Troopergate 2 Report Released

Remember when we thought Troopergate was over a few weeks ago? Well, now it actually is — I think.

A second report, produced by a group of Gov. Sarah Palin’s appointees clears her of all possible ethics violations, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

The first Troopergate report found that Palin broke the law in pressuring state employees to push her top safety official to fire her ex-brother-in-law over a long-standing family feud. But that report also found that Palin was within her rights to fire the safety official, Walt Monegan, without cause, even though her brother-in-law, Trooper Michael Wooten, was a factor in the decision to oust him.

The new report concludes:

- There is no cause to believe Palin violated the state ethics law in deciding to dismiss Monegan as public safety commissioner.

- There is no cause to believe Palin violated the state ethics law in connection with Wooten.

- There is no cause to believe any other state official violated the ethics act.

- There’s no basis to conduct a hearing to “address reputational harm,” as requested by Monegan.

This second report is the result of an investigation initiated by Palin after she was tapped to run on the GOP presidential ticket. Palin had originally agreed to participate in Troopergate Part 1 in June. But McCain campaign lawyers entered the picture in early September. The stall tactics have riled Palin critics — and even some supporters.

Palin and the McCain campaign argued that it should be the appointees on the personnel board, not an independent investigator hired by state lawmakers that should review

Palin got her way in that the personnel board took up the cause, though, the original Troopergate investigation remained underway.

Early on, Troopergate 2 didn’t look good for Palin. The personnel board hired an independent investigator to handle the matter.

But, the findings of this report look far better for the governor.