Troopergate Report

So the report is finally out, but I'm sure it will be spun as not meaning much.

However when the first finding is this -

For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) provides

“The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.”

I don't see how that argument will hold any water.

She "abused her power," her husband was putting pressure on people within the administration for personal reasons, and she and her staff refused to cooperate in the investigation as she promised that she would back in July. There were 10 subpoenas that were ignored by her staff and her husband. She also refused to provide any of the emails that were requested.

Once again this shows that McCain and his campaign did not vet her before picking her. They helped her run interference as much as possible and tried to squash this investigation since day one of her being picked. Without McCain she may have been cooperative and who knows how much else would have come out.

However they spin this it is now on the record that she abused her power as governor.

UPDATE: Time magazine's take on this report is that it gives us some interesting insight into the competency of the Governor's administration.

But the Branchflower report still makes for good reading, if only because it convincingly answers a question nobody had even thought to ask: Is the Palin administration shockingly amateurish? Yes, it is. Disturbingly so.
The 263 pages of the report show a co-ordinated application of pressure on Monegan so transparent and ham-handed that it was almost certain to end in public embarrassment for the governor. The only surprise is that Troopergate is national news, not just a sorry piece of political gristle to be chewed on by Alaska politicos over steaks at Anchorage's Club Paris.
A harsh verdict?
Consider the report's findings. Not only did people at almost every level of the Palin administration engage in repeated inappropriate contact with Walt Monegan and other high-ranking officials at the Department of Public Safety, but Monegan and his peers constantly warned these Palin disciples that the contact was inappropriate and probably unlawful. Still, the emails and calls continued — in at least one instance on recorded state trooper phone lines. (emphasis in bold is mine)