Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Lib Judges Palin

Thomas M. Daniel, a partner at law firm Perkins Cole, has ruled against Sarah Palin in an ethics charge. His opinion:

...there is probable cause to believe Palin used or attempted to use her official position for personal gain because she authorized the creation of the trust as her legal defense fund.


Had she asked for help as an anonymous citizen of Alaska, then it would have been ok to get help to pay for the silly lib ethics charges brought forth for the single reason to overwhelm her and her administration.

No doubt Daniel would ask a judge to recuse oneself if the judge had any interaction with the opposition that could sway a decision. Daniel did not do that in this case. It appears he has recently donated $3500 to Democrats, and his law firm currently serves "as counsel of record for the Democratic Party and its candidates".

Thomas M. Daniel is a partisan hack who 'used his official position for personal and partison gain'. No further questions, your honor.

Full story at Sweetness & Light.

Photo from bio at Perkins Cole.

UPDATE 7.25:

James Taranto comments in his Best of the Web article Wednesday:

One can certainly see how a legal defense fund might raise ethical concerns. If, let us say, the beneficiary were able to use the money for personal expenses or in a political campaign, then a contribution to the defense fund could turn out to be the practical equivalent of, respectively, a bribe or an extralegal campaign contribution.

But no such impropriety is alleged here. Rather, the investigator claims that defending herself against ethics charges itself constitutes “personal gain”...
---
It may be that Daniel’s interpretation of the ethics act is consistent with a very literal reading of the act, but contrary to his claim, it is an affront to common sense. No “ordinary citizen” would face the kind of “legal charges” that have bedeviled Palin--to wit, politically motivated accusations that she has misused her office.

No comments: