TrooperGate: "Good soldier" Monegan says his e-mails show he was no 'rogue'

By GottaLaff

And now another episode of As the Stomach Turns:

Gov. Sarah Palin's ex-public safety commissioner says he'll provide e-mails to a state investigator to refute his former boss's claim he had a "rogue mentality" on budgeting and was planning an unauthorized trip to Washington, D.C., to lobby for money.

Walt Monegan said his e-mails will counter a batch the governor's lawyer released last week purporting to show he was out of sync with Palin and that the planned trip was "the last straw" that got him fired.

In interviews this week, Monegan said the governor's e-mails are far from the last word on the last straw.

He said his e-mails will show a broader view of conversations within the administration and of his plans to visit U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski in late July to talk about a bold plan to crack down on sexual assaults in Alaska, a state long plagued with one of the nation's highest rates of such crimes.

"No one ever told me -- no one -- that you're running amok," Monegan said.

Monegan never made the D.C. trip, as Palin fired him as public safety commissioner on July 11 "following eight months of insubordination" on budget and other issues, according to an account the governor's lawyer filed with the state Personnel Board on Sept. 15. [...]

In one e-mail, he said, a top Palin aide wrote that the governor didn't want the state to pick up the full tab for a sex crimes team of troopers, lawyers and judges -- that some federal money would be needed.

The leadership within the governor's office was well aware of the idea for the sex crimes unit, Monegan said, citing a meeting on the subject with Palin's budget director, Karen Rehfeld, and another aide, Randy Ruaro, last December.

"This was not done in the dark," Monegan said.

He also asserted top people in the governor's office knew why he planned to visit Murkowski, with Palin's chief of staff, Mike Nizich, having signed a travel authorization on June 18 stating the purpose of the trip was to attend a meeting with the senator. The form doesn't mention the sexual assault unit.

Monegan said Murkowski had expressed interest in the sex crime unit. He said he planned to discuss it and ask about potential sources of funding.

He said if he got a commitment on funding, he could give Palin a full funding picture.

"Then I would get a green light or a red light," he said. "Basically, she'd say yes or no."

Monegan added the governor's characterization of him as a rogue cabinet member just isn't accurate.

"That's never been the case," he said. "I'm a good soldier." [...]

In fact, the e-mails the governor's office released indicate Ruaro knew the nature of the trip as soon as eight days later -- June 26.

And Monegan contends top Palin aides knew what the trip was about at the time the travel authorization was signed.

"If I was the investigator, I'd say, 'Wait a minute. You said he was a rogue and yet you would routinely, without asking him, approve a trip to D.C.,' " Monegan said. "How much water does that hold?"

Just like IWRC* Palin's head, these accusations are full of holes.

*"In What Respect, Charlie?"