A discussion of pay and staff turnover at the Arizona Corporation Commission spurred by Anna Tovar has shifted into an investigation against her over alleged ethical and legal violations The commission voted 4-0 during an open meeting on Nov to investigate ethics-code violations against her as well as allegations of Arizona Administrative Code violations Tovar is accused of violating executive-session confidentiality and a breach of confidential employment information Protecting confidential information legitimately discussed behind closed doors is a standard practice at all levels of government "Commissioner Tovar stands accused of ethics violations and statutory violations," the commission said in a terse announcement on Nov. 22 that also noted the 4-0 vote and the inquiry to be conducted by Van Flein's office called the actions "a political witch hunt." Van Flein said his office will complete the inquiry and provide a recommendation to the commission within 10 days of the Nov further details will be held in confidence until the investigation has been completed The new members are Rachel Walden and Rene Lopez while Commissioner Lea Marquez Peterson was reelected Jim O'Connor is the commission's outgoing chairman Tovar cited what she called a staffing problem at the agency including 20% turnover in the utilities division She suggested that a bonus approved for Doug Clark “could have been used to pay bonuses to the staff to help solve the problem this Commission is facing.” Tovar asserted her innocence of any violations and cited several instances where she said the commission or its staff weren’t following proper procedures Tovar said any relevant complaints regarding the commission’s code of ethics should be submitted in writing and under oath by the ethics officer but that her office hadn’t received any such written complaints currently serves in the ethics officer role Tovar indicated that she feels it’s a conflict of interest for the legal division to represent commissioners against other commissions Tovar said Van Flein sent an email indicating that his office can’t represent her or personally advise her in the matter “It appears the chief counsel is acting in a prosecutorial manner when his job is simply to pass along ethics complaints when received,” she said in her letter Tovar said it appeared Van Flein “is taking my letter personally by making accusatorial statements in his email,” based on a disagreement over Clark's compensation “My main point was only that money could be used to help with staff retention,” Tovar said in her letter Tovar said she had questioned why the commission didn’t conduct a performance evaluation and said there weren’t any “objective metrics or criteria” used to evaluate Clark's performance Tovar also said she has pressed her fellow Commissioners to establish a more formalized process for dealing with complaints is dealing with a "revolving door" of staff in the utilities division and faces a lawsuit from a prior chief counsel over alleged discrimination and violation of equal-pay law While Tovar said she doesn't necessarily blame him for these issues (This article has been updated with new information.) Reach the writer at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com The Arizona Corporation Commission’s former top attorney is threatening to sue the agency over allegations that some commissioners and staff engaged in a pattern of retaliation and race and gender-based discrimination who was director of the Corporation Commission’s Legal Division since 2018 sent a notice of claim to the agency last week alleging three Republican commissioners have systematically attempted to remove non-white staff members from leadership positions four of the Corporation Commission’s seven divisions were led by non-white directors before the commission under the leadership of Republican Chairman Jim O’Connor three of those four directors have resigned or otherwise been removed from those positions — like Mitchell who was reassigned to take a recently created role dealing with “special projects” for commissioners.  characterized the moves as “a purge of the Commission staff." there remained only one non-white director,” according to the letter sent by Mitchell’s attorney In a statement provided by a Corporation Commission spokesperson “The Commission notes that the claimant is still employed by the Commission and is being paid at a rate higher than when she was the head of the legal division,” according to the statement and will not discriminate on the basis of race or any other category but bases its employment decisions on objective work-related criteria.” But Mitchell claims the “purge” began shortly after the Commission voted to hire Executive Director Doug Clark in April 2023 Mitchell began as a staff attorney at the Commission in 2006 and was eventually appointed to lead the department in 2018 Mitchell’s performance at the Commission was consistently exemplary as illustrated by her history of outstanding performance reviews … She served with distinction under many different Commissioners and Executive Directors,” according to the claim Clark told Mitchell she was being removed due to poor performance by some new staff attorneys during the APS rate case hearings while Mitchell was on vacation Mitchell claimed she had already put together a plan that she shared with Clark to remedy the situation “He acknowledged that he told ‘them’ that and then said ‘they wanted you gone yesterday,’” according to the notice of claim Mitchell alleged Clark was referring to O’Connor and Commissioners Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson both Republicans who were elected to the commission in 2022 and often vote as a bloc alongside O’Connor She claims the firing was politically motivated and not justified by her performance claiming the commission replaced her with a less qualified attorney who is politically aligned with the O’Connor bloc The Arizona Republic reported in February that the Corporation Commission hired Tom Van Flein formerly chief of staff to Republican Paul Gosar is not an active member of the State Bar of Arizona which was a requirement listed by the Commission on its job listing to replace Mitchell Mitchell alleged Van Flein had little experience dealing with the Corporation Commission’s primary duties including utilities and corporate public meetings he founded a law firm dealing with “professional liability “His role has been far more political than legal in nature and to the extent it involved any legal work at all and unrelated to the laws he will be expected to analyze and enforce at the Commission,” according to the notice of claim also points to Van Flein’s hiring as evidence of discrimination against his client which was $27,000 higher than Mitchell’s salary while holding the same position and well above the $150,000-$160,000 salary on the job listing.  Mitchell received a raise to $171,000 when she took on the position of Director of Special Projects Mitchell claimed her reassignment was part of a larger pattern of discrimination against longtime employees of color was given the opportunity to stay on staff in a newly created position dealing with “special projects” for the commission in an largely empty area of the Corporation Commission’s office building near the Arizona Capitol Abinah’s new location left him tucked away on the first floor and isolated from the rest of the Commission staff,” according to the notice of claim.  Clark would later make the same offer to Mitchell who currently remains employed in that position That came just months after Abinah filed an ethics complaint against Tom Broderick over allegations Broderick changed recommendations written by Corporation Commission staff he didn’t agree with and attempted to get Abinah fired by former Corporation Commission leadership a week after the Yellow Sheet Report reported on the ethics complaint.  and Chief Information Officer Letitia Butner who first began work at the commission in 1983 eventually became Utilities Division Director before retiring in 2015 He later served as a policy advisor to former Commissioner Bob Burns and became a special advisor after Burns left office in 2021.  Mitchell alleged Olea was moved to the same empty portion of the building as Abinah Olea was informed that ‘they don’t want you here,’” according to the notice of claim “It is our understanding that ‘they’ referred to Chairman Jim O’Connor who were essentially the controlling arm of the Commission.” is also O’Connor’s policy advisor and previously worked on the Thompson and Myers campaigns Butner was hired by the commission in 2013 She retired in lieu of termination in July 2023 Mitchell alleged Butner was targeted because she did not support Business One Stop an initiative that began under former Republican Gov Doug Ducey and has continued under Democratic Gov Katie Hobbs that aims to provide all Arizonans looking to start a business in one place That caused tension as the Commission sought a budget increase from lawmakers to improve its online services a Representative commented that he would not support the Commission’s budget request as long as Ms Butner was an employee,” according to the letter Butner was also aware of negative comments by Commissioner Myers regarding the layout of the Commission’s website.” Mitchell also alleged retaliation played a role in the Commission’s decision to sideline her.  four of the five Corporation Commissioners — Republicans O’Connor Myers and Lea Márquez Peterson — signed a letter to Hobbs asking her to explore ways she could aid residents living within San Carlos Irrigation Project boundaries that saw utility rates spike in September told commissioners “they likely had violated Arizona’s Open Meeting law.” Mitchell alleged the commissioners then retained an outside attorney because they were dissatisfied with her opinion.  “We understand that attorney O’Grady came to the same conclusion of Ms that the Commissioners violated Arizona Open Meeting Law,” according to the notice of claim “The only difference was that the Commissioners accepted Ms the Corporation accused Mitchell of making “statements in the notice of claim that are misleading or inaccurate and will be addressed through the legal process.” But Corporation Commission spokeswoman Nicole Garcia declined to elaborate on which allegations were inaccurate “I was informed that we cannot elaborate on which statements are misleading or inaccurate,” Garcia said Mitchell offered to settle the dispute if the Commission agrees to pay her $939,000 to settle back pay she believes she is owed due to the discrepancy between her salary and Van Flein’s pay rate Mitchell also requests assurances that the Commission will immediately cease its discriminatory employment practices,” according to the letter.  The commission has 60 days to formally respond to Mitchell’s claims before she can file a lawsuit seeking damages The Arizona Corporation Commission voted to exempt a 200-megawatt power plant expansion in Mohave County from environmental review upending the way the commission has regulated power plants for decades State law requires utilities to obtain a certificate of environmental compatibility before building power plants larger than 100 megawatts But UniSource Energy asked regulators to rule the company should not have to undergo an environmental impact assessment for a proposed 200-megawatt expansion of the company’s Black Mountain Generation Station in Mohave County UniSource attorney Meghan Grabel cited the specific language of the law which defines a power plant as a “separate thermal electric nuclear or hydroelectric generating unit with a nameplate rating of one hundred megawatts or more.” means the Mohave County expansion — which will be made up of four individual 50 megawatt units — should not be forced to undergo environmental review voting 4-1 to overturn a previous decision by the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee denying the request Commissioner Nick Myers said the plain language of the law exempts UniSource Energy’s Mohave County project from review “Because the statute is clear and unambiguous we must apply the plain language of the statute,” Myers said but we simply lack the authority to rewrite the statute and achieve a different policy outcome,” Myers said But critics said the law is more ambiguous than Myers let on They pointed to language that legislators who passed the law in 1971 attached to the statute “The legislature hereby finds and declares that there is at present and will continue to be a growing need for electric service which will require the construction of major new facilities,” according to a legislative intent clause included in the law which defined those major facilities as plants rated at 100 megawatts or more “It is recognized that such facilities cannot be built without in some way affecting the physical environment where the facilities are located.” said that language undermines UniSource’s argument that it can circumvent review by dividing a plant in multiple smaller units “The legislature intended for the committee to evaluate the impacts of entire major new facilities not just individual components within those facilities … If an applicant is allowed to avoid CEC review by mischaracterizing large projects as several smaller ones that would defeat the legislature's intent that environmental impacts of major facilities be evaluated in a single proceeding,” Woolsey said In voting to overturn the Power Plant and Line Siting Committee’s decision the Corporation Commission relied on a legal opinion from its general counsel who was hired by the commission in March after serving as Congressman Paul Gosar’s chief of staff for over a decade Van Flein told commissioners that the question of whether the committee had jurisdiction under the law to require the Mohave County expansion to undergo an environmental review “is reasonably disputed.” he said the letter of the law made it clear that the statute only applied to individual units rated 100 megawatts or higher “And so in this case the statute that the Arizona Legislature enacted in 1971 chose a threshold that staff thinks the Commission is obligated to follow,” Van Flein said “That it's not allowed to rewrite the statute because it would make good sense today or because you want to adopt a policy because it's not an ACC policy because it's a legislative statute granting jurisdiction.” Critics said that effectively contradicts the way the commission has interpreted the law for over 50 years They pointed to several previous votes – including a vote by the very same commission last year to approve a gas plant expansion in Coolidge – that required similar power plant projects to apply for a certificate of environmental compatibility they found that they had jurisdiction,” said Adam Stafford an assistant attorney general and former Corporation Commission policy advisor who chairs the committee that initially rejected the request The commission has never interpreted the statute to mean this before.” But Van Flein was not the commission’s general counsel when it made those previous decisions. Robin Mitchell, the commission’s general counsel when it voted on the Coolidge project in 2023, accused Van Flein of being unqualified for the position in a notice of claim sent to the commission earlier this year citing his lack of relevant legal experience Van Flein did not respond to a request for comment he founded a law firm in Alaska dealing with “professional liability Best of the Capitol Corp Comm Republicans censure outgoing Democrat for alleged statutory Arizona Corporation Commissioner Anna Tovar speaks at the "Pachanga to the Polls" event for the Kamala Harris for President campaign at Ocotillo in Phoenix on Nov Republicans on the Arizona Corporation Commission voted Tuesday to censure outgoing Democratic Commissioner Anna Tovar and refer a complaint to the Maricopa County Attorney’s office saying she violated open meeting laws and the commission’s code of ethics three Republicans on the commission said an investigation into Tovar’s office found a letter sent by Tovar on Nov 6 disclosed information discussed in executive session and constituted harassment of a commission staff member The commissioners also voted to refer violations of Arizona open meeting law to the Maricopa County Attorney’s office The Commission discussed the issue during an executive session that lasted over two hours Republican Commissioner Lea Marquez Peterson was absent due to a family emergency and did not vote on the resolution and Commissioners Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson remained mostly quiet during the vote and were not available for comment after the meeting Chairman Jim O’Connor was the only commissioner to offer any sort of comment during the vote 15 when Tovar wrote a letter to her fellow commissioners explaining why she voted against a pay bonus for commission Executive Director Doug Clark The commission went into executive session on Nov 6 to discuss Clark’s performance and compensation before ending the session to vote publicly on the pay bonus Republican commissioners said Tovar’s letter violated executive session confidentiality and several points of the commission’s code of ethics by discussing Clark’s pay Tovar denied the allegations and told The Arizona Capitol Times that her letter only reflected the comments she made during the public portion of the Nov The four Republican commissioners voted to instruct the commission’s general counsel and ethics officer the commissioners present did not discuss any specifics of the investigation The resolution passed by the commission said allegations of “unethical misconduct and harassment” of Clark were substantiated commissioners voted to strike Tovar’s letters on the issue from the public record and “reserve its right” to modify the censure if warranted called the hearing “an absolutely disgusting display of partisanship” and maintained that Tovar did not discuss any information that was not already publicly available “Their censure is so trivial and so toothless that I’m not sure if it’s worth a lawsuit but what they did is wrong and it’s disgusting … and I would hope that the Arizona voters would remember this kind of garbage,” Barton said He said the move to refer the alleged violations of Arizona statutes to the Maricopa County Attorney’s office was partisan given that the current Maricopa County Attorney is a Republican According to the commission’s code of ethics commissioners can refer violations of Arizona law to either the Attorney General’s office or the county attorney’s office in the county where the violations occurred “What is most profoundly transparent about their partisanship is that they actually referred this to the Republican county attorney instead of the Attorney General’s Office where the Open Meeting Law Enforcement Team is,” Barton said Tovar did not run for reelection to her seat and will leave the commission when her term is up in January Barton said he is not sure if she will file a lawsuit or take another avenue to fight the censure “She has to weigh risk versus gain,” Barton said “Sometimes when you get down in the mud with a pig Get our free e-alerts & breaking news notifications Essential news and information about Arizona government said he is confident of victory in next week’s GOP primary despite heavy spending by an independent political action committee targeting Gosar WASHINGTON – An independent political action committee has spent more than $280,000 since Aug 1 in Arizona’s 4th Congressional District in an effort to unseat three-term Rep The Right Way SuperPAC has spent a total of $281,025.94 as of Monday, the bulk of which has been in opposition to Gosar with a smaller amount going in support of his primary challenger, Ray Strauss, according to the PAC’s latest filings with the Federal Election Commission Attempts to reach officials at the PAC this week were unsuccessful, but it describes itself on its sparse website as being dedicated to electing “constructive conservatives.” FEC reports indicate that much of the funding for the PAC came from agricultural businesses But Gosar’s campaign manager Tom Van Flein said the rush of spending is evidence that Gosar is being targeted by the Washington establishment “Gosar is definitely an outsider still,” Van Flein said “He doesn’t play the Washington Van Flein said the fund’s backers are “big corporate agriculture interests Western Growers Association – the PAC’s largest contributor at $150,000 according to the FEC filing – said in an emailed statement that it donated to Right Way because “Mr Gosar chose to denigrate our members and dismiss their legitimate concerns “We don’t expect every member of Congress to agree with us all the time but we do expect legislators to try to work constructively with us to solve difficult problems affecting the livelihoods of their constituents,” said Western Growers Executive Vice President Dave Puglia in a prepared statement released by the association was careful to say that the candidate is not affiliated in any way with Right Way SuperPAC he believes the PAC is likely motivated by anger over the currently polarized Congress “The national movement of people getting fed up with ineffective congressmen is one that is gaining momentum,” Humphrey said Wednesday He said the campaign is less focused on outside help from super PACs – Right Way reported spending $23,472.20 in support of Strauss’s candidacy – and more focused on getting its message out to voters in the 4th District hopefully we get to actually take that fight to D.C and actually stick up for our constituents,” Humphrey said “Our campaign has been built on getting out and talking to individuals and that’s why all of our endorsements of our campaign are city Van Flein said that while the PAC funding “poses a potential threat” to the campaign he remains confident that Gosar will win Tuesday’s primary “Congressman Gosar is taking this very seriously he’s out there campaigning very hard raised a lot of money in this quarter to rebut the false allegations made by this PAC,” Van Flein said Gosar’s campaign reported spending $380,743 as of Aug. 10 with $183,287 cash on hand, according to its latest FEC filing, while Strauss’ campaign said it had spent $98,139 and had $8,166 in the bank in the same period Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University Staff members are listed here Learn more about what we do and how to find our content on our broadcast Find out how your news organization can use Cronkite News content Sign up for daily headlines [email protected] Creative Commons Privacy statement You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Editor's Note: This story was originally published April 30 KNOXVILLE - A federal jury this afternoon convicted Sarah Palin e-mail intruder David C. Kernell of felony destruction of records to hamper a federal investigation and misdemeanor unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer Phillips declared a mistrial on another charge after the jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked More: David Kernell, Germantown High graduate who hacked Sarah Palin's email, dies The felony records destruction charge carries a maximum possible 20-year prison sentence which is virtually certain not to be applied in this case Federal sentencing guidelines that would apply in this case set a range of 15 to 21 months and allow for probation The misdemeanor count carries a maximum term of one year Attorney Greg Weddle said federal prosecutors would decide next week if they would retry the former University of Tennessee economics major on that charge Phillips said he would set a sentencing date after prosecutors make that decision Kernell and his family left the federal courthouse without comment told The Associated Press he has been involved in the case from the morning they learned of the hacking in 2008 "I think the jury took its job very seriously and weighed the evidence closely and concluded that any effort to impact a national election through illegal means is not a college prank Van Flein said Palin would issue her own statement about the verdict on her Facebook page The jury of six men and six women began its fourth day of deliberations this morning by hearing a special added instruction from Phillips it is commonly called "a dynamite charge." Phillips told the jurors that as they resume deliberating they should each reconsider their positions but there was no need to rush to a verdict the panel had reached unanimous agreement on three of the four counts against Kernell Those verdicts were not announced until this afternoon The four charges are all felonies with only the protected computer count including a lesser misdemeanor offense The jurors chose the misdemeanor count of the charge Kernell was facing a total of 50 years in prison if convicted of all the felonies On Thursday the jurors sent a note to Phillips indicated some tension in the group "Some of us feel not all jurors are following jury instructions," the note said in part through internet posting allowed others to snoop in it also The Associated Press contributed to this report Democrat defends herself from accusations of open-meetings Democratic Corporation Commissioner Anna Tovar has hired legal representation and denies any wrongdoing after Republican commissioners say she violated state laws related to executive sessions and the commission’s code of ethics The four Republicans on the commission voted to open an inquiry into Tovar during a meeting on Nov 15 letter in which Tovar explained her disagreement with a recent vote that approved a bonus for commission Executive Director Doug Clark The commissioners said Tovar’s letter violated executive-session confidentiality and several points of the commission’s Code of Ethics by discussing details of Clark’s employment They instructed the commission’s general counsel to conduct the investigation and provide a report within 10 days who will be leaving the commission in January after her term ends is accused of violating ethics provisions related to decorum conduct during open meetings and using political influence in personnel decisions She denied any wrongdoing and called the investigation a “political witch hunt.” “I’m going to stand firm for who I know I am and I know that I have done absolutely nothing wrong except trying to advocate for consumers all across Arizona,” Tovar told the Arizona Capitol Times saying she has obtained outside legal representation to handle the matter 15 when Tovar sent a letter to her fellow commissioners explaining why she voted against a $20,000 pay bonus for Clark on Nov Tovar said no performance evaluation or metrics were performed to justify a bonus and argued that “things have remained the same if not become worse” under Clark’s leadership a discrimination lawsuit filed against the commission and more as issues that have arisen or worsened under Clark’s tenure “While I don’t necessarily solely fault Mr this is why I do not think he is deserving of a bonus,” she wrote in the letter Tovar said that all of the information in her letter was publicly available and reflected the comments she made after the commission adjourned from executive session on Nov the executive director of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest said it is hard to judge whether meeting laws were violated without knowing what was said during the executive session Adelman said there is likely a record of what was discussed in the executive session If an investigation finds that Tovar did reveal information from that discussion publicly “There are actually criminal statutes that talk about if you’ve intentionally or recklessly violated open meeting law,” Adelman said “So it really depends on the strength of the case as to the violation and the mindset of the person that violated it Corporation Commission Chairman Jim O’Connor called the issue “disappointing” and also instructed Van Flein to investigate any harassment that might have occurred between the start of 2023 and the present O’Connor referenced a former employee of the commission but otherwise did not provide specifics related to the harassment allegations Tovar said those allegations of harassment are false and she is unaware of any complaints made against her during her time on the elected body “[It is] absolutely false and I take great offense to it,” she said Tovar said she found the steps the commissioners took “odd” because they do not follow the typical process for ethics complaints made at the commission She has been an advocate for clarifying the ethics complaint and investigation process a meeting to discuss the issue was scheduled before any complaint was filed She said she wasn’t aware of an issue until the meeting’s agenda was revised to name her specifically and a complaint wasn’t filed until an hour before the meeting took place on Nov Tovar said she still has not received a copy of the complaint filed against her and she does not know who filed it the information you’re asking for is confidential until the investigation is completed at which point the report will then be made public.”  Commissioners requested that Van Flein’s investigation into the matter be completed within 10 days Tovar said other complaints filed to the commission have gone unaddressed for years “Why am I treated differently on this?” Tovar said “There’s other complaints that are at the commission that have laid dormant for over a year yet there isn’t a formal process or policy of how to address those But I get a meeting scheduled on an executive session before a complaint is even filed.” The Arizona Corporation Commission’s former top attorney is suing the agency discrimination and violating state transparency laws including five years as director of the legal division before being demoted in 2023 according to a lawsuit filed in federal court Mitchell claimed that demotion was part of a larger pattern of discrimination against non-white employees under Republican Commission Chairman Jim O’Connor four of the Corporation Commission’s seven divisions were led by non-white directors before the commission hired new Executive Director Doug Clark in April 2023 and began firing or demoting them The number of non-white directors is now down to one A commission spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment but denied the allegations in a statement earlier this year but bases its employment decisions on objective work-related criteria,” according to the statement issued after Mitchell first went public with the allegations in May Mitchell said the commission reassigned her to the position of “director of special projects,” after some commissioners expressed concern with the performance of staff attorneys during a rate case hearing for Arizona Public Service Mitchell said Clark referred to the special projects position as the “Eli deal,” referencing a similar offer that was given to former Utilities Division Director Elijah Abinah resigned rather than take that offer following a prolonged pressure campaign by O’Connor to terminate his employment Mitchell was on vacation at the time of the APS hearing and claims she planned to discuss a plan with Clark to address those attorneys’ performance when she returned “Defendant Clark acknowledged that he told ‘them’ that and then said ‘they wanted you gone yesterday,’ according to the lawsuit which alleges the “they” referred to O’Connor and fellow Republican Commissioners Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson Mitchell alleged the APS rate case incident was a pretext to fire her and replace her with an attorney more politically aligned with O’Connor claiming one of her “special projects” was training new attorneys despite being apparently demoted following the poor performance by attorneys in her division She claims that both her and Abinah were targets of retaliation after they raised concerns about O’Connor’s alleged outside communications with a utility regulated by the commission The commission eventually hired Tom Van Flein a Republican attorney who previously served as chief of staff to Congressman Paul Gosar received a higher salary than Mitchell even though he was not licensed to practice law in Arizona at the time of the hiring and lacked relevant experience The lawsuit alleged the commission – specifically O’Connor Clark and Katharine Fredriksen (O’Connor’s policy advisor and Thompson’s sister) – committed race and sex-based discrimination and violated her rights under the U.S Constitution and federal Civil Rights laws she alleged a range of other unethical behavior by the commissioners named in the lawsuit who was the commission’s top attorney until September 2023 claims that some commissioners regularly use their personal cell phones and computers to circumvent Arizona’s Public Records Law which gives the public access to communications by elected officials related to the performance of their official duties Mitchell also alleged the Republican majority has violated the state’s Open Meeting Law which requires the commission to vote on official business in meetings that can be attended by members of the public She alleged those commissioners discussed votes and spoke with representatives of the utilities they regulate outside of those open meetings in order to coordinate votes ahead of time A spokesperson for the Corporation Commission did not respond to a request to comment on those new allegations Two young staffers for Arizona Republican Rep Paul Gosar are close adherents of white-supremacist commentator Nick Fuentes It's the third time in recent weeks Gosar's office has been linked to antisemitism and continues a series of events going back to 2021 in which the Arizona Republican is facing difficult questions from the Jewish community Talking Points Memo, a New York and Washington, D.C.,-based political website, first reported the news about Gosar's staffers Sunday evening Gosar's office did not respond to requests for comment from The Arizona Republic or from Talking Points Memo nor did the office respond to a question about the staffers' ongoing employment Talking Points Memo showed that Wade Searle and Landen Petersen jointly ran Twitter Gab and Instagram accounts using alternate versions of the name "Chikken" as a alias The accounts routinely used stereotypes to disparage minorities and Jewish people including one time in 2021 when the author or authors referenced "hook-nosed bankers" and another that declared "The liberal apparatus encourages murderous genocidal behavior to resentful non-whites (of which they import millions every year) with 24/7 constant genocidal anti-White rhetoric." it's deeply disturbing that (Gosar's) digital director is reportedly behind a secret 'Groyper army' account and an active supporter of white supremacist leader Nick Fuentes Hate and extremism have no place in government — at any level," the Anti-Defamation League tweeted Monday it is unclear who specifically wrote each individual post on the sites Searle has worked in Gosar's office since November 2021 The stranger question the report raises is the relationship between Gosar and Fuentes who is widely known as someone who spreads hate and advocates violence Fuentes' Youtube channel was suspended for violating the hate speech policies His followers refer to themselves as "Groypers." Politico reported a year ago that Gosar blamed a staffer for providing a welcome message for Fuentes' America First Political Action Conference in Orlando He said it was supposed to go to another conservative group Gosar appeared at a conference with Fuentes in 2021 and then appeared by video the following year “It wasn't supposed to go to Nick’s group,” Gosar told Politico of the video message of the congressman shown at Fuentes' event He said the staffer “misconstrued” directions from Tom Van Flein Gosar also said he didn't know about Fuentes' divisive background before appearing at AFPAC in 2021 when he was the first sitting member of Congress to do so "The young people that were being misled by somebody — we should be trying to mentor The Talking Points Memo story uncovered social media posts from the "Chikken" alias run by Searle and/or Petersen last year that tried to calm down members of Fuentes' "Groyper" group and assure them that despite Gosar's comments about Fuentes the congressman was still supportive of that ideology In the recent past, including in April when his weekly newsletter linked to a racist website Gosar has issued statements reaffirming his support for Jewish people when faced with accusations he has ties to antisemitism “The congressman has a long record as a defender of the state of Israel and a defender of people of the Jewish faith,” a Gosar spokesperson said in April "It’s neither shocking nor surprising that Rep racist staffer in his congressional office," said Alan Zeichick board chairman for the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix in a written statement Gosar remains an embarrassment to the State of Arizona believe them the first time.' This certainly isn’t the first time Rep Even if Gosar's staff issued a statement again denouncing Fuentes or claiming to affirm his support for the Jewish people There have been way too many of these incidents for us to believe it and we don't accept it," Rockower said Gosar spoke at an event celebrating Israel's 75th birthday in April, sparking a discussion as to whether Gosar's record of supporting Jewish causes outweighed his associations with white supremacists Then in early May, Gosar was on the agenda for an event headlined by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán who has said things like Europeans should not "become peoples of mixed race." Reach reporter Ryan Randazzo at ryan.randazzo@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4331. Follow him on Twitter @UtilityReporter Subscribe to azcentral.com today Alaska (CNN) -- Sarah Palin's not a quitter Sarah Palin's attorney said there is no legal reason that compelled her to resign as governor I am a fighter," Palin told CNN on Monday while on a family fishing trip on the heels of her Friday bombshell announcement that she was resigning as Alaska's governor Palin did her interview standing on the shores of Dillingham She granted 10-minute interviews to CNN and three other news networks Monday She resigned because of the tremendous pressure time and financial burden of a litany of ethics complaints in the past several months The complaints were without merit and took away from the job she wanted to do for Alaskans The decision to resign a year and a half before her term ends, and her rambling, often-disjointed resignation speech Friday, fueled days of debate among political analysts. Watch Palin explain her decision » the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008 Palin would say only that she would work in public service She did not rule out a run for the White House or any other political office Palin is to leave the governor's office in late July The days since her resignation had been exhilarating and she loved being in Dillingham a town of only a few thousand people and no cell phone service her personal lawyer also spoke about her resignation No legal "bombshell" or personal scandal lies behind Palin's resignation but off-color jokes by talk-show host David Letterman contributed to her decision to step down The governor needed a break after being "on duty now for two and a half years solid," he said There are no investigations of any type that I'm aware of -- no IRS audit no state investigation," Van Flein told CNN "There is no legal reason in terms of a legal problem that compelled the governor to resign." Friday was "deliberately chosen" for the announcement because of its proximity to the July Fourth holiday Van Flein said: "She declared her independence from politics as usual." Palin reiterated that statement in her interview an Anchorage Democrat and a frequent Palin critic said everyone was "wildly surprised" by Palin's announcement "A lot of us were pretty disappointed in the concept that she can't finish out a governor's term," Gara said Palin's resignation speech was "kind of similar to everything that has gone wrong since the governor has gotten back from her vice presidential campaign," Gara said everything was about openness and transparency and now everything's about excuses," he said a Fairbanks Republican who leads the state House Judiciary Committee "The concrete hasn't set up yet." "Those that seem to have responsibilities to manage businesses that manage people seem to be much less tolerant of what she did," Ramras said after attending Independence Day events over the weekend Those people consider her "a quitter," he said Palin has been successful in being able to imply -- and certainly these people have inferred -- that she was a victim." The 45-year-old governor had faced intense scrutiny since Sen John McCain picked her out of relative obscurity to be his running mate last year Though her acceptance speech drew rave reviews her subsequent shaky performance in network news interviews the drama surrounding her 18-year-old daughter's pregnancy and two ethics probes into her earlier firing of the state's public safety director dogged her throughout the rest of the campaign she was the national campaign for Republicans last fall," Van Flein said "I know John McCain was the candidate but the decision was really about Sarah Palin and could she take on Obama That was a lot of weight on her shoulders to carry that campaign As Election Day neared with McCain trailing in the polls campaign aides began sniping at Palin as a "diva" who ignored top advisers and lacked "fundamental understanding" of key issues in the race The McCain-Palin ticket ultimately lost to Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden last November Van Flein also said Palin would remain involved in public service, with no other decisions made at this point. But Gara said it was clear to him that Palin has her eye on another bid for national office. Watch reaction to Palin's decision » "My guess is the governor wants to be president and that's what she should have said at her press conference." Palin thought she would stop being a "lightning rod" once she returned to Alaska but "it never really did simmer down," Van Flein said Ethics complaints from critics led to her paying back taxes on state per diem funds she received while living at her home in Wasilla outside Anchorage; another investigation led to her paying about $8,100 in travel expenses for her children Van Flein said the state's ethics process has been "abused" to harass her and may lead Alaskans to ignore more serious allegations And he said Letterman's early June joke about one of her daughters being "knocked up" by New York Yankees outfielder Alex Rodriguez "demonstrated to her that there's some sort of disconnect here." "When people don't accept normal bounds of decency making jokes like that about children maybe this is not good for the state right now," Van Flein said "And maybe somebody else who is not the subject and whose family is not the subject of this scrutiny Letterman said the joke was aimed at Palin's older daughter who had a son with her high-school boyfriend in December Palin was in New York traveling with her 14-year-old daughter Willow at the time and she accused Letterman of making jokes about sex with an underage girl The CBS "Late Show" host ultimately apologized saying "If you have to explain the joke Despite leaving office about two-thirds of the way through her term Palin "is not a quitter," Van Flein said He added that she "already accomplished her major goals," including winning legislative approval for a massive natural gas pipeline conservative Republican," called that assertion "crazy." Though the pipeline project won approval in the state Legislature Alaska has yet to establish a "durable and predictable" financial structure that will get producers to commit to the plan CNN's Matt Smith contributed to this report Much has been made in recent years about needing "adults in the room" to stop mercurial pols from wreaking havoc on the federal government None of that matters if the supposedly moderating influence wholeheartedly agrees with their rabble-rousing boss.  ranging from newcomer Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia to grizzled veteran Louie Gohmert of Texas have been battling for the disruptor-in-chief mantle since twice-impeached former President Donald Trump decamped to Florida to plan his revenge tour.  The top-tier personnel who could maybe rein them in are totally on board "These people are drinking the Kool-Aid," the Republican ex-chief of staff told Insider adding that there's no Stockholm Syndrome happening — even in "rogue" Republicans' offices Here are nine chiefs of staff whose brand is to create a crisis In a textbook example of adhering to the never-outshine-the-boss ethos none of them responded to repeated requests by Insider for comment about their jobs Eichinger has spent his entire political career with Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican of Ohio, rising through the office ranks from an intern in 2007 to chief of staff since 2017 as Jordan is no stranger to scandal.  remains in close contact with Trump.  While his boss works tirelessly to "own the libs", Eichinger stays behind the scenes and mostly tweets about his favorite pastime: fly fishing Hair has been by Gohmert's side for more than a decade, assuming the chief of staff role after briefly sampling other jobs — including communications director and research analyst — in other GOP offices.  Harp has been a part of freshman North Carolina Republican Madison Cawthorn's life since their days together at Patrick Henry College in Virginia. The one-time college buddy served as Cawthorn's campaign manager in 2020 and followed his friend to Washington.  "I thought it was conducted by weak-minded men and women who are unable to check their worst impulses and had very little self-control," he said  on "The Carlos Watson Show." LaBorde joined forces with Rep. Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican and House Freedom Caucus chair, four years ago. She started out as a legislative director before taking on chief of staff duties last July.  Biggs' siblings recently slammed him for supporting the rigged election rhetoric that stoked the January 6 attack on the Capitol.  peer pressure and fealty to Trump proved to be too strong a drug to resist," William Biggs and Daniel Biggs wrote in The Arizona Republic appear to be a match made in provocateur heaven "The radical left isn't just coming after me They're coming after you," Greene wrote in a campaign email warning conservatives that Democrats are "fighting for their America Last agenda every single day to plunge America into a socialist hellhole." Lauren Boebert of Colorado may still be finding her way around the Capitol but her chief of staff Jeff Small has been there for years and even spent 16 months as a senior advisor in Trump's Department of Interior  Flein's a long way from The Last Frontier.  accusing the then-Sarah Palin acolyte of pursuing pet projects that had nothing to do with Arizona and habitually disregarding office protocol.  The one-time aide to Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky signed on as Gaetz's spokeswoman in late 2017 graduating to his chief of staff two years ago Attorney Yates' Capitol Hill career may soon lead right back where he started: the hallowed halls of the Senate.  who started out in Washington clerking for the Senate Judiciary Committee has since 2017 played legal whisperer to Rep Yates moved up to the chief of staff post a year ago.  Trump has endorsed Brooks in the race to replace retiring Sen PHOENIX — Sometime after Kayla Mueller was taken hostage by the Islamic State, a man arrived at the Syrian terrorist camp where she was being held The envoy told the militants that he was the Prescott the 26-year-old aid worker kidnapped 18 months ago whose district includes the Mueller family's home The maneuver was one in a series of failed attempts to liberate Mueller efforts that reached across thousands of miles into a chaotic war zone where Islamic State has killed at least three Americans and numerous other aid workers and journalists in brutal displays of violence But the efforts were frustrating and ultimately futile Mueller's family wrote a letter to President Obama asking him to approve a prisoner swap John McCain flew to meet with heads of state across the region traveled to a Syrian refugee camp in Turkey to search for leads who has been in touch with the family and briefed by the State Department since the beginning said at times the agency's response appeared anemic and U.S But at least one report indicates some American military rescue plans were vetoed by Mueller's parents as too risky military said Tuesday there is no evidence suggesting that Mueller was killed in a Jordanian airstrike and it held the militants who captured Mueller responsible for her death "We have no indication that there were civilian casualties as a result of those strikes or collateral damage," said Rear Adm "Let's not forget in whose hands this woman died." could not say with certainty what caused Mueller's death ally in the bombing raids against the Islamic State It ramped up its participation in the air campaign after a captured Jordanian pilot was shown being burned alive in a video the extremist group posted last week The Islamic State said Mueller was killed last week in a Jordanian airstrike on a target in Raqqa the militant group's headquarters.The target was a building that held weapons and had been targeted before The airstrike was conducted in coordination with the United States which provided surveillance and intelligence help Kirby said all such missions are carefully planned and vetted to guard against civilian casualties and Mueller's parents had tried everything they could think of Gosar spoke to The Arizona Republic at length about the efforts to free Mueller before her death was confirmed The newspaper delayed publishing those accounts in response to pleas from a family spokeswoman that if Mueller were still alive "We racked our brains trying to figure out what else we could do," said Gosar "We're half a world away with very limited resources Finding a way to solve a problem is limited even for a member of Congress." Mueller was kidnapped by Islamic State in August 2013 after leaving a hospital in Aleppo The Spanish Doctors Without Borders humanitarian group said she did not work with their group but had arrived there with a contractor "A technician sent by a company contracted (by Doctors Without Borders) .. arrived at one of the organization's structures in Aleppo Syria to perform repairs," the statement said "Unbeknownst to the (Doctors Without Borders) team Because additional time was required to carry out the repair work the technician and Kayla were harbored overnight at the (Doctors Without Borders) hospital in Aleppo "Upon completion of the repair work on August 4 the (Doctors Without Borders) team organized transportation for Kayla and the technician to the Aleppo bus station Kayla's detention occurred during the drive to the bus station." Mueller's family said in a statement Friday that she was leaving the hospital when she was taken A family friend said one of the border aid groups Mueller had worked with was the first to inform her family of the kidnapping father Carl Mueller approached a small group of Arizona officials for help the senior member of Arizona's delegation who earlier in 2013 had made a surprise visit to Syria to meet with members of the Free Syrian Army fighting President Bashar Assad's government in the country's bloody civil war who recently has become chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said he remained in close contact with the Muellers visiting their home in Prescott and meeting with them in Washington He personally spoke to Secretary of State John Kerry on behalf of the family McCain detailed his international efforts on behalf of the family McCain personally met with President Masoud Barzani and stressed the need to secure Mueller's release McCain discussed her situation with the emir of Qatar and the country's head of intelligence He tapped his sources at the Syrian National Council and the Free Syrian Army "All of these leaders and intelligence people pledged to me they were doing everything they could," McCain said "Some few details did emerge from these sources Gosar said Mueller was captured with another person who was released while Mueller was not Later — it's not clear when — either that person or an acquaintance went to the Islamic militants and An account in the Telegraph in England describes a similar encounter and two other Syrians had also been in the car when they were stopped at a checkpoint by the kidnappers," the story says After he was freed he did not give up: again at enormous personal risk he went back into Syria to plead with her kidnappers but to no avail." Gosar and his aides were brainstorming what they could do Gosar got in touch with a friend from college who had family in Syria but they were fleeing for their own safety and couldn't help Gosar's chief of staff Tom Van Flein was invited on a congressional trip to visit the region He went to Turkey to meet with moderate Muslim activists opposed to Turkey's more conservative government he met with an experienced State Department official at the U.S shrugging his shoulders and telling him to deal with the issue in Washington a Republican who is frequently critical of the Obama administration "Some folks working in this realm were not really understanding of the situation." McCain said he wasn't really expecting a further update from the U.S I learned more from my connections in Qatar and Erbil than I did from the administration," McCain said A State Department spokeswoman said the agency had no comment to search for leads near the Syrian border officials tried to plan other rescue operations "They thought they knew where they were and before they could implement a plan (the hostages) would be moved again and separated," Gosar said they first heard directly from Islamic State The militants confirmed their daughter's captivity in May 2014 and provided "proof of life." they received an e-mail that warned Mueller would be executed in a month a Northern Arizona University professor who taught Mueller and is close to the family the extremists told the Muellers that Kayla would be executed in August The threat was deemed credible by authorities "It was a very specific one-month deadline," Thompson said Islamic State executed American journalist James Foley that August His beheading was captured in a video distributed by the extremists Thompson said there was a period of silence from Mueller's captors officials revealed a rescue operation had been undertaken but had failed to locate Foley and other hostages Accounts vary on whether Mueller was a target included in that rescue effort said it was his understanding that Mueller was one of the hostages the U.S Moustafa accompanied McCain on a May 2013 trip to Syria "From the human-network intelligence that we've got there was an attempt to rescue American hostages but there was faulty intel when it came to that rescue," said Moustafa I think it has been a very limited effort." McCain isn't sure Mueller was part of that rescue attempt "I've heard both: that there was a possibility that she was there and I've also heard that there was a possibility that she wasn't," McCain said told ABC News she believes the federal government didn't do enough along with our son and others were held for nearly two years and there were many opportunities along the way: several times when the captors reached out several times when returning hostages brought sensitive information," she said "And yet nothing was done to save our young Americans." Gosar said Islamic State demanded a ransom of $5 million for Mueller's release Media reports in August 2014 about an unnamed female Islamic State hostage described a ransom of $6.6 million United States policy does not allow paying ransoms to terrorists Gosar said a State Department official told him Islamic State had proposed a prisoner swap a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained scientist imprisoned in the United States who was accused of working with al-Qaeda and convicted of trying to kill Americans Islamic State had asked for Siddiqui previously in return for Foley and American journalist Steven Sotloff whom Islamic State murdered in a videotaped beheading released in September The Muellers wrote a letter to the president requesting he approve the swap A family spokeswoman could not confirm a letter was sent A White House spokesman and a National Security Council spokesman said they could not comment "No one can know the agony that they went through so anything that they tried to do is fully understandable," McCain said of the parents Gosar introduced a bill offering $5 million for intelligence leading to the arrest or conviction of foreign terrorists involved in kidnapping and murdering Americans The legislation made no mention of Mueller whose identity was still a closely held secret aid worker Peter Kassig and "any other citizen of the United States." "We need to find these thugs and bring them to justice," Gosar said at the time "This reward money will give incentive for these terrorists to turn on each other The first to come to us will be rewarded well so we can bring the others to justice." but the legislation never went to the House for a vote one day before the Islamic State claimed Mueller had died in the air attack Gosar said his aim is to keep up the pressure on the terrorist organization "Maybe this is a way to get good people to do the right thing," Gosar said "I'm tired of these people existing on the same planet Sarah Palin violated no ethics laws when she fired her public safety commissioner the state personnel board concluded in a report released Monday "There is no probable cause to believe that the governor violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act in connection with these matters," the report says Palin is pleased that the independent investigator for the Personnel Board has concluded that she acted properly in the reassignment of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan," her attorney separate investigation by the Democrat-controlled Legislature found that the Republican governor had abused her office her husband and her staff to fire a state trooper who had gone through a nasty divorce from Palin's sister and said Monegan was fired last July because she wanted the department to head in a new direction Monegan told The Associated Press on Monday that he was "perplexed and disappointed" by the report an independent investigator for the Alaska Personnel Board "It conflicts with the first investigation and then casts doubts on both of them it doesn't really resolve anything," he said It does seem to fly in the face if circumstantial evidence." A separate legislative investigation recently concluded that Palin abused her office by allowing her husband and staffers to pressure Monegan to fire the trooper it upheld the firing because Monegan was an at-will employee Alaska Personnel Board investigations are normally secret but the three-member board decided to release this report citing public interest in the matter given Palin's status as a candidate for national office Palin had earlier waived her privacy rights but others in her administration did not and Petumenos sought to keep the matter from playing out in the media Documents released Monday did not include transcripts of separate depositions given by Palin and her husband That deposition was the only one given by Sarah Palin She was not subpoenaed to answer questions in the Legislature's investigation Petumenos said that during her deposition given under oath Sarah Palin denied Monegan's claim — also given under oath — that she had two conversations with him about the trooper "Both of those conversations were denied in their entirety by the governor," Petumenos said Palin initially said she would cooperate with the Legislature's probe But after she became John McCain's running mate she said the investigation had become too partisan and filed an ethics grievance against herself with the personnel board We catch up with ex-Ralph Lauren marketing boss Jonathan Bottomley who aims to make Calvin Klein the most aspirational brand in the world Jonathan Bottomley on keeping Calvin Klein relevant to the next generation / PHV Jonathan Bottomley joined Calvin Klein just over a year ago from Boll & Branch there were stints at Ralph Lauren and Vice and a 20-year career agency-side that took in BBH It’s a blend of experiences that he says makes him good at both “creating the brand equity that’s required to build long-term value for a business” and a background in digital commerce that gives him “the ability to take that equity and really drive short-term sales through digital marketing is an opportunity to bring those two things together His core marketing strategy at Calvin Klein has four main tentpoles the first of which is to create entertaining campaigns that have cut through by using cultural brand ambassadors “People spend a lot of time on their phone scrolling for entertainment and Calvin Klein can fill that gap,” he says The second tentpole is then using that engagement to drive full-funnel marketing: “You need to be clear about what the product message is that you want to land with that consumer Then it’s about making sure that they have really elevated experiences across store or digital commerce The third element is all about having a “precise” targeting strategy aimed at directing customers to a purchase – Bottomley uses a blend of paid social and social commerce – while the final piece of the puzzle is CRM: “We’re really building a CRM engine and renovating the way that we target and personalized messaging to people.” Calvin Klein’s owner PVH (which also houses Tommy Hilfiger) has a five-point transformation plan for its brand that involves winning with product developing a demand- and data-driven operating model and driving efficiencies and investing in growth Bottomley reports into the newly appointed ex-Zara exec Eva Serrano as president With the not-so-insignificant ask from PVH’s chief executive officer Stefan Larsson that he make Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger “the most desirable lifestyle brands in the world,” Bottomley’s brief has been: “How do we refresh the brand and reimagine it for the culture of today How do we make sure that the timeless values and the aesthetic that people tend to have in their minds is reframed and reignited for the culture of today?” All this while “igniting” Calvin Klein’s DTC “engine.” Calvin Klein has both first- and third-party data a brand of our prestige that has the pull that can bring people on to platforms is to find ways of pooling those two forms of data and understanding how together we can build our own segmentation and know how to target them.” We catch up with Bottomley after Calvin Klein’s fall 2023 campaign drops It features brand ambassadors Alexa Demie and Kid Cudi Jung Kook and Kendall Jenner in black-and-white vignettes the marketing team looks for people “who will live up to the idea of confidence and sensuality and who feel empowered,” says Bottomley Then the global marketing team works hand-in-hand with local teams to find talent who are influencing culture in Calvin Klein’s biggest markets Another element to Bottomley’s ambassador checklist is talent who are currently active in their fields so working with Micheal B Jordan around the launch of Creed with Kid Cudi who has new music coming out and Alexa Demie stars in the HBO series Euphoria Calvin Klein has seen success with this strategy in Korea and the wider Asia market K-pop star Jennie Kim has over 83 million followers and Calvin Klein’s collaboration announcement with K-pop star Jungkook was one of the brand’s highest engagement social media campaigns to date To support the ambassadors who sit at the “top end of aspirational mainstream culture,” Bottomley believes in “the power of the influencer engine.” This means recruiting macro-influencers or content creators who are relevant in local markets and “represent the product in ways that feels more accessible.” Bottomley leverages the macro-influencers to nail the product messaging while the top-tier ambassadors land the key brand messages Bottomley says Instagram is Calvin Klein’s most powerful platform but more recently it has seen success on TikTok with its page having over 1.5 million followers it is about mid-tier talent that doesn’t end up on billboards but has credibility on the platform.” For him more important than reach is “how the users are engaging and sharing what they are saying about you.” Calvin Klein has been focused on rebuilding its “institutional influence.” This credible publishers and getting editorial influence helping them understand the product but also the intent behind the campaigns.”) Bottomley defines the shared vision of the new leadership team as wanting to make Calvin Klein “one of the most aspirational brands in the world.” He says it’s a brand that has “always stood for strong values strong identity but has also had a really compelling image and been one of the pioneers of bringing culture and brands together.” And now there is the opportunity to connect that to the scale of the D2C platform and drive digital commerce Former Vice Presidential candidate and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin felt “threatened and intimidated” by alleged teen stalker Shawn Christy who bought a gun and then sent her the receipts. RadarOnline.com spoke to her lawyer Tom Van Flein about what happened behind the scenes and about how the incident affected Palin and her family Palin was granted a temporary restraining order against the 18-year-old Her lawyer Tom Van Flein says the Palin family took the teen’s threats “very seriously.” the troubled teen sent receipts from a gun purchase to Palin and her longtime friend In a rambling letter he also said he had tried to follow the bible but had 'evil and wickedness' in him Van Flein told RadarOnline.com: “Both Sarah Palin and Kristan Cole felt intimidated and threatened and they took his actions very seriously indeed “Let’s be clear about this - it was a lot more than just talk After he called Kristan Cole we decided to take action because we feared for their safety and we acted swiftly in getting the restraining order to protect both women from this individual.” VIDEO: Was Sarah Palin Booed At DWTS? ABC Explains Mystery Jeering Christy had allegedly been sending threatening e-mails and letters to Palin for more than a year But Palin decided to ask for the order after she learned that Christy called and claimed he had flown to Anchorage from his home in Pennsylvania VIDEO: Author Denies Spying On Sarah Palin & Family Palin stated that Christy had badgered her aides with attempts to meet her and threatened to track her down at a book signing in Alaska VIDEO: Levi Johnston Regrets Apologizing To Sarah Palin; Weighs In On Bristol Dancing With The Stars A court document stated: “Petitioner and counsel allege that the respondent has made numerous implied threats in his telephonic and written communication including references to his guns - telling petitioner that she better watch her back and saying that he is buying a one-way ticket to Alaska and sending the receipt for purchase of the guns.” Palin testified that Christy was delusional in his statements that he has had direct communication or contact with her or her daughter EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEWS: Bristol Palin Survives First Week Of Dancing With The Stars The court document stated: “Petitioner also testified that respondent has falsely claimed to have had a sexual relationship with petitioner." Christy allegedly signed his letters to her with the words claimed in her court testimony that Christy had told her that he had an affair with Palin and that “these accusations led her to believe the respondent was delusional.” Cole said Christy called her and told her that he had landed in Alaska “Petitioner is concerned because the respondent appears to be unstable and has stated that he believes petitioner is evil and that she needs to be punished and that he is coming to confront her to get her to tell the truth,” the documents continued But Christy's family has maintained that the teenager was in Pennsylvania at the time he was accused of being in Alaska EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEWS: Bristol Palin Shines On DWTS As Mom Sarah Cheers Her On Anchorage Magistrate Colleen Ray granted the 20 day protective order and set another hearing for October 13 on Palin’s request to extend the order Palin has recently been in Los Angeles to watch her daughter Bristol Palin compete on ABC's Dancing With The Stars Sarah Palin Tweets Support To Dr. Laura EXCLUSIVE: Palin Camp Lashes Out At Levi Johnston’s Sister; Says Blog A Front For Palin Hate Group By entering your email and clicking Sign Up you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy Bristol Palin Claims Levi Johnston Is A "Stranger To Me" Bristol's Harpers Bazaar Photo Shoot Hot Celeb Moms just one day before news broke that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are allegedly headed toward a divorce the singer was spotted house-hunting on her own in Beverly Hills Tom Cruise is living up to his Top Gun image by splashing a fortune choppering his new female “best pal” around Britain – after he “fell in love” with the way she's overcome her disability Opt-out of personalized ads A DIVISION OF MYSTIFY ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK INC Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service People may receive compensation for some links to products and services Offers may be subject to change without notice Contrary to reports suggesting Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are shopping a new reality show, the re-engaged couple have yet to ink a deal, RadarOnline.com has confirmed exclusively “While several networks have pitched different concepts Bristol and Levi have not signed any deal for a reality show about their relationship,” Van Flein told RadarOnline.com “Bristol has not agreed to participate in any show Her focus remains on doing what is best for Tripp and her family.” VIDEO: Levi Johnston Gives Kathy Griffin A Peek At His Playgirl Spread On My Life On The D List The happy couple shocked the world last week when they confirmed that after a year and a half they’d reconciled and become engaged — again Their announcement hit a sour note with Bristol’s parents A Palin family friend told RadarOnline.com “Sarah and Todd are not supportive of this I think we can all read between the lines here Levi has spent the last year and a half trying to hurt Bristol and the family The Palins recognize Bristol’s decision to take Levi back as the ultimate act of forgiveness but they themselves are not ready to practice it They remember the harsh words and the hurtful actions of just a few months ago It’s going to take time for them to accept Levi—if it even happens at all.” the family friend says Bristol and Levi truly believe that reuniting as a family is the best thing for their son Tripp EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Levi Slams Bristol's Campaign Against Teen Sex, "It's All A Show" “Bristol and Levi are doing this because they truly feel like it’s in Tripp’s best interest and that it will provide him with the best life possible,” the insider said Levi Johnston's Sexy Playgirl Photos Bristol’s Harpers Bazaar Photo Shoot Capitol Police are investigating a woman who made death threats against Republican Rep U.S. Capitol Police are investigating a woman who made death threats against Republican Rep THANK YOU to the law enforcement officials for responding & helping to keep my office safe. I salute you. https://t.co/0s9ZhBSWTF — Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) September 7, 2020 a “retired gifted teacher and licensed insurance agent,” called Gosar’s district office last week and left a voicemail indicating that she was unsatisfied with his COVID-19 response since you supported a child rapist who has 65 years of crimes and you are doing s**t about Covid I think it’s totally OK for me to come with my gun and shoot you in the head,” Spangenberg said Spangenberg accused him of being a murderer and claimed “we’ll make sure we’ll send a lot of protestors your way too.” You’re a murderer supporter and you are just going down Gosar has previously spoken out against violence claiming that inflammatory language used by the left spurs people to action radical Democrats espouse hate and violence and these words incite mentally ill people to take action “It is inciting violence against people they disagree with,” Gosar’s Chief of Staff Tom Van Flein said The suspect is a big @CaptMarkKelly activist. Violence against conservatives is trickling down from antifa street mobs to the “red for ed” socialists. I am told @CapitolPolice is investigating. https://t.co/CbnHOMOW9g — Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) September 6, 2020 threats like the one from Spangenberg are becoming more frequent and normalized due to endorsement by the mainstream media and other influential people “You see celebrities and journalists who have implied that violence is OK against conservatives There has been a general devolvement of civilized discussion They feel morally justified to get people fired and hurting people I think Mary feels justified in making this threat,” Van Flein added While Gosar has received numerous death threats during his time in Congress The Arizona Daily Independent reports that despite federal law stating that threatening officials is a Class C or D felony with jail-time penalties it appears that no one has been charged yet “I don’t think anyone who threatened Gosar was indicted or convicted,” Van Flein said but did clarify that “a warning poster” was given to Gosar’s staff of Spangenberg Van Flein also noted that this particular death threat was in bad taste because Spangenberg’s Facebook profile picture has a “Mark Kelly for U.S was shot in 2011 and became disabled as a result of her injuries “His wife was shot in the head,” Van Flein said “It is particularly despicable that she threatens a congressman like this.” A woman who should know better feels entitled to leave death threats to a U.S That is the definition of privilege — that you can violate the laws and think there are not consequences,” Van Flein said A wholly independent division of FDRLST Media Apparently Levi Johnston doesn't have a lot of money OK! NEWS: LEVI JOHNSTON: TRIPP LOOKS MORE LIKE ME Bristol wants Levi to pay $1,750 a month in child support for their 1-year-old son, Tripp, but Levi's attorney Rex Butler characterizes Levi's income in a new court filing as "erratic," E! News reports Butler states that before 2009 Levi was lucky if he made $10,000 in a year Now his only guaranteed income for 2010 is $25,000 from "some contingencies based on my Playgirl shoot." OK! NEWS: LEVI JOHNSTON: FOR THEM TO CALL ME DEADBEAT DAD IS ABSURD "Bristol is hopeful that Levi will obtain work in 2010." Bristol is "encouraged that he acknowledged in court his obligation to pay child support and that he acknowledged paying $4,400 in the last 14 months." "Bristol expects to mediate a child visitation schedule with Levi that balances Tripp's need to be with his father with Levi's need to travel and seek work." OK! NEWS: BRISTOL PALIN DEMANDS CHILD SUPPORT FROM LEVI JOHNSTON Levi's attorney responded to the statement to E! News saying, "We are refuting the manner in which they want child support figured." "But at the same time we're willing to pay," he added. "They said they got $4,400 from him over a 14-month period but it was in the last three months. He'd have more to send over if she just keeps her appointments with him." Link to XLink to InstagramOpt-out of personalized ads Offers may be subject to change without notice.