This just in, from CBS News, ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Oct. 9, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin remained in the dark while her husband repeatedly asked top state officials to help get his former brother-in-law kicked off the state police force, Palin's husband and top aides said in affidavits provided to The Associated Press.
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Todd Palin said he never pressured anyone - including his wife. In fact, he says that after talking about the matter with her repeatedly, she finally told him to "drop it."
"Anyone who knows Sarah knows she is the governor and she calls the shots," Todd Palin wrote. "I make no apologies for wanting to protect my family and wanting to publicize the injustice of a violent trooper keeping his badge."
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He told them emotional stories about Wooten threatening and emotionally abusing his family. He said he talked to anyone who would listen. He gave them photos and documents, which they forwarded to others in the administration, and he questioned how Wooten kept his job.
Even Gov. Palin's special assistant, Ivy Frye, said she was distraught when she was told about the situation.
"I've felt empathy for the Palin and Heath families in having to endure harassment, intimidation, threats and abuse from a former family member," Frye wrote.
But Frye said she never talked about it with the governor or mentioned the idea of asking Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan to fire Wooten.
Seems to me they're going to play this out as a sympathy ploy for Sarah. Shucks, her overprotective husband was only trying to protect her family and any attack on her is tantamount to an attack on her motherhood, you see, because now she has to struggle with Todd's misdeeds, as well as trying to keep the family together, raising baby Trig, planning Bristol's wedding, whipping up a racist frenzy in Red America, shooting wolves from Helicopters AND running for President, er, Vice President of these United States!!
Could this be why Sarah has been appearing everywhere these past few days sans wedding ring?
Never mind that NONE of Todd's excuses make any sense given the numerous post-VP pick excuses they've given for Walter Monegan's firing, er, resignation, er, retirement!
Update 1: If this is the defense they're going with, and if the documents released tomorrow bear this out, we've really only got two scenarios here, neither of which looks good for Sarah.
1 - Either she's guilty of a gross abuse of power, or
2 - Her husband has been running a shadow government in Alaska.
I don't see how either scenario is beneficial to Mrs. Palin.
Update 2: Sarah Palin's previous statement COMPLETELY contradicts this latest news re: Todd's involvement.
On why her husband Todd decided to change his mind and return to Alaska to testify in the official trooper investigation:
PALIN: He's always been an open book about this whole Tasergate issue, wanting to speak with investigators, wanting to speak and is with attorneys, everybody involved. The personnel board in the state of Alaska is that board tasked with dealing with any issue involving the governor, the lieutenant governor, or the attorney general.
What the investigation turned into, led by a Senate Democrat, has been kind of a goat rope, a very partisan and very controversial type of investigation. The personnel board Todd's corroborating with, as long as all the other employees too have an opportunity to cooperate with.
It's an open book. Nobody has anything to hide. Nobody's done anything wrong. My choice, and my responsibility to replace a cabinet member, an at-will exempt political appointment whom I did replace, because his strengths were in other areas. It wasn't in running an entire department. There was some, some duties there that he was not able to fulfill.
So my choice, my responsibility had nothing to do with my husband or any of my staff members asking a guy to step aside and take another job, and he didn't want to take that other job.