Posted on 07/21/2009 1:52:43 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
Edited on 07/21/2009 5:16:35 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Investigator: Palin May Have Violated Ethics Laws An independent investigator has found evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated ethics laws by accepting private donations to pay her legal debts.
"All options are open in terms of legal remedies. It is a clear violation of Alaska law that Mr. Daniel explicitly reviewed with Ms. Chatman prior to her illegal actions. We will be contacting the appropriate authorities for review and action."
Thomas Van Flein Private Attorney for Sarah Palin
More:
"The resolution of the Trust Fund is not final. I have been working with the investigator regarding supplemental information. The matter is still pending. Whatever you have seen was released in violation of law. There has been no Board finding of an ethics violation and there is a detailed legal process to follow before there is a final resolution."
Thomas Van Flein
Private Attorney for Sarah Palin
it is capped to less than $200 according to one article.
From Palin’s Twitter Post:
Re inaccurate story floating re:ethics violation/Legal Defense Fund;matter is still pending;new info was just requested even;no final report
In his report, attorney Thomas Daniel said his interpretation of the ethics act is consistent with common sense.
An ordinary citizen facing legal charges is not likely to be able to generate donations to a legal defense fund, he wrote. “In contrast, Governor Palin is able to generate donations because of the fact that she is a public official and a public figure. Were it not for the fact that she is governor and a national political figure, it is unlikely that many citizens would donate money to her legal defense fund.”
The ethics complaint was filed by Eagle River resident Kim Chatman shortly after the fund was created, alleging Palin was misusing her official position and accepting improper gifts.
Palin was given a copy of the investigator’s report a week ago, Chatman said Tuesday.
“It’s an absolute shame that she would continue to keep the Alaska Fund Trust Web site up and running,” Chatman told the AP.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gCtWK2H4DB8_dsDrOrfpgC_9RrRwD99J2PUO2
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Thomas M. Daniel
Thomas Daniel
Perkins Coie LLP
1029 West 3rd Avenue, Suite 300
Anchorage, AK 99501 US
Practice areas: Employment & Labor (50%), Employment Litigation: Defense (50%)
Law School: Vanderbilt University Law School
http://www.superlawyers.com/alaska/lawyer/Thomas-M-Daniel/f3193605-bf84-4a98-9ced-514b1fae0a61.html
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FEC shows more than $1 million paid by Obama to top law firm since election
April 28, 2009
President Obama may be using campaign funds to stomp out eligibility lawsuits brought by Americans, as his campaign has paid more than $1 million to his top lawyer since the election.
According to Federal Election Commission records, Obama For America paid $688,316.42 to international law firm Perkins Coie between January and March 2009.
(snip)
The campaign also compensated Perkins Coie for legal services between Oct. 16, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2008 – to the tune of $378,375.52.
Robert Bauer of Perkins Coie – top lawyer for Obama, Obama’s presidential campaign, the Democratic National Committee and Obama’s Organizing for America – is the same Washington, D.C., lawyer defending President Obama in lawsuits challenging his eligibility to be president.
(snip)
Conservatives4Palin.com: Latest Ethics Nonsense: AP Gets It WrongJul 21, 2009 ... Lawyer Thomas Daniel works for Perkins Coie, which has offices all over the country. This group also represented Obama, John Kerry,
Re: Thomas M. Daniel of the AK Personnel Board
“American Civil Liberties Union - Member”
Red Alert! Red Alert!
- JP
Yep, just confirmed for myself. Daniel’s law firm was the freakin’ General Counsel for Obama for America.
In his report, attorney Thomas Daniel said his interpretation of the ethics act is consistent with common sense.Maybe it's because I'm not a lawyer, but this makes no sense, IMO.An ordinary citizen facing legal charges is not likely to be able to generate donations to a legal defense fund, he wrote. “In contrast, Governor Palin is able to generate donations because of the fact that she is a public official and a public figure. Were it not for the fact that she is governor and a national political figure, it is unlikely that many citizens would donate money to her legal defense fund.”
What a bunch of convoluted logic. Because an ordinary citizen is unlikely to raise money for a legal defense, she should be prohibited because she's a public figure?? What absurdity, especially since she's defending herself due to the very fact that as a public figure she's a target of groundless ethics charges.
Told you all, it’s coming straight from Obama, all of this, and why, so that he can pass ObamaCare without people paying attention to it. This is straight out of Alinsky’s create a diversion tactic rule
Along with many members of the republican party in Alaska.
Remember how Palin had to fight members of her party to push the pipe line deal though the Alaskan legislature?
The good old boys of both parties fear her big time.
Don't blame me I voted FOR Palin, not that old RINO running with her.
For the record, I have donated $50...my second donation coming today after I saw the story about the junior high harassment tactics being partially successful against her.
HA. Take that libs--you just put more $$ in Sarah's pocket.
In one sentence you said it all.
The AP and the rest of MSM along with the the good old boys of the demos and gop would fill up half the front page of a newspaper spinning this and other similar "stories"
Q&A with Robert F. Bauer
ShareThis
By Erik Lundegaard
Published in Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers 2009 — April 2009
Robert F. Bauer, chair of the political law group at Perkins Coie, served as general counsel to Obama for America. He spoke with us in December.
How did you become general counsel to Obama for America?
When [Barack Obama] came to the United States Senate in 2005, his staff was organizing his operation and invited me to meet him. It was a natural consequence of [that] representation.
Did you talk about a presidential run?
Not at the time. We were just talking about a broad range of questions that you sort out when you’re shutting down a campaign organization, you’re coming to the Senate, you’re starting to orient yourself toward the rules of the institution.
I would not say I anticipated we’d be looking at forming a presidential campaign on very short notice. The logistical and organizational achievement of building an organization like that from the ground up, in that period of time, is something I’ve never seen before: everything from trying to figure out where to find the administrative staff, to recruit the staff to actually run the place, to locating office buildings, settling leases, and literally establishing the infrastructure for a presidential campaign, with virtually no time to spare. It was an absolutely astounding feat, accomplished by people of rare talent.
What did you do as general counsel?
I recruited an in-house [legal] staff that grew, and that was highly, highly capable, headed by chief staff counsel Kendall Burman. A presidential campaign like this—which would have been an undertaking in any event, but this was innovatively run, and raised and spent $750 million-plus—presented a whole host of [legal] issues. It’s almost impossible for me to catalog the different things that came across our desks—topped off by our building the most ambitious election-protection program, in collaboration with the national party, that had ever been on the ground.
Did anything occur that you hadn’t foreseen?
Sure, on a day-to-day basis, you always wish you’d done the job a little better. [But] what greatly helped the effort is that, in most cases, you had election officials who were determined to conduct a successful election, and voters who were determined to vote. When you have that, then you have election protection right there that the lawyers can build on.
Any memorable stories about the campaign?
One story concerned predictions of nasty behavior intended to drive down turnout. I made some reference on a conference call to having people arrested if it should become necessary, and, lo and behold, someone ordered up T-shirts with my name on the front and the remark about having people arrested, in quotes, on the back. I felt, for a moment, like Patton. Not bad.
How involved were you in the decision not to participate in public financing?
I was very much involved in it—in that I was asked to support the analysis of the system and its current problems, and, as you probably know, when we announced it I was involved in explaining it to reporters. As a longtime observer of the campaign finance system, it was a role that obviously came naturally with my position.
Where were you November 4th?
In Chicago. In the boiler room.
Boiler room?
There was a huge room at headquarters in Chicago, on North Michigan, and in it were the senior decision makers, the legal team and the data analysis team. And also the state desks, where phone lines took in reports from lawyers as well as field organizers.
So you were working.
From 4:30 in the morning until the election was called. Then we still had a few problems to sort out, and then we all hopped on the trolley and rode off to Grant Park.
Where were you in Grant Park?
Where the camera banks were set up, in a sort of semicircular field in front of the stage. There was a lot of staff and friends and supporters who were gathered in that part, and I was standing there with other lawyers waiting to cheer and savor the moment.
(snip)
See also:
Google has been handy “Thomas Daniel”+”obama”
Plenty to dig through.
This is a simple follow the Money and the connections look like a family tree
Good digging(as always)! Please keep me pinged to anything else you dig up.
This is a blatant abuse of power issue. We need to get this info(and any other info that is dug up) to a conservative law firm. I have a list of quite a few of them. It’s time to start taking this stuff to court.
IT’S IMPEACHMENT TIME!!
WE WANT OUR COUNTRY BACK!!
>I don’t like Obama, I never liked him, but I don’t sit up at night thinking of ideas to destroy him.<
Why not?
Zero & his posse are doing it to US.
I want him to FAIL, but what these Dems want to do to Sarah is that they want her dead, not just politically dead, but dead, dead. Why do you think Obama and his cronies are doing all this, to divert us all from talking about ObamaCare
Re Thomas Daniel.
Are you sure you have the right guy?
Connecting a few more dots ...
http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/43205717.html?elr=KArks8c7PaP3E77K_3c::D3aDhUxWoW_oD:EaDUiacyKUUr
Franken owes over $1.3 million for recount
Star Tribune: Newspaper of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis, MN) - Saturday, April 18, 2009
Author: Kevin Diaz ; Staff Writer
DFLer Al Franken, leading Republican Norm Coleman by 312 votes in the still-unresolved U.S. Senate race, was also nearly a million dollars in hock to his main recount lawyers at the end of March, according to federal election reports released Friday.
Federal Election Commission reports show that Franken and Coleman have spent roughly $6 million each on the recount and the election trial that followed, though Coleman lists no debts or obligations.
Of the $1.3 million in debt listed by the Franken campaign, $926,839 is owed to Perkins Coie , the law firm of recount attorneys Marc Elias and Kevin Hamilton.
Perkins Coie clients have included many Democrats in Congress, as well as the Democratic National Committee and the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and John Kerry.
The Seattle-based firm also represented Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire in her protracted 2004 recount battle with Republican Dino Rossi, a legal smackdown that many political analysts compare to the Minnesota Senate race.
The firm is also noted for its representation of Salim Hamdan, whose case as the alleged driver and bodyguard of Osama bin Laden led the U.S. Supreme Court to declare the Bush administration’s military commissions unconstitutional.
(snip)
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GOOD READ!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/05/AR2008070501562.html
Fundraising Ruling Prompts a Scramble - Opponents of Self-Financers Seek Advice
Washington Post, The (DC) - Sunday, July 6, 2008
Author: Paul Kane, Washington Post Staff Writer
>Yep, just confirmed for myself. Daniel’s law firm was the freakin’ General Counsel for Obama for America.<
Never mind my last post, I just found it.
http://www.perkinscoie.com/Experience/ExperienceDetail.aspx?exid=7123
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