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Report: Palin Abused Power as Governor of Alaska

by: Serge F. Kovaleski, The New York Times

Sarah Palin and John McCain on the campaign trail.
An Alaskan bipartisan legislative panel finds that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power and violated state ethics laws in trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper. (Photo: Mark Lyons / Getty Images)

    Gov. Sarah Palin abused the powers of her office by pressuring subordinates to try to get her former brother-in-law, a state trooper, fired, an investigation by the Alaska Legislature has concluded. The inquiry found, however, that she was within her right to dismiss her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, who was the trooper's boss.     A 263-page report released Friday by lawmakers in Alaska found that Ms. Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, had herself exerted pressure to get Trooper Michael Wooten dismissed, as well as allowed her husband and subordinates to press for his firing, »

George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. (2)

Pentagon Wants $450 Billion Increase Over Next Five Years

by: Josh Rogin, Congressional Quarterly

    Pentagon officials have prepared a new estimate for defense spending that is $450 billion more over the next five years than previously announced figures.

    The new estimate, which the Pentagon plans to release shortly before President Bush leaves office, would serve as a marker for the new president and is meant to place pressure on him to either drastically increase the size of the defense budget or defend any reluctance to do so, »

Justice Department politics.

Marilou Johanek | Financial Crisis Buries DoJ Bombshell

by: Marilou Johanek, The Toledo Blade

    At any other time, what happened in the U.S. Justice Department last week would have been big news. At any other time, when internal reports by Justice Department call for more investigation into a case of unethical, if not criminal, conduct on the part of lawmakers and the White House, the administration would have a lot of explaining to do.

    But the Bush administration got lucky. As its Treasury and Federal Reserve chiefs warned that the sky was falling and the economic crash and continuing tumult on Wall Street made them seem prophetic, »

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