please don't flame me folks but there is something there with Palin's business partner Richter

The Palins also have a number of real estate holdings in Big Lake, AK co-owned by Debbie and Scott Richter. The properties are organied as “Richter Investments LLC.” The Richters also own a portion of the Palins residence in Wasila… (Assuming the Palins live rent free right now in the Governors’ Mansion in Juneau).

Interestingly, Debbie Richter was Palin’s campaign treasurer. Richter was awarded a job as the Director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Division for her service. For those who don’t know, the State of Alaska gives its citizens “free money” checks every year out of this fund. This “free money” comes from oil royalties collected and investments. The Fund is currently worth $35 billion.

Would you choose the Governor’s campaign treasurer - and property co-owner - to honestly hand out oil royalties? Under her leadership in 2006, all Permanent Fund claims from residents (you have to make a claim for your check) were lost in a computer data entry failure…
Posted by Citoyen92
September 4, 2008 12:39 AM

Palin's Lobbyist Has Abramoff Ties
By Kate Klonick and Zachary Roth - September 2, 2008, 1:01PM

It looks like Sarah Palin's claim to represent a cleaner brand of politics could be about to take a bruising.

The Washington Post reports today that, while Mayor of Wasilla, Palin oversaw the hiring of a lobbyist, Steven Silver -- a former chief of staff to now-indicted GOP senator Ted Stevens -- to help win federal earmarks for the city.

But Silver appears to have additional ties that could further undercut Palin's image as a squeaky-clean reformer. According to Senate lobbying disclosure reports examined by TPMmuckraker, from 2002 to 2004 Silver listed as a client Jack Abramoff's lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig. On Greenberg's behalf, Silver lobbied the federal government on "issues relating to Indian/Native American policy," "exploration for oil and gas" and "legislation relating to gaming issues" -- the very issues that Abramoff headed up for Greenberg at the time. In other words, Silver appears to have been a part of "Team Abramoff."

Indeed, one specific bill that Silver lobbied on for Greenberg, according to the forms, was S.627, also known as the Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act. A former Greenberg lobbyist confirmed to TPMmuckraker that Silver would have been working to oppose the bill. And it was an earlier version of this very bill that Abramoff famously worked to spike, with the support of Christian conservative leaders Lou Sheldon and Ralph Reed.