Keeping the story straight...or trying
The Alaska Public Safety Employees Association filed an ethics complaint against the State of Alaska on Thursday concerning the release of confidential personnel information from the file of State Trooper Mike Wooten, Governor Sarah Palin's ex brother in law.
The complaint arises from a recorded phone called between Palin aide Frank Bailey and State Trooper Rodney Dial where Bailey is sharing confidential information from Wooten's personnel file while trying to make the case to get Dial's help in getting Wooten fired.
Currently the legislature is investigating the governor for potential abuse of power for allegedly firing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan because he refused to fire Wooten, Palin's ex brother in law.
The PSEA complaint alleges that the governor or her staff may have have improperly disclosed information from Wooten's personnel records.
The complaint alleges "criminal penalties may apply."
John Cyr, director of the union that filed the complaint, told NBC News, "It seems obvious to us somebody has improperly accessed [Wooten's] personnel file."
According to NBC News, the McCain/Palin campaign provided a family twist to the story, saying the governor's husband - Todd Palin - was the source of that information to Governor Palin's close aide Bailey.
However, in the recorded phone call that brought the breach of confidentiality to light, it appears that the campaign's statement is at odds with what Bailey said in the phone call.
During the 24 minute taped phone conversation between Bailey and State Trooper Rodney Dial, the trooper asks Bailey where he got the confidential information from.
"I used to be a recruiter and I know some of that information is extremely confidential," Dial says.
"I'm a little reluctant to say, but over in administration is where we hold the workers compensation files, right there" answers Bailey.So which is it?
Did Todd Palin give Bailey the information or did Bailey get it from the files in the Department of Administration?
In a taped interview with Anchorage Daily News Reporter Kyle Hopkins on August 14, just one day after the phone call was released to the media, Governor Sarah Palin stated unequivocably that Frank Bailey acted completely on his own.
"No one ever directed him to make any calls, he never disclosed he made any calls," Palin said.
However, Bailey sent an email immediately after the phone call to a fellow staffer.
On February 29, an email was sent from Frank Bailey to Ivy Frye just after Bailey's recorded phone call to Alaska State Trooper Rodney Dial.
"Leaving pretty quick for the airport...call me though I need to give you a heads up. Spoke to Rodney and he doesn't get that kind of stuff since he's a Lieutenant, but he'd definitely pass it on."
Not only that, but Palin also told Hopkins that "Todd never told Frank Bailey or suggest he take on this mission to call a trooper."
But now they admit Todd supplied the information to Bailey?
According to state phone logs, Todd Palin called another Palin assistant Ivy Frye three times between 1:45pm and 3:50pm on the afternoon of February 28, the day before Bailey's call to Dial.
But there is more. The Palin administration has refused to release over 1100 additional emails citing "Executive privilege" and "Deliberative Process".
According to the privilege log of those emails that weren't released, there are eleven different emails between 7pm on February 28 and 11:41am on February 29 with the subject line "re: PSEA" sent between Ivy Frye, Annette Kreitzer, Sarah Palin, Frank Bailey, Kris Perry and Todd Palin.
The inclusion of Todd Palin on this email string raises serious questions as he is not a member of the executive branch but yet was kept apprised of the situation.
The new revelation that Todd Palin was the source of the confidential informations begs the question; why would he tell Bailey? Unless of course he wanted to arm Bailey with information before he called Trooper Dial.
Good thing there is an investigation going on so we can get to the facts.
After all, reform and ethics begin at home.
To see the email from Frank Bailey click attachment
To hear Governor's Palin's interview with Kyle Hopkins:
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/129087
To see the privilage log of emails that haven't been released:
http://www.andrewhalcro.com/a_test_post
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