The Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal, also known as Troopergate,The term "Troopergate" has appeared in (among others) the Anchorage Daily News , U.S. News & World Report and The New York Times . Other unrelated uses of the word Troopergate have involved Bill Clinton (Paula Jones) and Eliot Spitzer (political surveillance controversy). involves the possibly illegal July 2008 dismissal of the Alaskan Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan by Republican Governor Sarah Palin. A complaint alleged that Palin dismissed Monegan because he did not fire Alaskan State Trooper Mike Wooten, who was in a bitter divorce with Palin's sister, Molly McCann.
On October 10, 2008, the twelve-member bipartisan Alaska Legislative Council hired investigator Stephen Branchflower to investigate whether Palin had dismissed Monegan for not firing Wooten. The Branchflower Report found that Palin had violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act covering state executive employees, and released it to the public. | 10/11/2008 | Ethics investigation finds Palin abused power, Legislative committee releases investigation into public officials firing | msnbc.com news services | [www.nbcnews.com/id/27105917/ns/politics-decision_08/t/ethics-investigation-finds-palin-abused-power/#.W32pcuhKi1s]
Under Alaska law, the state's three-member State Personnel Board, not the Legislative Council, decides whether a governor has violated the ethics laws. On November 3, 2008, the bipartisan Personnel Board, all of whom had been appointed by Palin, released the findings of its own investigation which concluded that Palin did not violate any ethics laws.State of Alaska Personnel Board Report of Findings and Recommendations November 3, 2008. pdf file of Independent Counsel Timothy Petumenos' report. Retrieved November 24, 2010.2nd Alaska Probe Finds Palin Did Not Violate Ethics Rules The Washington Post, November 3, 2008.2nd probe clears Palin in trooper case CNN.com November 3, 2008. No action was ever taken.
Origin of the conflict
Sarah Palin, who in late August became the Republican vice presidential nominee in the 2008 United States presidential election, said that she reassigned commissioner Walt Monegan because of performance-related issues. Monegan said that his forced resignation may have been tied to his reluctance to fire Mike Wooten, an Alaska State Trooper who is also Palin's ex-brother-in-law. Monegan said that the Governor herself, her husband, and members of her staff as well as the state's Attorney General, had contacted him numerous times regarding Wooten. At the time Palin dismissed Monegan, Wooten was involved in a custody battle with his former wife, Molly McCann, Palin's sister.
Palin denied that there had been any pressure on Monegan to fire Wooten, either from herself or from anyone in her administration. In mid-August, Palin acknowledged that "pressure could have been perceived to exist, although I have only now become aware of it." She also apologized to Alaskans for what she called "this distraction.""Raw feed: Palin (Updated)" , Anchorage Daily News (2008-08-13).
Before Palin became governor, she and other members of her family had made various allegations of misconduct against Wooten. An internal investigation upheld some charges and rejected others. On March 1, 2006 the chief of the Alaska state police issued a letter of reprimand to Wooten, and he served a five-day suspension as penalty. After Palin became governor in December 2006, she, her husband Todd Palin, and various aides had further contacts with Monegan about Wooten. Monegan told both Sarah Palin and Todd Palin that the disciplinary proceeding against Wooten was concluded and could not be reopened.
Palin was investigated by an independent investigator, hired by a unanimous vote of a bipartisan committee of the Alaska Legislature, "to investigate the circumstances ... surrounding [Monegan's termination], and potential abuses of power and/or improper actions by members of the executive branch." Palin denied any wrongdoing. Democratic state Senator Hollis French, who is overseeing the investigation, stated the report will "likely be damaging" to the Palin administration, and may be an October surprise.Isikoff, Michael and Hosenball, Mark. "Team McCain and the Trooper", Newsweek (2008-09-05). Also see Ross, Brian and Tepper, Len. "'October Surprise' Over Palin Investigation?" ABC News (2008-09-02): "'It's likely to be damaging to the Governor's administration,' said Senator Hollis French, a Democrat ... 'She has a credibility problem,' he said ... 'Now they may have to deal with an October surprise,' he said..." In response to those remarks by French, Republican state Senator John Coghill pushed an unsuccessful effort to have French removed from managing the investigation.
Todd Palin did not honor a September 2008 subpoena to appear in court to testify about his role in Troopergate. Two other key witnesses also failed to appear, and all three were originally referred to the full Alaska Senate for contempt. These contempt charges were not addressed until the state legislature met in January 2009, when the legislature had several options including physically bringing the witnesses in, imposing jail time, and levying fines. With the refusals to testify, Senator Hollis French, the Democrat chosen to oversee the charges, moved forward with the investigation.
Palin's attorney general announced on October 5, 2008, that seven state employees would honor subpoenas to testify in the legislative investigation of the Troopergate affair.
On October 10, 2008, the Alaska Legislative Council unanimously voted to release, without endorsing, the Branchflower investigative report which found that Sarah Palin "abused her power as governor [in] attempting to get Trooper Wooten fired."Branchflower Report, page 65-67
State Trooper Mike Wooten
Background In 1999, Sarah Palin's sister Molly McCann and Mike Wooten began dating. In 2000, Palin wrote a character reference for Wooten. In 2001, Wooten became an Alaska State Trooper. Also in 2001, McCann and Wooten got married. In January 2005, they were separated.
Divorce filing and police complaint On April 11, 2005, McCann filed for divorce from Wooten. That day a judge granted a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) against Wooten. The same day, McCann's father Chuck Heath phoned police to inform them about the DVPO.
Also that day, police spoke with McCann. She said Wooten had threatened to shoot her father if he hired an attorney to help in her divorce. McCann said that although Wooten "has never physically abused her," he "acts very intimidating." She also accused him of using illegal testosterone supplements, drunk driving, and threatening to "take down" Palin if she got involved. McCann said she was "scared" of what Wooten "would do when he finds out she has hired an attorney."
Police investigation into allegations Based on McCann's complaint, the Alaska State Troopers began an investigation into the claims made, interviewing more than fifteen witnesses.
In May 2005, Sarah Palin told police that she and her son Track overheard a death threat against her father (Heath), in February 2005, when McCann allowed her to listen in on an argument through a phone line (speakerphone).
Palin said she had not called police at that time because she did not want to put Wooten's career in jeopardy, and the situation had not progressed to physical violence. On August 10, 2005, Palin sent an email to Col. Julia Grimes, head of the Alaska State Troopers, urging that Wooten be dismissed and giving more details about the alleged death threat. The email from Palin to Grimes said that the February 2005 threat by Wooten to shoot Heath came after McCann had accused Wooten of attending an event with another woman. In the email, Palin described Wooten as "a loose cannon" and "a ticking timebomb," and said that failing to fire Wooten "would lead a rational person to believe there is a problem inside the organization."
As a result of the email, Palin was interviewed again by state troopers on August 18, 2005. During this interview, she stated that she did not warn her father of the death threat until two weeks after it was made; she explained the delay by saying that Wooten had no reason to shoot Heath. According to Heath himself, the delay was a month: "Heath stated that his daughters didn't report the incident to him until a month later."
Divorce proceedings On May 9, a court hearing was held regarding the DVPO. At this hearing the DVPO was quashed because McCann's counsel was unable to produce evidence of any acts of physical or implied violence.
In October 2005, the divorce went to trial. During the trial, Judge John Suddock expressed puzzlement at the efforts of McCann's family to get Wooten fired, since it would harm his earning capacity and damage his ability to pay child support. Judge Suddock said "it appears for the world that Ms. McCann and her family have decided to take off for the guy's livelihood -- that the bitterness of whatever who did what to whom has overridden good judgment." A representative for the Alaska State Trooper's union testified that the union viewed the dozen complaints filed by McCann and her family against Wooten as "not job-related" and "harassment." Judge Suddock repeatedly warned McCann and her family to stop "disparaging" Wooten's reputation or risk the judge granting Wooten custody of the children. At a court hearing in October 2005, Judge Suddock said "disparaging will not be tolerated—it is a form of child abuse ... relatives cannot disparage either. If occurs the parent needs to set boundaries for their relatives."
In the divorce decree that was granted on January 31, 2006, Judge Suddock expressed concern about continued criticism by McCann's family towards Wooten and noted that he would pay particular attention to problems raised by a custody investigator. Legal disputes between Wooten and McCann over custody, child support and visitation rights continued through 2007 and 2008.
Results of internal police investigation On October 29, 2005, Sgt. Wall issued a Memorandum of Findings describing the results of his investigation.
Death threat Wall's investigation report dated October 29, 2005 found that Wooten violated internal policy, but not the law, in making a death threat against Molly McCann's father Heath on February 17, 2005. Molly McCann, Sarah Palin and Track Palin said that he made the threat. Wooten said that he didn't make the threat. Wall decided that he had in fact done so. Wall concluded that the death threat was not a crime because Wooten did not threaten the father directly; therefore, Wall deemed the threat to be a violation of trooper policy rather than a violation of criminal law. Although the death threat was listed as a violation of trooper policy OPM 101.070(A) Unbecoming Conduct and OPM 101.070(B) Personal Conduct in the Memorandum of Findings, it was not mentioned at all in the suspension letter sent to Wooten by Col. Grimes on March 1, 2006.
Moose hunt The investigation found that Wooten had committed a hunting violation in shooting a moose without a permit: he had been out hunting with McCann in September 2003 and had shot the animal himself even though their permit was in McCann's name only. According to subsequent news reports, McCann had obtained the permit but balked at killing the moose herself, so she handed the gun to her then-husband, who shot the animal.
Taser incident