The "McCain campaign and its supporters, having apparently convinced themselves that the facts would cause serious damage to the Republican ticket if publicly known before the national election, are now moving on many fronts -- including this one -- to slow and stop Mr. Branchflower's fact-finding inquiry and to prevent his issuance of the report authorized by the Legislative Council," Maassen added. Full Story »
Posted by Dwight Rousu
Great story about neocon business as usual, that is: possible witness tampering; extreme pressure to postpone the inquiry; witnesses ignoring legislative subpoenas; claim that certain actions of the executive branch are off-limits to the legislature; outside legal muscle suddenly showing up. Then theres this gem: "The five Republican lawmakers, who filed suit to stop the Palin investigation, argue that the legislative inquiry should be put on hold until after the November presidential election and at that point be taken up by the states personnel board." Personnel board? What happened to the court? And if Palin is elected, what happens if Republicans end up with a guilty vice president?
The allegations of witness tampering and broad attempts to prevent the previously scheduled investigation from proceeding suggests a strong desire by Republican McCain to coverup misdeads by Palin in Alaska.
You have to wonder what they're so worried about. As in most investigations, the attempt to hide the facts or obstruct the hearings do almost as much damage as the investigation might have.
I disagree with Roland Hirsch's review who is the only one to give the story such low review scores. The point isn't that there are agents of any party in the State of Alaska trying to learn all they can about a virtual unknown to the Country as Governor Palin. The point is that are there individuals trying to deter and misdirect those seeking to collect information about the issue and whether they are doing so legally.
As I read this I got a little confused as to whether the author was actually writing a news piece or just reciting what he was told by the defense attorney Maason. There was some information here, but it apparently just comes from one side as I did not see any mention of trying to contact any of the lawsuit filers, let alone any of their words. The story should also contain some info about how this Branchflower person could possibly complete his report without actually finishing the investigation.
This opinion piece has minimal journalistic value. The author suimply presents the Democratic Party case with no effort at balance. He notes "rumors that upwards of 30 staffers" of McCain have come to Alaska, but does not note that more than 500 Democratic Party agents are in the state, and the Republican efforts pale in comparison.
I cannot for the life of me understand why the American Public seems oblivious to this investigation. Do they want another BUSH in office?
The article presents both sides' arguments in the matter and attempts to limit itself to reporting facts and not conclusions made by the journalist. To the extent it also brings new facts to light it is also good.
Retrieving Comments
