TexasCHLforum.com

Attorney warns on 'defamatory material'
By: Jonathan Martin
July 4, 2009 10:23 PM EST

Ratcheting up her offensive against the news media, Gov. Sarah Palin’s attorney threatened on Saturday to sue mainstream news organizations if they publish “defamatory” stories relating to whether Palin is under federal investigation.

In an extraordinary four-page letter, Alaska-based attorney Thomas Van Flein warns of severe consequences should speculation that until now has largely been confined to blogs — about whether Palin embezzled funds in the construction of a Wasilla, Alaska, sports arena — find its way into print.

“This is to provide notice to Ms. Moore, and those who republish the defamation, such as Huffington Post, MSNBC, The New York Times and The Washington Post, that the Palins will not allow them to propagate defamatory material without answering to this in a court of law,” Van Flein warned, citing Alaska liberal blogger Shannyn Moore.

Much like Palin did in her Facebook statement Saturday, Van Flein savages the news media in his letter.
“Just as power abhors a vacuum, modern journalism apparently abhors any type of due diligence and fact checking before scurrilous allegations are repeated as fact,” the Anchorage attorney wrote.

Neither the Times nor the Post made any mention of the embezzlement rumors in their Saturday editions, but sources close to Palin consider the letter a warning shot to stay away from the topic.

In the letter, Van Flein writes: "'The Alaska Constitution protects the right of free speech, while simultaneously holding those "responsible for the abuse of that right.'… These falsehoods abuse the right to free speech; continuing to publish these falsehoods of criminal activity is reckless, done without any regard for the truth, and is actionable."

Still, the decision to issue a public statement reciting all the facts in the case now all but ensures that there will be mainstream media accounts of the situation.

“While the Federal Government has a process to follow, and that process sometimes takes time, we can categorically state that we are not aware of any ‘federal investigation’ that has been ‘pending’ for the last seven years,” Van Flein wrote. “We are aware of no subpoenas on [the Wasilla supply company that supplied equipment for the construction of the sports arena and Palin home] regarding the Palins… .To be blunt — this ‘story’ was alleged during the campaign, evaluated then by national media and deemed meritless. Nothing has changed.”

Scores of left-leaning blogs posted speculation in the wake of Palin’s surprise announcement Friday and among the most common theories was that she was on the verge of federal indictment over the 2002 construction of the sports arena.

Making the case for his client, Van Flein writes that Palin, then the mayor of Wasilla, did not oversee the Steering Committee tasked with running the project.

“While her public support of this project was deemed pivotal by many, the actual construction, bidding, financing and other day-to-day management of the project was not in her scope of authority as Mayor,” Van Flein writes.

Van Flein also notes that the project was publicly bid and therefore Palin had little control over construction.

The attorney also addressed another of the bloggers’ claims: that Palin purchased building materials to build her own home from the same supply store as was used by those who built the arena.

“Prior to the construction of Lowe’s and Home Depot within the last few years in Wasilla, Spenard Builders Supply was the primary building supply company in Wasilla,” Van Flein writes. “It can hardly come as a surprise that it would sell materials to small homeowners or that it would also bid to supply commercial contracts.”

As for how the Palins financed their home on Wasilla’s Lake Lucille, Van Flein says they “used a combination of personal savings, equity from the sale of their prior home and conventional bank financing to build the house — like millions of American families. The deeds of trust are recordable public records. Basic journalism and fact checking would confirm this.”

Palin Quits as Alaska Governor
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday that she is stepping down at the end of the month, setting up a potential run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin shocked the political word Friday by announcing that she will step down at the end of the month and transfer power to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.

Palin made the announcement from her home in Wasilla, flanked by her husband, Todd, and family and state commissioners.

The announcement came on the same week that one of her top public health officials says she was forced out of office because Palin felt she wasn't in step on social issues.

Palin's decision now allows her to avoid the difficult task of running for president while serving as governor.

Todd Palin told FOX News that his wife will concentrate on "doing the things for Alaska and the country" that she is passionate about and can not do as governor with the limitation and constant opposition she deals with within the state.

Palin, who defeated incumbent Gov. Murkowski in a primary in 2006,.gained national prominence when GOP presidential candidate John McCain picked her as his running mate last year. But her approval ratings in the state have skidded in recent months.

Palin has been dogged in recent months by ethics inquiries. Her office last month announced the 15th dismissal of an ethics complaint against her or one of her staff.

On Wednesday, Beverly Wooley, who has worked more than 20 years in public health in Alaska, most of it with the municipality of Anchorage, ended her stint as state public health director.

She's the second top health official to leave within days. The state's chief medical officer, Jay Butler, left in late June after declining to take on Wooley's job along with his own. He now is in Atlanta, overseeing a U.S. Centers for Disease Control task force on a vaccine to protect against the H1N1 flu virus.