A supporter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has set up a legal defense fund to help pay off $500,000 in legal fees she has accrued, mostly due to the so-called “Troopergate” scandal. The fund — first reported by The Sarah Palin Blog — is being run by Clayton Paslay who also heads “Free American Citizens,” a PAC dedicated to supporting the “Free Enterprise System.”
Paslay said he has never met Palin, but that he set up the fund because he wants her “to get a fair shake.” Paslay added that he was motivated by Fox News host Bill O’Reilly:
“[O’Reilly] said someone needs to put together a fund,” Paslay recalled for the Huffington Post. “I already had [one] in progress, developers working with payment modules on another website. I asked how quickly we could get it up and, boom, we had it up the next day.”
Indeed, according to GoDaddy.com, Paslay created the website’s domain name on March 31 (in association with an entity called “Mini Ventures”), the same day O’Reilly suggested setting up a legal defense fund. “They’re just trying to get Sarah Palin,” O’Reilly complained.
A Palin spokesperson told The Sarah Palin Blog that the fund is legal but “it’s just not the official one” which “is soon to come.” The spokesperson added, “However, we appreciate any and all assistance! Thank you.”
Paslay coordinated the effort with Palin’s attorney, Thomas Van Flein. “The attorney for Sarah Palin is aware of it and we have correspondence going with him because the funds are going to go to him,” he said. However, Paslay fears Palin’s “enemies” will now come after him. “I told Sarah Palin’s attorney that I may need him too,” he said.
Paslay also wants Palin to run for president in 2012 because “we need someone to clean up Washington. Someone with grit like Governor Palin,” he said, adding that her maternal instinct qualifies her as a leader:
“A lot of people may not like the idea of a woman being a leader. But who is the best protector of the children? A woman on the playground will protect a child in harm and then they say they can’t be leaders? But they are the best protectors. […] People don’t look at that, people don’t see it, but mothers are nurturers.”
Update:
Palin’s “family spokesperson” has issued a statement saying “the official legal defense fund for Governor Sarah Palin has not been formed and the Governor cannot accept monies for those obligations from any other entity than the one in formation.”