The trooper's affidavit indicates that Sarah Palin's candidacy factored into the investigation, with state officials delaying execution of a search warrant until this month, when Johnston was "no longer under the protection or surveillance of the Secret Service."
Of course, Johnston wasn't under Secret Service protection. The only time they would have been around her was when she was with Gov. Palin, and it doesn't seem they hung around together much, if ever.
The Anchorage Daily News reports:
An affidavit, prepared by the Alaska State Troopers, says Johnston repeatedly sold OxyContin using text messages to direct customers to department store parking lots where they paid and she delivered. But in one message, according to the affidavit, Johnston complained that unusual media and other public attention was cramping her business:
"Hey, my phones are tapped and reporters and god knows who else is always following me and the family so no privacy," Johnston wrote in a text message to a customer.
So, was the delay to preserve any chance McCain/Palin had of winning Alaska and other Republican states? Or was it just to avoid embarrassment to McCain/Palin?
The last sale she made was Nov. 26, well after the election. Why did they wait until Dec. 22 to obtain the warrant? I also wonder she'll challenge the warrant on staleness grounds: What probable cause did they have to believe evidence of criminal conduct would be found in the home in late December?
The affidavit, dated Dec. 22, details how troopers used two informants to collect evidence that Johnston sold OxyContin on Oct. 11, Oct. 22 and Nov. 26. The informants had been arrested themselves on a drug charge and agreed to help trap Johnston.
Trooper-supervised buys were set up by cell phone text messages and took place in Target and Fred Meyer parking lots. On each occasion, troopers charge, she got $800 for 10 pills.
The troopers now admit the secret service portion of their affidavit was incorrect. Does anyone else think the troopers were trying to protect the Palins? And how dumb is Ms. Johnston to sell oxycontin after Palin's nomination and at a time she thinks her phone is tapped? No wonder they call oxycontin "hillbilly heroin." Regardless, I hope Ms. Johnston beats the warrant. I wonder whether she will fight it or take the easy way out and give up her suppliers in exchange for a walk.
