Randy Evans: 'The endless harassment of Sarah Palin is incredible'

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Randy Evans is the Georgia attorney who helped set up the Alaska Fund Trust, the defense fund for Sarah Palin that was ruled a violation of state law by the Alaska Personnel Board. He comments on the fund and the board's decision in a recent op-ed:

It took one year, two independent counsels, and tens of thousands of Alaska taxpayer dollars to conclude that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin did nothing wrong in connection with a legal defense fund created to pay legal fees resulting from allegations related to her service as governor. Indeed, the story of the endless harassment of Sarah Palin is incredible.

[...]

The language of the proposed trust fund was drafted to directly mirror the language and provisions used by the John Kerry Trust fund.

Indeed, former Democratic Presidential nominee Senator Kerry's trust was drafted by Perkins Coie, President Barack Obama's law firm.

On cue, within minutes of the announcement of Governor Palin's trust, a complaint was filed. And, the first "independent counsel" selected to investigate the trust was none other than the Alaska office of Perkins Coie.

Apparently before realizing that Governor Palin's trust was nearly identical to the trust Perkins Coie prepared for John Kerry, the Perkins Coie "independent counsel" found in a detailed nine page “CONFIDENTIAL” letter -- that was promptly leaked to the media — that Gov. Palin's trust was illegal.

Ridicule ensued. In addition, once the conflict of interest between representing President Obama and investigating Gov. Sarah Palin became public, the Perkins Coie "independent counsel" resigned. And so, a new second "independent counsel" (with no background or expertise in the area of legal expense funds) began the investigation anew.

In an unprecedented move of total transparency, Governor Sarah Palin waived her attorney-client privilege so that she and her lawyers could answer every question regarding the creation and formation of her legal expense fund trust. After months of flyspecking every document, e-mail, and statement, the second independent counsel issued a new nine page detailed report citing two new supposed violations of the Alaska Ethics Act that were, interestingly enough, not even mentioned in the Perkins Coie report...

Read Randy Evans' complete commentary on the fund and the harassment of Sarah Palin here.

- JP

Randy Evans: Only the leak was illegal

Randy Evans, the attorney who helped create Alaska Fund Trust (AFT), the legal defense fund that was set up to help former governor Sarah Palin pay her legal bills arising from a series of bogus "ethics" complaints, says the only thing illegal about AFT was the leaking of a report which was supposed to be confidential.

In an op-ed appearing in the Fayette County News, Evans presents what he says is "the rest of the story":

"The Alaska Fund Trust, was drafted and created to mirror the language used by the John Kerry Trust fund (named the "Fund for Truth and Honor"). This was by design (although the name "The Alaska Fund Trust" was not as clever). The idea was that if it was good enough for the leading Democratic candidate for President of the United States, then it should be good enough for the Republican Vice Presidential candidate."

"Here is what the media does not report. The John Kerry Trust Fund was drafted and created by a very well respected international law firm named Perkins Coie, a huge presence in Washington, D.C. Indeed, Perkins Coie is the lead counsel for the Democratic National Committee, President Obama, and many other national Democratic leaders. Its website touts its reach and expertise in political law matters on behalf of a virtual who's who of Democratic politics."

[...]

"On July 14, 2009, eleven (11) days after Palin announced that she would resign, the Alaska Perkins Coie attorney submitted his conclusions about the Alaska Fund Trust. In a "CONFIDENTIAL" report (that was promptly leaked to the media in violation of Alaska law), the Alaska Perkins Coie attorney found that the trust fund document (which it had drafted for John Kerry) was in fact ILLEGAL."

[...]

"So how could President Obama's law firm conclude that the trust fund it drafted was illegal?"

To learn the answer to that question, read "the rest of the story" here.

- JP

Trustee Cole: Inconsistent conclusions defy common sense

Via Facebook, here is a press relase by Kristan Cole, Trustee of Gov. Palin's legal defense fund, the Alaska Fund Trust. It consists of her remarks delivered at a press conference this afternoon:

Thank you for being here today. My name is Kristan Cole, Trustee to the Alaska Fund Trust. And this is the Trust's attorney in Alaska, Jon Givens.

I am here to address the unusual letter that was leaked yesterday, the contents of which are unprecedented in the history of our country, suggesting that a legal defense fund could somehow be unethical. This is particularly notable, and concerning, in light of the fact that the Trust, on my instructions, has not paid even one penny to Gov. Palin or her lawyers. I issued that instruction because I was aware the Board was reviewing this matter.

This Trust was created by a team of expert lawyers from around the country. It was thoroughly vetted for compliance with federal and state law and trust law. So far Mr. Daniel is the only lawyer in the country who has questioned a legal defense fund despite the fact that his firm has set up legal defense funds for other office holders. Because his initial review was unprecedented and contained factual errors it was my understanding that Gov. Palin's legal team, including Mr. Van Flein, were in on-going discussions with Mr. Daniel. The matter was not final.

I want to be clear on a point that has been misrepresented: The Governor is not and was not involved with the Trust. The Governor has never worked on or with the Trust. The Governor has not even accepted or requested one penny from the Trust or quite frankly anything of me. And I have never expected anything from her. Really it’s quite the contrary; as I, and many other caring folks across the country have only sought to help with this legal burden.

The first and only time I have spoken with the Governor about the Trust was yesterday to alert her that I was responding to this violation of the law and leak of preliminary and confidential materials from the complainant.

There is a loophole in Alaska law. Alaskans can file frivolous complaints against the Governor - violate the law and alert the media they are doing so, all the complaints can be dismissed and yet the Governor has to personally pay for representation. Legislators covered themselves with a law that warrants automatic dismissal of a complaint if it is leaked to the public.

It has been quite obvious to me, and to other every day citizens like me, that over the last several months that something needed to be done to help the Palins with the overwhelming crush of frivolous ethics complaints.

In their own humble way, the Palins never asked for help. The Governor never even asked anyone to contribute to this legal expense fund. This trust, and the thousands and thousands of dollars raised, were the results of hard working Americans and their outpouring of support. It is disgraceful that anyone would assume that the thousands of people who sent in $5, $10 or $50 intended to "influence" the governor's official actions in Alaska! And this in a state where a half dozen legislators have been convicted of corruption as well as the previous governor's chief of staff. Not one ethics complaint was filed against these individuals who were convicted, but this governor is harassed for having her picture taken with a fish, wearing a jacket, answering press questions and giving a speech.

A few select people have abused our ethics act. The public release of a preliminary document in violation of state law follows that pattern. The people of this state are losing hope that the ethics act has any real purpose anymore and that’s incredibly sad as ethics are so important. Mr. Daniel's preliminary assessment, unprecedented in history and harshly criticized by legal scholars, does nothing to restore credibility to this process.

Numerous individuals thought to help the Palins - not just me. But when I was asked, I was doing research of my own and determined that I would put my name on a Trust already going through an intense legal process throughout the country to ensure that this one was airtight and complied with every possible law under the sun. And this one does. It is one of the most restrictive and transparent trusts of its kind. The validity of the Trust is strong. It is unprecedented in every way imaginable... all donations must be under $150, no donations from lobbyists, and nothing accepted from foreign nationals to name a few. No trust has ever been found to be a violation of ethical standards for any governor, former president, senator, or house member, or former member of Congress. But this Trust which has more severe donation and donor limits than any trust in the history of legal defense trusts might violate ethical rules?

Some Trust funds are formed and accepted to defend politicians in true Courts of Law with regard to some very serious criminal charges. And yet, this Fund was created by others to help the Palins pay for their legal bills due to frivolous complaints - each of which has been dismissed thus far. I will let my attorney speak to the legal issues but I wanted to take this opportunity to speak to yesterday's blatant violation of the law.

You know, we have witnessed time and again the blatant abuse of process when it comes to people filing these complaints and illegally discussing them and leaking them to the press- but this latest move further crosses the line and we are all reviewing action for the reputational harm caused by Ms. Chatman based upon the leak of Tom Daniel's preliminary thinking on the matter - a product that may have ultimately been remarkably different and perhaps even dismissed. Where is the accountability for those who blatantly disregard the requirement to keep the issue confidential?

There are many questions which need to be asked following my read of what was leaked.

And, if I may digress - this is how backwards our laws are - I had to go online and read the preliminary letter about the Trust and me because Mr. Daniel and Mr. Van Flein cannot violate the confidentiality of the Ethics Act (even though it appears the complainant has)and therefore cannot even forward the preliminary letter to me. Now that I have read it, I still hope to inform Mr. Daniel of the important information that Mr. Van Flein had requested from me to be shared with Mr. Daniel.

What was the reason for my involvement? The preliminary letter suggests that perhaps I served as Trustee so I could get some job with the state. This is amazingly wrong and so incredibly hurtful. That is the last thing I want. I did this because it believed it was the right thing to do for our Governor. I love Alaska. I have lived here 40 years and I have always served the state when asked - and despite the fact that I am entitled to public monies in the form of expenses, per diem and wages - I have declined every single penny. I have served as a volunteer on others boards, and commissions (The Real Estate Commission and the Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund Board) under a previous Governor so volunteer work has been part of my life for a long time. I was approached to serve as Trustee for the legal defense fund. I did not seek out this position just as I have never sought out any other position but was willing to step up to the plate and serve when asked because that’s what we all do when asked to serve our country, our state and our communities isn’t it? We do it because it’s the right thing to do and by all of us serving where we can, we all benefit. My sons and my husband have served our country. I have served our state and our community here in the Mat Su Valley with the hope that we are making a difference where we can.

So how unfair is it that the Governor can be told she was wrong for putting together the Fund, soliciting Funds, accepting the Funds and spending the Funds when she hasn't been involved at all----And no money has been spent on her legal defense?

If the Governor only accrued the bills because she is a public figure then why is it wrong for a Trust to collect funds to defend her as a public figure? Alaska law specifically states that there is only a problem if there is "intent" to influence the Governor. How can there be intent to influence a Governor in Alaska with a $5 voluntary donation from Kansas? To date, approximately 90% of the contributions are from Outside Alaska and many are $5, $10 and $20 donations. Not one penny has been paid to any law firm or entity for the Governor's financial gain. If the Governor has not solicited or accepted personal gain, how can she be in violation of soliciting and accepting monies for personal gain?

Let’s review what has been deemed lawful. Creation of the PAC and fundraising was deemed lawful. Writing a book was deemed lawful. All other legal defense funds similar, but not as restrictive as this one, have been deemed to be lawful. The very firm who put together Senator Kerry’s legal defense fund which was deemed lawful was put together by the very law firm that Mr. Daniel is employed by. These are inconsistent conclusions and defy common sense. That is why this matter was not final and Mr. Daniel and Mr. Van Flein were discussing these issues.

Potential future gain, based upon no active solicitations, in one of the most stringent legal expense funds in the country does not merit a situation much less a violation. Mr. Daniel says that because the Trust was an "official" Trust he felt it violated the law. This overlooks the necessity of having one "official" fund. The unofficial funds are the very ones that had the potential to harm the public by unscrupulous people.

We knew that in fairness to Alaskans and Americans, this site needed to be official because of the potential scams that could arise. How ethical would it be for a pensioner in Iowa or a single mother in New Hampshire to have their donation diverted by someone who had no intention of helping the Governor and may keep the money for themselves or other equally harmful things?

But let's think through the same logic, if a foreigner wanted to set up his or her own fund, collect a handsome payoff, and accept $5 million donations from rogue groups even, as long as that person did not tell the Governor, that would be okay? That is the conclusion that is being reached here in Mr. Daniel letter and flies in the face of good logic, common sense, and the good necessity of protecting the public.

Every aspect of the Alaska Fund Trust follows the law. Precedent allows for it. The Palins haven't been involved with it. It is unfortunate that some in the media were so quick to point the finger at the Governor for something others are responsible for and have established to assist her in the fight against these outrageous attacks. And this acceptance that the law can be continually violated for pure political gain ... is wrong.

- JP

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

Webathon: The week that was

Videmus Omnia has a webathon wrap-up posted at C4P. It describes how the effort got started, explains why the fundraising goal was set so high and rolls the credits. We have only a few things to add.

Conservatives for Palin is proud of the endeavor, and justifiably so. After all, C4P contributors did all of the planning and heavy lifting. Although the good folks involved in that site and this one don't always see eye to eye on everything, when they notified us of what they intended to do, there was never any question that we would lend a hand. We share the common mission of supporting Gov. Palin in whatever she chooses to do. As Team Sarah's Bill Collier posted:

"This is not about any one website. This is about helping Governor Palin, and at the end of the day, the story should be that many groups and websites rallied to help an honest and decent public servant."

Among those many websites, we want to give a shout out to our fellow Bloggers for Sarah Palin member sites which fully participated in the webathon. They are: Caffeinated Thoughts, House of Eratosthenes, Republican Catholics, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's Accomplishments, Texas for Sarah Palin, The Book of Sarah and The Spyglass.

The webathon has raised six figures worth of donations for the Alaska Fund Trust so far. There is still the remainder of this day for more contributions to come in. Many donors prefer to wait until the last day of a fundraising effort to make their contributions, so expect that thermometer to keep climbing. Considering that the maximum allowed contribution was only $150, that's some pretty good grassroots fund-raising. In just a matter of days, AFT should release the hard numbers on how much it has raised since the legal defense fund was organized at the end of April. No matter what the percentage of the total is that was raised by the dozens of bloggers who joined C4P in the webathon, they can all be proud of their efforts.

Update: With Sunday's contributions, the Webathon raised $115,585. That's over $16K a day. Not too bad, not at all.

- JP

Bloggers raise money for Palin defense fund

A coalition of bloggers is appealing to supporters of Gov. Sarah Palin for donations in a week-long effort to raise more than $500,000 to help her pay her legal bills.

Spearheaded by web site Conservatives4Palin, the bloggers launched their fundraising webathon Monday in a coordinated effort to help retire the Alaska governor's legal debts.

The webathon is using professional-quality videos which call the ethics complaints filed against the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate "petty politics and frivolous attacks" and a "thermometer" graphic that displays how close the bloggers are to reaching their goal.

The legal fund, called the Alaska Fund Trust was created in April to cover Governor Palin's expenses in defending herself against those allegations.

In a telephone interview with Anchorage television station KTUU Monday, Fund trustee Kristan Cole says the webathon is having an impact:

"Any time the governor is mentioned, the volume goes up tremendously and so the volume -- given this new information going out this morning, and the videos that are on the Web site -- we have seen the volume go up tremendously as we do anytime the governor is mentioned,"

According to the thermometer graphic displayed on the bloggers' websites, $54,645, or about 11 percent of their goal of $500,000, was raised on the first day.

"We are happy to help in any way that we can," Rebecca Mansour, one of the site's main contributors, said. "This is a completely grassroots effort. We are just trying to get the message out just to help them advertise."

Although Cole declined to say how much money has accumulated in the fund so far, she said the fund's first disclosure report, scheduled to be released next month, will reveal that information.

- JP

Ruin an ankle-biter's week: Join the Webathon!

Our friends at Conservatives4Palin are spearheading a grassroots effort to help Governor Sarah Palin retire the six-figure legal debt amassed while she was defending herself from a series of frivolous and politically-motivated bogus "ethics" complaints. Though all fourteen of the ankle-biter complaints have been dismissed, in the process of defending herself, Gov. Palin accrued well over half a million dollars in legal bills.

Sarah Palin has two fund-raising organizations. SarahPAC is her political action committee, and the Alaska Fund Trust (AFT) is the official legal defense fund set up for Alaska's governor and staff members named in complaints filed by her political opponents. While SarahPAC has received a great deal of media attention, AFT has not. What coverage it did receive only lasted for a few days and then tapered off. The legal debt remains and is actually still accumulating as her enemies look for new ways to hit her with even more of their frivolous complaints. Money cannot be legally transferred from SarahPAC to AFT, so it's up to Sarah's supporters to make some noise and raise some cash. This is a great opportunity for the grassroots movement behind Sarah Palin's popularity to flex its muscles.  

C4P decided to sponsor a Webathon from June 15 – 22, 2009, and other blogs and bloggers are joining with our "ordinary barbarian" colleagues to make it a success and give a big boost to AFT.  Simply follow the instructions in the "Grassroots Webathon" banner to the right. Please remember to report your donation so there will be an accurate account of how much the grassroots movement was able to contribute. If we can make a difference, it will demonstrate that there's no limit to what the grassroots can do. Even better, just imagine the look on the ankle-biters' faces when they realize that their campaign to take down Gov. Palin had the opposite effect and only made support for her stronger and better organized. Each person who joins the Webathon ruins another ankle-biter's week. Let's do it!

- JP

Donation prompts hand-written Palin thank you

When Alaskan Mark Bowers made his donation to the Alaska Fund Trust, he didn't expect to receive a hand-written thank-you note from Gov. Sarah Palin. But the governor so appreciated his gift to the legal defense fund that she sent him a very personal note of thanks. Sarah's Web Brigade has the full story.

Have you made your donation yet? Remember that each frivolous, politically-motivated "ethics" complaint filed by her enemies costs Sarah and her family thousands of dollars in legal fees, yet the Alaska Fund Trust can accept no donation larger than $150. That means that to fight the below-the-belt tactics employed by Gov. Palin's enemies, large numbers of her supporters must respond with their relatively small donations to beat these low-lifes at their own game.

Each $150 contribution to the Alaska Fund Trust allows the Governor, her family and her colleagues to retire their legal debt at no cost to them or Alaskan taxpayers. More importantly, it sends a loud and clear message to her opponents that we cannot and will not let them get away with their practice of the politics by character assassination.

If you have not donated the maximum amount of $150 to the Alaska Fund Trust, I urge you to do so right now. You can make your contribution here.

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."

- JP

Jane Abraham on Cavuto today (Updated)

Team Sarah Co-Founder Jane Abraham appeared on FNC's "Your World With Neil Cavuto" today.

Jane discussed the newly-launched Alaska Fund Trust legal defense fund and the recent barrage of baseless "ethics" complaints the anklebiters have filed against her:



- JP

Inside Sarah's Circle: 1. Meet Kristan Cole

First in a series in which TX4P profiles the people close to Gov. Palin.

On the home page of the Alaska Fund Trust website, there is a quote from Kristan Cole, who is the trustee of the new official legal defense fund for the Alaska Governor's office. So who is Kristen Cole?

We learn from a Greta Susteren interview that Cole shares a close friendship with Gov. Palin that goes back to 1970 when both women were elementary school children. They now live just seven miles apart, and their friendship has grown closer since both have grown, married and had children. In private, Cole calls the governor "Sarah," and Gov. Palin calls her "Krissy."

Kristan Cole is married to Brad, and like their friends Todd and Sarah, the couple have five children. She's a licensed single-engine private pilot and likes to ski and play golf. Like Gov. Palin, Cole has competed in beauty contests. She won the Miss Alaska pageant in 1982 and was Mrs. Alaska in 1988.

Trustee Cole double majored in real estate and finance at the University of Arizona, and she received her MBA degree from the University of Alaska in 1995. She has 25 years of experience in the real estate business and was a successful small business owner of a firm where she headed up a team of about 15 people. She sold the company she had purchased from her mother after building it up and then went to work for a large statewide agency, where she is in charge of its Wasilla and Palmer opperations. When asked what had made her more successful than others, she answered, "Hard work and leadership." Her prescription for success?

"Get up early, work as if it depends on you. Pray as if it depends on God, be outward focused not inward focused. Make sure that others get what they want first and you will get what you want. Be a great leader. Leadership is the difference between success and failure."

Cole has a history of community involvement, and she has served on a number of boards and commissions, including the boards of two hospitals, the Alaska Royalty Oil & Gas Development Advisory Board, the Alaska Real Estate Commission and the Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund. She currently chairs two panels, the Board of Agriculture & Conservation and the Creamery Corporation. She is also involved in charity work, most notably for the Children’s Miracle Network.

Now Kristan Cole has one more important title to add to her resume: Alaska Fund Trustee.

- JP

It's offical: The Alaska Fund Trust rolls out

The Alaska Fund Trust is the name of the official legal fund designated to defend the integrity of the Alaska Governor's Office from a series of coordinated, politically-motivated attacks against Governor Sarah Palin, her family, and state-employed colleagues. These nuisance "complaints" are nothing more than baseless accusations which have cost the state of Alaska more than $1 million in public funds to defend, and Governor Palin has incurred more than half a million dollars in personal debt just to defend her official actions as Governor.

Trustee Kristan Cole explains:

"Over the past months it became increasingly clear that supporters of Governor Palin needed to help defend against the onslaught of frivolous attacks against her. These baseless accusations are designed to inhibit her ability to focus on the issues Alaskans truly care about and force massive personal debt on her and her family. I joined with fellow Alaskans in forming the Alaska Fund Trust to help alleviate the Governor's legal debt incurred while performing her job as well as eliminate the incentive for future attacks by her opponents. In doing so, we have created one of the most restrictive and transparent legal funds in history."

More about the Alaska Fund Trust here. Frequently asked questions and answers here. Additional documents and media contact information here. To make a donation of $150 or less, go here.

- JP