Former public safety commissioner, Walter Monegan, shared emails with The Washington Post that reveal that Gov. Sarah Palin “harshly criticized Alaska state troopers for failing to fire her former brother-in-law and ridiculed an internal affairs investigation into his conduct,” report The Post’s James V. Grimaldi and Karl Vick. Palin has requested the investigation into possible misconduct be moved from the bipartisan state legislative panel currently responsible for the inquiry to the state personnel board. The members of the state personnel board were appointed by Gov. Palin.

Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska and Republican vice-presidential nominee, “has been deeply involved in alerting state officials to her family’s personal turmoil” according to interviews and documents reviewed by James V. Grimaldi and Kimberly Kindy of The Washington Post.  She is currently under investigation for the firing of Alaska’s state safety commissioner when he failed to dismiss her ex-brother-in-law from the state police force.  A report from the bipartisan state legislative panel responsible for investigating Palin’s possible improper use of influence is due in October.

An article by Washington Post reporter Matthew Mosk revealed that the oil industry made large contributions to the McCain campaign in June following his policy statement calling for an end to the federal ban on offshore drilling. “Oil and gas industry executives and employees donated $1.1 million to McCain last month — three-quarters of which came after his June 16 speech calling for an end to the ban — compared with $116,000 in March, $283,000 in April and $208,000 in May.”

Reporter John Frank and researchers at the St. Petersburg Times exposed the murky past of Congressional candidate Jim King. King, a Republican running against the incumbent in the GOP primary, fudged his professional medical credentials and biographical information for years. The investigation “found he made inaccurate claims about his professional background and his time with the military in Afghanistan in 2001. The evidence prompted the cancellation of his campaign Wednesday.”

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama got a discount on the $1.32 million loan for his Chicago mansion, obtaining an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago. Washington Post investigative reporter Joe Stephens found that, compared with the average terms offered at the time in Chicago, Obama’s rate could have saved him more than $300 per month.

In a joint effort by NPR and the Center for Investigative Reporting, Peter Overby and Will Evans report on the efforts of nonprofits to influence the 2008 elections. “One network of liberal activist groups, Progress Now and its eight affiliates, is trying to shape the debate with a streamlined operation of small staff, low budgets and the Internet.” A graphic by CIR charts the influence and funding behind these independent networks.

“John McCain, who wrote the law banning corporate donations to the political parties, and Barack Obama, who refuses lobbyist money, will be nominated for president at conventions largely funded by industries whose Washington clout they’ve railed against on the campaign trail.” reports Bloomberg’s Jonathan D. Salant. The corporate donations undermine both candidate’s interest in curbing special-interests. The donations enable lobbyists to obtain credentials to attend the conventions and events, “allowing them to mingle with lawmakers acting on legislation important to them.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Cameron McWhirter and Megan Clarke report that former Congressman Bob Barr’s political action committee has raised $4.3 million since 2003 to promote conservative candidates and causes, primarily at the national level. But the PAC gave only $125,200 — about three cents of every dollar raised — to federal candidates and other campaign committees. The fund spent more than $710,000 on administrative costs, including salary for Barr’s son Derek, and $3.3 million to raise more money. Barr did not answer questions about claims in his latest fund-raising letter that do not appear to be supported by the committee’s records.

Ken Dilanian, of USA TODAY, reports members of the Congressional campaign committees are selling access to this summer’s political conventions in return for campaign contributions. This exploits a loophole in the ethics law meant to reduce special interests’ influence on members of Congress. “House Democrats are offering a ‘premier package’ at the Aug. 25-28 Denver convention that includes a ticket to a party honoring Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The ethics law forbids lobbyist-sponsored convention parties honoring one lawmaker — but it doesn’t apply to convention events that are fundraisers.”

Clark Kauffman of The Des Moines Register explores the influence that the Iowa hospital industry exerts over state regulators and lawmakers. In Iowa today, a state license to run a hospital costs $10, just as it did in 1947. That’s less than the cost of a state license to open a bait shop. And the state’s Hospital Licensing Board is made up exclusively of industry CEOs. Those CEOs belong to a PAC that opposes issues such as mandatory criminal background checks on hospital workers, increases in licensing fees, and updated standards on new hospital construction.