Journalism in the Public Interest

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Video of Palin and Stevens: The ‘Big Difference Between Reality and Perception’

by Paul Kiel, ProPublica - September 3, 2008 5:02 pm EST

Sen. Ted Stevens and Sarah Palin (Credit: Clark James Mishler/Getty Images) As reporters continue to raise questions about Gov. Sarah Palin's "reform" mantle, the McCain campaign continues to tout her reformer credentials.

Here's another area where the reality is more complicated than the official storyline. The supposed bad blood between Palin and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), the state's most eminent Republican, is part of her appeal. As David Brooks wrote in the New York Times, Palin "risked her career taking on the corrupt Republican establishment in her own state" and "made mortal enemies of the two people McCain has always held up as the carriers of the pork-barrel disease: [Rep. Don Young] and Stevens."

But it turns out Palin's campaign touted Stevens' endorsement in her 2006 run for governor. (The ad was quickly taken down from the Web site after Palin was named as the pick.) And the two appeared almost chummy sitting together in a press conference two months ago.

The Anchorage Daily News has some video of the joint appearance. (Stevens was indicted later that month.)

Decoder

Does Palin Really ‘Command’ Alaska’s National Guard?

by Sharona Coutts, ProPublica - September 3, 2008 4:35 pm EST

Sarah Palin on her visit to soldiers in the Alaska National Guard stationed at Camp Virginia, Kuwait in July 2007. (Credit: DoD/AP Photo)

The McCain campaign has made much of Gov. Sarah Palin's role as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard. A spokesman claimed, now infamously, that "any decision that she has made as the commander of the National Guard that's deployed overseas, is more of a decision than Barack Obama has been making as he's been running for president."

The Alaska National Guard has served in a number of military operations overseas. They were deployed alongside Mongolian troops in Iraq, and worked at the Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan. They have also trained with Japanese troops in a program called North Wind 2008, and participated in the humanitarian Operation Pacific Angel in Cambodia.

But as a number of news organizations have pointed out, Palin was not in command of any of those operations.

Energy & Environment

NYC Council to Hold Hearing on Gas Drilling Near City Water Supply

by Allison Battey, ProPublica - September 3, 2008 4:31 pm EST

Sept. 4: This post has been corrected.

Councilman James Gennaro, chairman of the city's Environmental Protection committee, is holding a hearing next week on gas drilling. (Credit: John Smock/AP Photo) New York City officials who last month called for a ban on natural gas drilling near the city's upstate reservoirs have taken the next step in what they argue is a fight to protect the city's drinking water from contamination. Yesterday, City Council Environmental Protection Committee Chairman James Gennaro announced (PDF) that his committee will hold an emergency public hearing next week to discuss the safety of the drilling and hear public concerns.

Gennaro's hearing follows an Aug. 6 letter (PDF) the New York City Department of Environmental Protection sent to state environmental officials challenging the state's assertion that drilling in the Marcellus Shale would not contaminate the city's unique, unfiltered water system, which serves 9 million New Yorkers. The letter demanded a one-mile protective buffer around each of the city's reservoirs. At the time, Gennaro argued for even tighter regulation, calling for a total moratorium on drilling in the Catskill watershed, an area that supplies most of the city's water and covers most of the shale.

Breaking on the Web: September 3, P.M. Edition

3:17 pm EST

Updated 5:40 pm EDT

Detroit Mayor Expected to Plead Guilty - Detroit Free Press
In Depth: U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan - Sebastian Junger, Vanity Fair
U.S., Afghan Troops Kill 20 in Pakistan - Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post
Russia’s ‘Evidence’ of U.S. Involvement in Georgia Battle Debunked - Gordon Fairclough and Gregory L. White, Wall Street Journal ($)
Bush Announces $1 Billion in Aid for Georgia - AP
Mayor: New Orleans Residents Can Return Immediately - David Zucchino and Stephen Braun, Los Angeles Times
In Depth: Extraordinary Rendition - Sangitha McKenzie Millar, Foreign Policy In Focus
Alaskan Independence Group: Palin was Never a Member - Kate Klonick, TPMmuckraker
Ex-Police Chief: Mayor Palin Fired Me for Challenging Her Contributors - Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee, ABC News
Ex-Credit Suisse Brokers Face Criminal Charges - Chad Bray and Kerry E. Grace, Wall Street Journal ($)
K Street Helps Out at the GOP Convention - Alan K. Ota, CQ
Court Hands NY Gov Gay Marriage Victory - Elizabeth Benjamin, New York Daily News

How to Boot a Mayor

by Alexandra Andrews, ProPublica - September 3, 2008 2:30 pm EST

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm holds a public hearing that could result in the removal of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office on Sept. 3, 2008 in Detroit. (Credit: Carlos Osorio-Pool/Getty Images) Breaking Update: The Free Press is reporting that Kilpatrick is expected to plead guilty tomorrow morning.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm opened a hearing this morning over whether to oust Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick faces charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, misconduct in office and assault, but only the charge of misconduct in office will be taken into consideration at the hearing. So how is it that a governor can fire a mayor?

The Governor's Authority

Michigan's constitution (PDF) allows for the removal of an elected official, and a 1954 state law spelled out how the process works. The power to remove an officeholder is fairly typical of state constitutions, says James Gardner, an expert on state constitutional law. What is unusual in this case is the law itself, which gives the governor the power to both investigate and remove the elected official.

Usually the responsibility would be divided. For instance, the attorney general would investigate and then seek a court order for the official's removal. Involving more than one branch of government ensures that there are some checks and balances in play. Instead, the governor is judge, jury and executioner in Michigan.

Justice

Kilpatrick Hearing Gets Under Way

by Paul Kiel, ProPublica - September 3, 2008 11:39 am EST

Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) revved up public hearings on Kwame Kilpatrick's fate this morning. First up was a law expert to testify about the secret side deal Kilpatrick struck to keep the text messages private, and now testifying is the city's attorney in charge of Freedom of Information Act requests. Kilpatrick himself will not attend, his attorney has said.

The Detroit Free Press is streaming the hearing on its Web site.

Morning Read

Palin’s Pork History

by Paul Kiel, ProPublica - September 3, 2008 10:55 am EST

Sarah Palin speaks before a Wasilla crowd in 2002. (Credit: Robert A. Baker/Getty Images) An Alaska politician with an uncompromised reputation as an anti-pork crusader? Turns out it is too good to be true.

As we noted last week, Gov. Sarah Palin's reformer credentials are one of her main selling points as John McCain's running mate. As she trumpeted in her speech last Friday, Palin is the governor who "told Congress thanks, but no thanks, on that bridge to nowhere.... I have championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress."

Except, as quite a few news outlets have pointed out, Palin had actually supported the project while campaigning for governor. And though she opted not to use the $200 million originally earmarked to build the bridge to tiny Ketchikan's airport, that money still went to Alaska for use on other projects. Her ultimate opposition to the project seemed practical, rather than principled. She explained that it seemed unlikely that Congress would approve any more funds to complete the $398 million bridge.