How possible misconduct by the Anchorage police relates to Todd Palin and a prostitute's laptop, and why a federal inquiry is needed

Just when things were getting dull, Sarah Palin felt a need on Sean Hannity's show Thursday to compare Herman Cain's fidelity problems with stories about Todd's prostitution peccadillos. And then she heatedly alluded to Shailey Tripp's statement that she did not appear pregnant when Tripp gave her a massage in early 2008. While Palin did not specifically name Tripp, it was clear that's who she was talking about.


For those of you new to this, Shailey Tripp pled guilty to engaging in prostitution at her massage parlor (although charges were later dropped), and she claimed that Todd was one of the johns who paid her for sex. The National Enquirer in its January 31 issue ran that allegation:

The Anchorage Police Department confiscated Tripp's laptop computer and cell phone when they arrested her. Amazingly, that department sent out a press release claiming they could attest that Todd was not a john because they found no evidence he was. That press release was the basis of the following story in the New York Daily News: 

It's odd that the Anchorage police were acting like PR agents for the Palins. What interest should the they have in rebutting stories about the Palins in a national tabloid magazine? Moreover, the police later admitted that there was no firm basis for the assertion of Todd's innocence, because the police had not examined the contents of the laptop or the cell phone.

Furthermore, the police since June have refused to give Tripp her laptop and cell phone back, despite explicit instructions from the judge that they do so. The police department could face contempt of court charges if it continues to defy the judge. Their refusal to release the property raises the question of whether the police are trying to hide something.

Possible misconduct by the Anchorage police is suggested by these articles at Malia Litman's blog: http://malialitman.wordpress.com/category/anchorage-police-department/

  

The ability of local authorities to deal evenhandedly with events that may relate to the Palins can no longer be taken for granted. A federal investigation of the Palin-Tripp issue, plus others involving the Palins, is needed because the Palins may have compromised or corrupted the Anchorage police, and perhaps other law enforcement bodies in Alaska as well