FReepers find latest AP smear job smells like a rat

Associated Press writer Rachel D'Oro, who has a history of writing negative pieces on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is out with another of her trademark smear jobs. The article is going out from the AP to thousands of news outlets around the world. Let's take a look:

The report obtained by The Associated Press says Palin is securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust, set up by supporters.

How did AP obtain the report? The copy of the report linked to (PDF) by the Anchorage Daily News has this warning stamped on it in big, bold, letters:

CONFIDENTIAL report regarding
Ethics Complaint pursuant to
Alaska Statute 39.52.340

and:

Notice of this decision will be communicated to the governor and to Ms. Chatman. However, this decision is confidential pursuant to AS 39.52.340, unless confidentiality is waived by the governor.

Note that "this decision" is the decision of the "independent" investigator, not the final decision of the personnel board, as Gov. Palin tweeted:

"Re inaccurate story floating re:ethics violation/Legal Defense Fund;matter is still pending;new info was just requested even;no final report"

Palin Spokesperson Meghan Stapleton posted on Facebook to reiterate that the report the AP smear job is built upon is not the final report of the personnel board:

"I cannot verify the validity of this claim. There is no final report. The Investigator is still confidentially reviewing this matter. It appears suspect that in the final days of the Governor's term, someone would again violate the law and announce a supposed conclusion before it is reached."

Note also that outside of the personnel board and the attorney hired to investigate (more on him later), only Gov. Palin and Kim Chatman, who filed the complaint, received copies of the report. It's a safe bet that Gov. Palin didn't leak her copy of the report to the AP, so that leaves only Chatman as the likely violator of the report's confidentiality. This is the pattern followed by the maggots who have been filing these bogus complaints against the governor. They know their complaints have no substance and will likely be dismissed or ruled against. The important thing is to publicize them using the liberal media.

Continuing with the hit piece:

An investigator for the state Personnel Board says in his July 14 report that there is probable cause to believe Palin used or attempted to use her official position for personal gain because she authorized the creation of the trust as the "official" legal defense fund.

The fund was created along the lines of other legal expense funds set up by prominent political figures including Sen. John Kerry, former Alaskan Sen. Ted Stevens and former first lady and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Moreover, AFT was set up to be in strict compliance with 39.52.130:

Alaska Statute ("AS") 39.52.130 Improper Gifts provides as follows, "(a) a public official may not solicit, accept, or receive, directly or indirectly, a gift, whether in the form of money, service, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, employment, promise, or in any other form, that is a benefit to the officer’s personal or financial interests, under circumstances in which it could reasonably be inferred that the gift is intended to influence the performance of official duties, actions or judgment."

The Trust has a specific provision to address this law and states: "The Trust shall not accept any donation that is given, offered, or promised in any way or for any purpose that, in the sole and absolute discretion of the Trustee, would be a violation of any federal, state, or local law" and "The Trust shall not accept any donation that is made upon a condition that it be paid or applied other than for the purpose of the Trust."

More from the hit piece:

"In his report, attorney Thomas Daniel..."

So who is Thomas Daniel, and how "independent" an investigator is he?

Daniel is a lawyer employed by the firm of Perkins Coie, LLP. He contributed $1,000 to Democrat John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. Daniel has also donated to  Alaska's Democrat U.S. Senator Mark Begich.

Perkins Coie, as it turns out, just happens to have Barack Obama as a client. More on Perkins Coie here:

Perkins Coie often partners up with the ACLU and groups like MALDEF on such issues as immigration. Much of the political heavy lifting is done by former Kerry/Edwards 2004 General Counsel Mark Elias and Firmwide Chair, Political Law Practice Robert (Bob) Bauer. Both gentleman’s resumes read more like that of DNC staffers than of lawyers at a firm with the motto "Legal Counsel to Great Companies."

And speaking of the leftist ACLU, guess which attorney is a member? That's right. Thomas Daniel, who as an investigator is anything but independent. He's a liberal Democrat who is a member of the leftist ACLU.

Some more on Perkins Coie:

Perkins Coie clients have included many Democrats in Congress, as well as the Democratic National Committee and the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and John Kerry.

The Seattle-based firm also represented Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire in her protracted 2004 recount battle with Republican Dino Rossi, a legal smackdown that many political analysts compare to the Minnesota Senate race.

The firm is also noted for its representation of Salim Hamdan, whose case as the alleged driver and bodyguard of Osama bin Laden led the U.S. Supreme Court to declare the Bush administration’s military commissions unconstitutional.

Back to the AP hack job:

In his report, attorney Thomas Daniel said his interpretation of the ethics act is consistent with common sense.

An ordinary citizen facing legal charges is not likely to be able to generate donations to a legal defense fund, he wrote. "In contrast, Governor Palin is able to generate donations because of the fact that she is a public official and a public figure. Were it not for the fact that she is governor and a national political figure, it is unlikely that many citizens would donate money to her legal defense fund."

No, what "is consistent with common sense" is that an ordinary citizen is not likely to face an ethics complaint, since the law applies only to public officials such as Gov. Palin. Therefore, an ordinary citizen is unlikely to need a legal defense fund.

Meanwhile, Gov. Palin's attorney has gotten wind of the rat and just posted this on Facebook:

"All options are open in terms of legal remedies. It is a clear violation of Alaska law that Mr. Daniel explicitly reviewed with Ms. Chatman prior to her illegal actions. We will be contacting the appropriate authorities for review and action."

And again:

"The resolution of the Trust Fund is not final. I have been working with the investigator regarding supplemental information. The matter is still pending. Whatever you have seen was released in violation of law. There has been no Board finding of an ethics violation and there is a detailed legal process to follow before there is a final resolution."

Just one question for Kim Chatman: "Are your ready for a rumble?" It looks like you've got yourself one.

Update 1: Freeper Sarah Barracuda made an interesting find. Why is a supposedly unbiased AP reporter palling around with a Democrat operative who hosts an anti-Palin website, mocked Palin's Down baby and filed a bogus ethics complaint against Gov. Palin? On Rachel D'Oro's Facebook page (click on "See All" and scroll down), among her friends is Linda Kellen Biegel, one of the most outspoken Anti-Palin bloggers in Alaska. On her blog, Biegel, the official Alaska blogger for the Democrat Party's 2008 national convention, photoshopped a picture of Gov. Palin's Down Baby Trig by superimposing a photo of Alaskan conservative radio host Eddie Burke over the child’s face. Biegel also filed an "ethics" complaint of her own against Gov. Palin for wearing a jacket bearing the logo of snowmobile manufacturer Artic Cat. It was dismissed. Freeper Sarah Barracuda had the presence of mind to take a screenshot just in case D'Oro tries the old Democrat tactic of rewriting history by dropping Biegel as her Facebook friend.

Update 2: Via The Fix...

Randy Evans, the attorney who helped Palin set up the Alaska Trust Fund, released a statement moments ago dismissing the allegation that there was any impropriety in its founding as "absolutely untrue".

Added Evans: "It was specifically patterned after well recognized trusts of prior Presidential candidates as well as high profile public servants. As with other public servants, there is no impropriety in the creation or operation of such a trust and any suggestion to the contrary is candidly absurd."

h/t: FRee Republic

- JP