Troopergate, Round 2

A report from Alaska’s governor-appointed Personnel Board cleared Sarah Palin of any ethics violations in the Troopergate controversy, said John Riley in Newsday online. Issued by an independent investigator the night before the presidential election, the new report contradicts the recent findings of a legislative investigator that “Palin and her husband improperly tried to get a state trooper fired as part of a family feud.”

“This should finally put the silliness of ‘Troopergate’ to rest,” said John Hinderaker in Power Line. After “endless nonsense in the press,” the investigator—a Democrat, no less—found what should have been obvious from the start: Palin had every right to fire her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, for seeking to undermine her policies.

It’s a little premature to say that “that the issue has been ‘laid to rest,’” said David Noon in the Minnesota Independent. The legislative investigation produced ample documentation of Palin’s abuse of power, but the personnel board released only an executive summary. Absent compelling evidence, the legislature is unlikely to drop the case.

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