The troopergate scandal, which involves allegations that Sarah Palin abused her office as Alaskan governor by firing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan because he refused to fire Palin's ex-brother-in-law Mike Wooten after a messy divorce, appears to be breaking open in a big way. A report from the Alaska legislature on the scandal is due today.
At right is ABC News' September investigation into troopergate. Today, the NYT published a scathing review of the case that reveals Todd and Sarah Palin campaigned dozens of times for Wooten's removal:
“Ms. Palin has denied that anyone told Mr. Monegan to dismiss Trooper Wooten, or that the commissioner's ouster had anything to do with him. But an examination of the case, based on interviews with Mr. Monegan and several top aides, indicates that, to a far greater degree than was previously known, the governor, her husband and her administration pressed the commissioner and his staff to get Trooper Wooten off the force, though without directly ordering it. In all, the commissioner and his aides were contacted about Trooper Wooten three dozen times over 19 months by the governor, her husband and seven administration officials, interviews and documents show. ‘To all of us, it was a campaign to get rid of him as a trooper and, at the very least, to smear the guy and give him a desk job somewhere,' said Kim Peterson, Mr. Monegan's special assistant, who like several other aides spoke publicly about the matter for the first time.”
Additionally, NEW VIDEO has been uncovered that shows Sarah Palin offering contradicting accounts of the reasons why Wooten was fired. DailyKos reports: “One clip shows her claiming she fired him for his weakness in rural alcohol abuse issues. Another shows her saying right after firing him she offered him a new job as head of the Alcohol Beverage Control Board because he was strong in the very same area.”
Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP…
