State legislators assailed Attorney General Talis Colberg Wednesday for trying to kill the subpoenas issued during the Legislature's "Troopergate" investigation of the governor last fall.
The House Judiciary Committee grilled Colberg, an appointee of Gov. Sarah Palin, for about two hours. The committee chairman said he was incensed.
"I thought you did systemic damage to the rights of the Legislature to bring an appropriate subpoena against somebody," said Fairbanks Republican Rep. Jay Ramras. "You empowered these (Palin aides) with super rights. They were advised by you that they could ignore a subpoena."
Other committee members were also unhappy. Anchorage Democratic Rep. Lindsey Holmes said it was unclear to her whose interests the attorney general was supposed to be representing -- those of the citizens or those of the governor and members of her administration. Even North Pole Republican Rep. John Coghill, who didn't like the Legislature's investigation, said the subpoenas compelling the Palin aides to cooperate with it were valid and he wanted to make sure this does not happen again.
"I feel that a barrier to this Legislature is unacceptable when requiring information that's well within its authority," he said.
Colberg took the heat calmly, with his voice at times dropping to near inaudible levels as he defended himself. He emphasized his department never told anyone to disobey a subpoena -- just gave options to the seven state officials it was representing.
"The options they took were based on legal arguments that we had and issues we had with how these particular subpoenas were issued," he said.
Well it is about damn time!
Those of us who have paid close attention to this debacle have long said that ignoring those subpoenas was a clear violation of the law and the person who counseled those aides to do so should be fired. The question is whether these lawmakers have any serious desire to hold Coldberg accountable or if this is just a dog and pony show designed to placate those if us demanding Coldberg's resignation.
The Palin aides subsequently gave statements to Steve Branchflower, the investigator hired after the Legislative Council unanimously ordered the investigation.
Branchflower's report found Palin abused her power in allowing her husband and top aides to push for the firing of a state trooper who is her former brother-in-law. But a second report, conducted by attorney Tim Petumenos for the state personnel board, came to the opposite conclusion and found that Palin was not responsible for any wrongdoing.
Ramras told Colberg on Wednesday that he considered the Petumenos report a "whitewash." But that's far from a universal feeling in the Legislature, and both Palin and Colberg have defenders.
God I love seeing the term "whitewash" used to describe the Petumenos report! That is exactly what I have said it was all along.
However after reading this entire article I have very little confidence that the legislature will follow through with any serious recommendations against Coldberg. There is an incredible lack of will to stand up to Governor Palin by this group and the only way they will find the balls to hold them accountable is if the citizens of Alaska stand up and demand justice.
It just so happens we have a grassroots political action committee that was formed to do that very thing.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
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oh, PLEASE tell me Alaskans for Truth are doing something!!!! you know those, pardon the language, truck balls? you hang them from the towing hitch on trucks? maybe the PAC buys a bussel of those and hands 'em out to the legislature on their way in to work. seeing as how they don't have a pair of their own....
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