On CNN last night, Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller (R) admitted that he was disciplined during his time at the Fairbanks North Star Borough for violating the borough’s ethics policy, a reversal from his previous denial of any wrongdoing and announcement that he would no longer answer questions about his past.
The Anchorage Daily News writes of the incident:
Former Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker, who was Miller’s boss, said last week that Miller used borough computers for political purposes in 2008 when he organized a failed effort to oust state Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich. Whitaker said Miller was disciplined for the violation of the borough’s ethics code but was not fired because he was part of a legal team that was in the middle of a case over how much to tax the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.
On John King’s show, Miller first dodged questions about his time at the borough: “I’ll admit I’m a man of many flaws. I’m not going to sit back and say that I’ve conducted my life perfectly. I will tell you that anything that I’ve done that’s not right, it’s been accounted for and it’s been taken care of and I move on and I learn from mistakes.”
King later asked him more directly: “Is this a fair statement in your view? That at the time this happened, you were disciplined for something but it had nothing to do with the reason you left the agency down the road.”
“Absolutely, that’s a fair statement,” Miller said.
He also addressed the incident at his town hall on Sunday, where journalist Tony Hopfinger was handcuffed and detained by Miller’s private security detail after he repeatedly questioned Miller about his time at the borough.
“I gotta tell you, the behavior that was demonstrated when I was there was assaultive,” Miller said last night. “It was certainly over the top. There’s no question that that hounding was something that shouldn’t have happened. It was unfortunate.”
“What he asked me,” Miller continued, “was, ‘Was I ever threatened with termination from the Fairbanks North Star Borough?’ And I answered him directly and I said no.”
Watch:
Jillian Rayfield
Jillian Rayfield is a Reporter/Blogger for TPM, and started as a News Intern in May 2009. She graduated from Cornell University in May 2008 with a degree in Film, and worked as a Research Assistant for a market research firm in London in between.
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