is going to bite her in the ass and the world will rejoice!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32093580
“The governor is not, was not and has not been involved in this trust,” Kristan Cole of Wasilla said Wednesday.
K Cole claims in the above article that palin had NO KNOWLEDGE of the fund prior to it’s start
” He said he had warned the then-governor that the proposed trust might not meet the letter of the Alaska law and should be run past the state Ethics Board before proceeding. Palin overruled that advice, he said. She had seven lawyers advising her — six of them big-time litigators from the Lower 48 — and she chose to accept their advice instead”, Van Flein said.
So which was it? Another lie. Either she knew about it ahead of time, or she didn’t.
It appears she did not even listen to the advice of her own lawyer, ya know, the one she isn’t paying out of the fund that was set up to pay all those legal bills!!!
What?! She trusted ELITE EAST COAST lawyers instead of a rill American like Van Flein?
John Coales is that lawyer, right? Mr. Greta?
If BFF Greta’s husband said it was ok……
I coiuld have sworn he lost his license to practice law,but maybe he got it back..I don’t think it was greta.Not really sure ,heard about it in regards to another case.
Palin knew about the trust before she didn’t know about the trust before she knew about legal issues concerning the trust before she was not supposed to know about the formation of the trust…I’m dizzy from all the Palin-spinning.
Must go lie down…
Dollars to donuts, it’ll eventually all be cleared up — I mean, sheesh, how can anyone doubt her word when she says she was *not* involved in it?
And, sure enough, it’ll be *proven* she did NOT know her friends were [considering] setting up the trust!
(What *won’t* be discussed, though, is that once they told her about it –like, 20-minutes after they’d decided to go ahead and set it up– she WAS, naturally, in on ALL the details of it. Because, she is, after all, such a marvelous leader and CEO and manager and legal-eagle and so common-sensical and whatnot.)
See how easy that was? You just have to step into “Palin-world Think” for a bit, and…voila! beth.
[NOTE: The great advantage of "Palin-world Think" is that you get to ignore with impunity the *entirety* of the information, and are allowed --nay, required!-- to cherry-pick the bits and snippets that make $P shine more magnificently than the Son...er, the Sun. $P and her 'bots thrive on, and live for, nothing less. b.]
So, the sheeples money is just switched to another fund of Sarah’s? Do I have that right?
Can we just call her the Wasilla Welfare Queen? hahahahahahahahaha
It’s amazing how they still blame President Obama for all of this. They are trying to make it look like he has a personal axe to grind against Miss Quittypants. I doubt he gives her any more thought than a gnat. Pfffft!
Linda, thank you and all the rest of the dedicated folks in Alaska for keeping us updated on this. It’s looking like the Palin machine has more than a few screws loose.
Everything under the sun
If the identities of all donors to the Fund are to be made public, why the secrecy with the dollar amount of bills that Van Flein has sent to Palin? Were the legal bills really in excess of $500,000?
Why a fund raising effort with no target amount of money?
Telling lies to induce people to part with their money now would seem to me to run afoul of criminal prohibitions against larceny by scheme and/or larceny by false pretenses. Those criminal prohibitions apply to everyone, not just public officials.
Sorry: I think that comment might better fit with AKM’s column below about the new fund’s solicitation letter.
I do not understand how anyone can suggest that Palin did no wrong. First, they say that she knew nothing about the formation of the Trust–so why did she hire seven lawyers to look into the matter during its formation? Surely she knew that the language of the trust gave her another slush fund with few checks and balances.
Of course Sarah knew about the Trust – she was sending hand written thank you notes to donors! Here’s the photo: Does Cole think we are stupid?
http://twitpic.com/5z8a2
I’ll post another link in the next comment.
Signed by Santa’s elves?
Signing all those “notes” seems like it would be too much work for our great nation’s foremost energy expert! Here’s the grifter’s signature at the end of the Petunenos settlement.
http://media.adn.com/smedia/2010/06/24/14/Palin%20report%202010-06.71097.source.prod_affiliate.7.pdf
big difference between the two signatures!! hehehe – i think she was pissed when she signed the settlement with the review board. she’s probably being held back from making her own public statement (or silly tweet, or fb post) by actual physical force, to keep her from making an even bigger ass of herself than she does on any other day.
i think what i’m experiencing at this moment is known as schadenfreude – looked it up – why yes it is.
she’s so childish. must be the reason she married a uneducated rube like tawd, any man with an intellect would feel like he was molesting a child to have anything to do with her in a carnal sense.
hahahaha caw Caw CAW!
Check out Sarah’s printing and signature on her APOC disclosures. She never makes a loop on the tail of her ‘y’s’ and ‘g’s’, unlike the ones in the note. As an aside, a handwriting analysis book I have says the absence of the loop indicates lack of (ahem) bedroom passion.
Knowing how famously thin skinned Sarah is, and knowing that she has some speeches coming up, I wonder if she is going to lash out at her enemies while pocketing another $100,000. per speech? In five days, she will have made more than enough to cover the Trust Fund loss. As much as Sarah hates losing money, she really hates losing. (Give me that ball!) She still hasn’t gotten over November 2008, and she regularly lashes out at those who won the election, as if it were some battle left over from high school. I hope that Sarah won’t be able to let this one go, and shows her emotionally thin skin.
Oh yes, and Happy Anniversary. It is coming up on the year anniversary of Sarah, the gal with the servant’s heart, leaving her elected office in order to cash in big time with Rupert et al. As for Sarah needing another legal defense fund, which seems to have the same po box as SarahPAC (hasn’t she learned anything?), her lawyer is on a monthly retainer at SarahPAC.
Do you think it too unkind to hope that the Palin curse follows Murdoch. She taints and destroys everything and every one, date we hope it extends to the twisted old puppet master?I wonder how long it will take before she turns on him? If I were Murdoch’s wife, I’d watch dear Sarah of the naughty monkey heels and short tight skirts. Sarah may outsmart the master when it comes to backstabbing and general nastiness.
Here’s the pro Palin website (poor suckers – hope they learn in time) with the story of the hand written note. Ya gotta love this part:
http://texas4palin.blogspot.com/2009/05/donation-prompts-hand-written-palin.html
“Update: As our commenters have reported, Gov. Palin is apparently hand-writing thank-you notes to many, if not all, donors to the legal defense fund. All the more reason to make your $150 contribution now. Someday you can show your grandkids that the first woman to be elected president of the U.S. sent you a personal message “back when.”
in a word “puke.”
two words:
Buzzard puke!
three words:
*Explosive* buzzard puke! beth.
So does that mean it’s official, she’s going to run for POTUS?
Here’s the silly Sarah fan just dying to tell the news of Mark’s handwritten note:
http://sarahpalininternetcoalitionblogger.blogspot.com/2009/05/alaska-fund-trust-navy-vet-gets-thank.html
“Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Alaska Fund Trust – Navy Vet Gets a Thank You
Navy veteran and Alaska citizen Mark Bowers (follow Mark on Twitter) received a pleasant surprise after he donated to the Alaska Fund Trust to preserve the integrity of the Governor’s Office of the State of Alaska. His donation helps to cover the legal expenses of defending against the frivolous complaints filed against Governor Sarah Palin. She surprised him with a personally written thank you note from the governor herself. See photo here.” (Link goes to website posted in 15.1)
If you really want to have a good laugh, read on. She has no idea what she’s talking about and as usual, is just parroting Sarah’s lying lips. Gawd these idiots are low hanging fruit – they are just so desperate for a candidate they become a snap to manipulate by the Queen of all Twits.
“She surprised him with a *personally* written thank you note from the governor herself.”
Aha! So $P does have a split personality…just as we’d all suspected all along, eh? beth.
–gads, I hope the ‘instructions’ I put in for underlining words, works! b.–
nope — the ‘instructions’ didn’t translate onto the site. I had wanted to underline “She” and “the governor herself”, in the quoted sentence. Alas and alack. b.
Linda, Thanks for the post and for comparing the Daniels and Petumenos reports.
Doesn’t it seem like she would have been better off to stick with the Daniels report and give the money back a year ago? It seems she either threw a hissy fit for being told ‘no’ or she really, really didn’t want to turn over her legal bills to the state. I’d bet the amount of legal debt for ‘bogus’ ethics complaints didn’t come anywhere near $500K. I’m baffled by the media’s failure to report that the $500K was never documented.
I’m baffled about much of Sarah’s pronouncements are never documented or challenged by the media.
If Sarah says something is true, they just believe it. I bet Bill Clinton wishes he’d had Sarah’s lying mojo during the Monica scandal. Sarah continues to get a pass.
It’s baffling and maddening. She would have been gone a long time ago if the media (or the AK legislators) did their job.
‘lying mojo’ – good one!
Why didn’t the ADN do an article that investigated the amount of Palin’s legal bills? As usual, ADN just took it for granted she was telling the truth. It is time ADN got on the stick. It is absurd the paper responds in any way to her Facebook and Twitter missives. The paper has lost its way regarding Palin. The editor has lost all journalistic integrity.
It was obvious when she quit last summer there was an iceberg in her path to riches and her lackluster performance as a governor was increasingly exposed. The Wayne Ross debacle must have really smarted, and she was totally incompetent regarding Native issues. It will be really interesting to see how this goes down in the Alaska history books!
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/06/palin_tells_followers_to_read.html?wprss=plum-line
There she goes again: Sarah Palin tells followers to read article comparing BP escrow fund to Nazism
And she has the gall- after another violation of the law herself- to complain that the escrow fund violates the rule of law!
Sig Heil, Sarah!
Great work again Ms. Diva….see ya on twitter…
A little point that many on the right have chosen to ignore is that Obama pushed for an escrow account and BP agreed, they were not forced at gun point. In fact, rumor has it that BP was planning on establishing just such an account prior to their meeting. At the press conference after their meeting, BP stepped forward to announce their plans that concurred with the President’s. It’s a far cry from the right’s claims that the government overstepped its legal authority. Instead, the move by the administration and BP should be applauded as gov. working with business to do what’s right. The right has always been supportive of business owners right to say “if you break it you buy it”…well guess what, BP broke the Gulf.
Good comment OMG.
Besides which, didn’t some of those same people excoriate President Obama for not doing enough, even wanting him to “take over” BP?
My Representative uses FB kind of like the Moosiah. Before Obama’s speech he wrote a note starting with: “In his speech tonight, President Obama needs to finally take charge of this oil disaster and show some real leadership.” Yet he is one of the leaders of the Republican Study Committee who condemned the escrow fund as a “Chicago-style political shakedown.”
http://rsc.tomprice.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=191125
Why can’t his followers see a logical breakdown in those two stances?
Good point. If BP was not legally forced to do this, they must have done so voluntarily. True, the President has no legal authority to make a company pay for damages to the country.
But the President can MORALLY AND ETHICALLY demand they do it.
The GOP just can’t understand the moral issue.
For as bottom-line conscious and mega-lawyered-up as BP is, does it *not* cross the minds of ANY of these nitwits that *IF* there’d been even the teensy-weensiest, itty-bittiest hint of ANY *non*-legal activity on the part of POTUS and/or his administration in all of this, that BP *wouldn’t* have been all over it like lies on $arah and that they’d *not* be raising holy hell about the illegality of it?
Do ALL of these nitwits think their ‘knowledge’ and ‘understanding’ of the law is bigger, better, stronger than the, what, hundreds if not thousands, of *real* lawyers BP has on its payroll and/or on retainer? Do ANY of these meme-parroting nitwits stop –even for a nanosecond– to *think* before they spout off their nonsense? beth.
Extremely good point. I think what we are seeing is the bullshit appeal to “common sense” thinking. I am so tired of this crap. “Common sense” is the most absurd phrase. Whose “common sense” are we referring to? Nitwit common sense.
Palin is a flipping idiot. Period. Her star is dimming. Most people just talk about what a total idiot she is. She’ll be so over before 2012.
Absolutely right…wasn’t it she who tweeted that Rahm lied?
her approval per a poll on wsj is 29%. she needs to keep up the over exposure, she’s her own worst enemy, the more people see of her the more repulsed they become by her. if the approval rating continues this trend she should be at about 19% in a few weeks. an approval rating to compete with darth cheney.
Imagine knowing 7 out of every 10 people in this country do not approve of you? Must totally suck to be her, I don’t care how much money she has.
Celtic Diva, thanks for the clear roadmap. Your post had 3 terms for me to hang onto – “…bizarre…Palin-camp…spin-machine…”. Then you filled in all the details very neatly.
I can’t believe she has a new donation site up already. The greed is unbelievable!
You know, I do believe that will be her undoing. It’s hard to defend that kind of greed when she is a multimillionaire.
In her mean girl mode, I think she did that out of spite. Nobody is going to tell Sarah she is wrong! In her way of thinking.
Meant sayt in “set up the new trust out of spite”
Good job, Diva.
I’m amazed that trust funds can be set up for private citizens. Anyone with a following can create a web site and ask for donations for any need?
No one can look at this now and say “Saint Sarah” is behaving like a follower of Christ. SP’s smug satisfaction of David Kernell’s conviction results shows someone who can’t see past her own behavior. One could say David Kernell didn’t know that hacking was illegal. The Petumenos findings are minimizing her guilt because she didn’t follow through with her lawyers and find out if all was legal.
That was her responsibility, the same as every average citizen making certain their t’s are crossed and i’s dotted when signing contracts, and knowing exactly what they are signing to, and following through to ensure everything is above board.
“I’m amazed that trust funds can be set up for private citizens. Anyone with a following can create a web site and ask for donations for any need?”
Actually, basically, yes. But if that need is discovered to be fraud, that’s where it all falls down. And rightly so.
For example, if I, without health insurance, got diagnosed with something awful that would take hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat, I could legally create a fund for people to donate money that would go towards my medical bills.
However, if in fact I did not have a terrible condition or even if I mischaracterized it as being more serious than in was, I would be guilty of fraud.
Really, that’s what Sister Sarah needs to ask about in her next scheduled session with God.
How on earth does she have the gall, as a person who last year made more money than probably all the people she is e-mailing, to solicit funds to collect money when she is perfectly and easily capable of eliminating that debt herself? If you or I did it, she would criticize us for ‘asking for a handout’.
Fools and their money are soon parted. The parting will happen faster and more often if it involves a Sarah Palin Fund.
It’s called socialism, distributing the wealth. Someone good with graphics needs to put her face on a pan handlers body because that is exactly what she is doing. A multi-million dollar pan handler.
“…fraud.
Really, that’s what Sister Sarah needs to ask about in her next scheduled session with God.”
You betcha!
Sister $arah = granny feckin’ fraud
{{{{{Celtic Diva}}}}} Quyana. Toda raba. Many thanks.
Ms. Diva,
I’ve said this before to you…
Quyana
Quyana
Quyana
So…she has a new donation site up for another legal defense fund. Why? What is she planning to do that will need legal defense? If she were to act in an ethical manner, and if she were to obey the spirit and the letter of the law, she would not need to beg for legal defense dollars.
Googled “Barack Obama legal defense fund”. He doesn’t have one.
“He doesn’t have one.”
hahahahaha caw Caw CAW!
Even though we look at most politicians as crooks, I suspect most reach retirement age without need of legal defense.
Sarah breaks the mold on that one. And she doesn’t get it that she has brung this on herself, and others, as a rule, do not end up in the same situations.
If you recall, the fund was (is) a “legal defense fund” in name only.
The collected monies could (and can) be used for ANYTHING: [to cite Linda's excellent article] “…basically anything and everything, short of overt criminal activity. This includes legal expenses, of course, along with everything else under the sun. It also covers her family and staff, as well as ‘any other person determined by the Trustee’.” beth.
You hit the nail on the head, fishingmamma. “If she were to act in an ethical manner” she wouldn’t need a legal defense fund. The fact is that she has acted unethically in the past, and apparently intends to continue to do so. Too bad that fact is lost on her followers.
Thanks Celtic Diva, as always factual to the point. Its not easy to cut throug Sarah’s Gordian Knot of lies and BS. You do so very well.
If she were a Christian – type person she would set up a site to raise money for the people of the Gulf whose lively hoods have been destroyed by her Drill Baby, Spill, Baby, Kill Baby, Shill Baby Shill politics.
But nope. She has set one up for her money grubbying self.
That’ll be the day! I doubt anybody could shame her into it.
In order for her to start to raise money for spill victims, she would have to admit that drilling is not safe and people can be devastated beyond belief as a result of an accident.
That admission would look a little silly next to her drill, baby drill mantra.
For those seeking to unravel the many mysteries surrounding Team Palin and see beyond the fantasy narrative of this pseudo-evangelical, winking GOP jukebox of folksy fear-based rhetoric…ck out how deep Team Palin rabbit hole goes…Anatomy of Sarah L. Palin
http://intheknow7.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/anatomy-of-sarah-l-palin-re-post/
Be Well
Thank you, Linda. As time goes on (been reading Mudflats since the Palin VP announcement) I have come to trust you and Jeanne as sources more than I trust current MSM (excepting Rachel Maddow and Jon Stewart). I can’t remember the quote or the attribution thereof I recently saw, but it was something to the effect of “doesn’t matter where you learned what you know to be true, at an institution of higher learning or sitting on a log in your back yard” but I’ll say that’s descriptive of your credentials as journalists of the highest order.
Grifter, pure and simple and all the schmucks who send her money,what fools these mortals be.
My question is…Why the hell is no one being prosecuted for breaking the law???? Shouldn’t Cole go to jail since she claims Palin had nothing to do with it?
“Governor Palin shall continue to support and assist in the corrective action, will secure the
cooperation of the Trustee as to the foregoing, and shall not take any action that undercuts or
undermines the corrective action agreed to herein.”
Not quite sure how having Van Flein and Stapletongue publish to her facebook doesn’t undercut or undermine the “corrective action agreed to herein.”
Not to mention the screeds at those other sites that appear to get their talking points direct from SarahCentral.
Thank you, Linda. Excellent reporting as always.
Many thanks AKM & Diva! You always bring us da facts.
ITK7, the sign she’s flashing in the picture in your link is “I love you” in American Sign Language. This Alaskan is often offended by Palin, but not for what I see there. Am I missing something?