Palin Faces New Ethics Complaint...

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Palin Faces New Ethics Complaint...
20
Wed, 07-08-2009 - 11:07am
The "First Dude" should get his wife's finances in order.
Palin Faces New Ethics Complaint Over Reimbursements

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/07/AR2009070702711.html?hpid=moreheadlines


Within days of resigning from office, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) is facing a new ethics complaint, accusing her of continuing to ask for reimbursement for travel expenses for staying in her own home in Wasilla while working in Anchorage, records show.


In February, following a Washington Post story that revealed the practice, state officials reversed a policy that treated the "per diem" allowances of $60 a day as legitimate, tax-free business expenses under the Internal Revenue Code.


In the new ethics complaint, filed with the Alaska Office of the Attorney General late Monday by Wasilla resident Zane Henning, there is no documentation showing how often Palin may have filed per diem claims in recent months. The complaint includes documents from Palin for the month of May, listing five travel reimbursement claims at $60 apiece. Henning is questioning the governor's request since the listed activities for those days were in Wasilla and Anchorage.


"The taxpayers of Alaska should not have to pay the governor, or any other public official, $60 a night to stay in their own home," Henning said in an interview.


State policy allows for reimbursement if a state official must travel 50 miles or more from his or her home for state business. Palin's lakeside home in Wasilla and the state office building in Anchorage are about 45 miles apart.


Palin's staff and officials in the state's Division of Administrative Services, which handles per diem claims, did not respond today to The Post's requests for information.


It is unclear whether Palin has paid income taxes on the reimbursements.


In February, when state officials determined Palin would owe income taxes on nearly $17,000 paid to her in travel reimbursements, the governor's spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, said, "The amount of taxes owed is a private matter. If the governor collects future per diem, those documents would be a matter of public record."


In Palin's resignation speech last week, and in a follow-up letter posted on Facebook, she said the flood of ethics complaints had played a role in her decision to leave office. With Henning's new filing on Tuesday, at least 19 ethics complaints have been filed against the governor since she took office.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-16-2007
Fri, 07-10-2009 - 11:30am

I wonder why she is even allowed to even file expenses for living in her home? It's not like one isn't provided for her. It's her choice not to live in the Governors mansion. Taxpayers shouldn't have to foot that bill.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Fri, 07-10-2009 - 11:59am

"It seems like everything she says is opposite of what she does"


That's if one can understand what she says in the first place. ;)


>"Records show that 23 of the gifts were offered during Palin’s early months in office, when she was pushing the legislature to address a state corruption scandal by passing a package of ethics reforms. She accepted 18 gifts after the law passed in July 2007. Among other provisions, the law forbade executive branch officials from taking gifts from lobbyists or from interests with pending state business."<


From...... As Governor, Palin Accepted $25,000 in Gifts


 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-23-2005
Fri, 07-10-2009 - 12:05pm

Did you read about the new *palin* entry to the urban dictionary?

How do you define Pulling a palin?

Quitting when the going gets ethical?
Abandoning your pledged commitment to write a book/be a tv show star?
Bizarre decision?

Edit;Forgot to drop the link
;)
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Pullin'%20a%20Palin




Edited 7/10/2009 12:19 pm ET by ariadnesthread
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Fri, 07-10-2009 - 12:19pm
LOL
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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-25-2005
Sat, 07-18-2009 - 3:53pm

And I suppose when Obama QUIT his senate seat to run for Pres that was ok when HE quit?


And speaking of ethics,the man is tied to a terrorist, Bill Ayers AND acorn which has SEVERAL felonies attatched to it and is being investigated by the Feds and these people helped Obama get elected.


What about that?


Are you going to put Obama in the urba dictionary too under snake oil salesman? Someone who gets by on HIS rules with the media slobbering all over him and NO one says a thing?


Someone who had no ACTIVE role in politics and Palin does? Mayor first then Gov.


She resigned because she was campaigning. Obama did it. NOBODY sais anything about HIS ethics when he left Illnois.


I think all the complaining against Palin comes from these lefist people covering Obama because they know he's an empty suit and they use Palin because she's an easy target.


It never fails to amaze me the double standard far left liberals have for themselves and other people.


If Obama does it, its ok.


If a conservative does it, then all of sudden its wrong


give me a break people, we know the medis is in the tank for Obama.


can we get out of this weird parallel universe please?


Hey Obama, where's my stimulus?


Where's my job? Mine went overseas and everyone was at the place I worked for 15 years.


Can I play the victim card too?


Hey Al Gore, where's my green job?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-03-2009
Sat, 07-18-2009 - 5:26pm

Obama did indeed leave his senate seat, AFTER winning the presidential election last November. See: http://www.rollcall.com/news/30164-1.html
He didn't quit prior to running for POTUS. Neither did John McCain if you wish to pursue the issue of state constituents having an absentee senator.

Ayers didn't kill anybody though three of the Weathermen, Ayers girlfriend included, died in a bomb cooking gone awry. Nor is he particularly close to Obama. See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/nov/25/election-obama-william-ayers ACORN is being investigated. Voter fraud should never be taken lightly but once again, the allegations are more show than substance. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/us/politics/11acorn.html Are you wishing to continue the campaign fight still? It would appear that such is the case. Campaigning is often dirty business since mud slinging seems to be considered de rigeur. But the elections are over. Time to errrr, ummmm.......move on.

Palin left her office of governor for the flimsiest of reasons. Even conservatives/Republicans like Charles Krauthammer and Ross Douthat don't necessarily think her rationale was sturdy enough to win support in whatever endeavors she follows now. http://www.newsweek.com/id/206098?from=rss Unless you're privy to insider information which indicates otherwise, Palin is not running for any other public office.

Blaming the media for having the hots for Obama is to ignore the far larger role played by the GOP in its own meltdown. At one level, I am dismayed to see such disarray and idiocy (Rush Limbaugh as spokesperson, for God's sake?!) coming out of the sole check on Democratic power. At another level, my feeling is that the Republicans richly deserve whatever pasting they get for offering such thoroughly rotten policies and abysmal "leadership" as those which came out of BushCo. They merrily rubberstamped sheer stupidity and are now paying the price.

As far as your personal vicissitudes, why not ask when the recession started and who screwed up the economy? Here's a hint. The housing market started to tumble about three years ago. The Wall Street Journal has a piece which places the actual beginning of the recession in December 2007. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/12/01/nber-makes-it-official-recession-started-in-december-2007/ Obama has the thankless job of salvaging a country savaged by a whole 'nother regime. Cleanup is almost always far more challenging and time consuming than wreaking havoc in the first place.

One can only hope that Obama succeeds in setting the nation on a course which is markedly better than the one it's been on for the past eight gawdawful years.

Jabberwocka

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2009
Sun, 07-19-2009 - 5:41pm

Re: Obama quitting, my understanding is that he didn't until elected President.


Re: being tied to someone committing felonies, McCain was married to one.

Community Leader
Registered: 04-05-2002
Sun, 07-19-2009 - 6:17pm

Others have covered your points well but I agree with this statement:






iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Sun, 07-19-2009 - 11:30pm

So a liberal files a complaint about $600 in reimbursements as an ethics complaint? This means the state may spend hundreds of thousands of dollars investigating, and the Palins can spend tends of thousands to defend?

No wonder she quit. Zane Henning filed an ethics complaint against the Palin for doing an interview in her office. It was tossed out. - http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2009/05/two-more-ethics-complaints-dismissed.html

How many bites at the false claim apple does Zane get? How much does the state spend? When will Zane pay for his false charges?

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2009
Tue, 07-21-2009 - 12:42am

~So a liberal files a complaint about $600 in reimbursements as an ethics complaint?~


Nope, a conservative did that.

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