Former Alaska "Independent Investigator" Morphs Into Democratic Party Lawyer

Anyone vaguely familiar with the litigious assault Governor Palin endured from Alaska Democratic Party operatives between the 2008 Presidential Election and her resignation in 2009, knows about the "ethics" complaint filed in regard to her legal defense fund, the "Alaska Fund Trust." In July of 2009, "Independent Investigator" Thomas Daniel (actually, he goes by "Tom" now) found that:

"The Alaska Fund Trust will violate the Ethics Act prohibition against a public officer accepting gifts intended to influence performance of official duties."

Effectively ruling against her in the matter. However, according to a Fox News report posted shortly after the finding, Tom Daniel was found to be tied "closely" to the Alaska Democratic Party:

The independent investigator who has accused Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin of violating state ethics laws is a major donor to the Democratic Party as well as a partner in a law firm that represented Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Thomas Daniel was hired by the Alaska Personnel Board in late April to investigate several complaints against Palin, including one filed by an Alaska resident who claims the governor used her official position for personal gain by authorizing the creation of a trust to use as her legal defense fund.

In a July 14 report leaked to The Associated Press and major news organizations, Daniel accused Palin of drawing improper gifts and unwarranted benefits. His report recommended that Palin refuse to accept payment from the defense fund and settle the complaint to avoid a formal hearing before the board.

Last June, Governor Palin and her attorney, Thomas Van Flein made the decision to end the Alaska Fund Trust and set up a new defense fund called "The Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund." Doing so in order to stop the seemingly endless legal battles the Democrats were poised to continue with indefinitely. At that time, the defense fund released a statement about the new setup and some facts leading up to that point that the public may not have been aware of. In the section of that statement titled "They DON'T want you to know," it says:

• The National Democratic Committee used its Alaska chapter, the Alaska Democratic Party (ADP), to create a website with one stated goal: "Keep Sarah Palin Out of Public Office." To this day, the Democrats use this website to publicly seek donations for funding bogus "legal challenges involving issues related to Sarah Palin."
• The ADP's "Keep Sarah Palin Out of Public Office" campaign used our own legal system to sponsor more than two dozen ethics complaints against Governor Palin. Out of the 27 complaints, 26 were dismissed!
• The so-called "independent counsel" who started this investigation was an attorney from President Barack Obama's law firm.

Now, according to the website set up by the Alaska Democratic Party (ADP) referenced above, whose goal it is to "Keep Sarah Palin Out of Public Office," they have no idea where Tom Daniel is. Posted in the middle of a rant on the front page by everyone's favorite Alaskan Democrat, Mudflats (sarc), it says:

" What happened to Tom Daniel, the original investigator? So many questions."

Found him!

In an interesting story posted on ADN today concerning the lawsuit the Alaska Democratic Party has filed jointly with Alaska Republicans against the state for the write-in lists they are providing during this election, Tom Daniel makes an appearance. A blurb from the article says:

In an act of rare cooperation, Republican Party lawyer, Kenneth Kirk, contacted Tom Daniel, the lawyer for the Democratic Party.

Yep, there he is... Former "Independent Investigator" turned "Democratic Party Lawyer."

Isn't it ironic that so many of the players involved in the merciless legal harassment delivered to Governor Palin have gone on to bigger and better things within the Democrat Party system?

In this case, I do wish Mr. Daniel well. I hope he and the others who have filed the lawsuit against the state for changing the rules and methods in this election for Lisa Murkowski's benefit, end up prevailing. As far as the other Democrat players involved in legal attacks on Governor Palin - I wish them all well during their retirements in 2012.