Thomas Van Flein, Palin’s Consigliere, Goes to Washington

When is a Hole not a Hole?  When It’s in Arizona!  Various sources have reported that a “Key aide departs Palin world”.  CNN reports that lawyer Tom Van Flein is “departing Palin’s world to work for incoming Arizona Rep. PaulGosar.  Van Flein is among only a “handful” of advisers with regular access to Palin.  He has served as a legal, political, and media adviser to Palin .  His departure will reportedly leave a “big hole” in Palin’s circle.

“The mid-term elections represent a tectonic shift,” said Van Flein. “I want to work with Rep. Gosar because he is committed to Arizona, and he is committed to making government more efficient, and our country more independent from its reliance on foreign energy and natural resources.” http://smartgirlpolitics.ning.com/profiles/blogs/why-bristols-maricopa-az-home;  http://us4palin.com/why-bristols-maricopa-az-home-buy-could-be-significant-to-2012/maricopa-sign/.

 

Consider the possibility that this is part of a master-plan, and we are just putting the pieces together.  “Facebook Luker”, one of our readers, reported that the Palin bought a house in Arizona back in early November.  Palin reportedly told a friend that she was worried that she may have to move there but wasn’t sure.  https://malialitman.wordpress.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.php?paged=2.  Now that Bristol has bought her own house in Arizona it is beginning to seem clear that the entire Palin family will be moving soon. https://malialitman.wordpress.com/2010/12/30/palin-loves-alaska-until-she-moves-to-arizona/.

 

However the revelation that Thomas Van Flien would be moving to Washington D.C. to represent a House Representative from Arizona, Paul Gosar, was a clue to the grand strategy that is frightening.  Of course I knew the name Thomas Van Flien, and recognized him as Palin’s attorney.  Of course I knew he was on retainer for the SaraPac, and that he received $10,000 per month from the Sarah Pac.  Of course he was the attorney who represented Sarah in the Troopergate matter.    http://celebgalz.com/thomas-v-van-flein-represents-sarah-palin-in-troopergate-investigation/.  He has represented Bristol in her custody matters with Levi. http://alaskadispatch.com/blogs/palin-watch/3457-palin-daughter-sues-for-custody .  Van Flein was Palin’s spokesperson in the David Kernell matter even though Palin was only a witness.  http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/20/palin-set-stand-tenn-hacking-trial/.  He represented Palin in multiple ethics complaints, and gave statements to many people when Palin would not. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2290337/posts.  He has been known to “parse” words in order to misrepresent the truth to the world.  He has been known to “craft a statement intended to shield Palin from the consequences of her actions in the realm of public opinion.  Of course records of what Palin has paid her lawyer are private, but the we can assume he has been paid quite well by Palin.http://www.politicususa.com/en/sarah-palins-attorney-reveals-how-he-spun-pr-to-cover-her-lies.

 

Given all that we know about VanFlein’s relationship to Sarah Palin, the name “Consigliere” comes to mind.  A “Consigliere” means a counselor.  The word was popularized by Mario Puzo‘s novel The Godfather (1969), and its film adaptation. In the novel, a consigliere is an adviser or counselor to a mafia boss, with the additional responsibility of representing the don in important meetings both within the don’s crime family and with other crime families. The consigliere is a close, trusted friend and confidant, the mob’s version of an elder statesman. A real-life Mafia consigliere is generally the number three person in a crime family, after don (boss-Sarah Palin) and underboss(Todd) in most cases.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consigliere.

 

It was thus surprising to learn that this attorney who has devoted the last two years of his career to Sarah Palin, her consigliere, was leaving her.  Make no mistake.  I understood why he might want to distance himself from her, but I know lawyers and they are usually motivated by money.  Van Flein seemed to have hit the pot-of-gold in his representation of Palin.  So why would he leave her?  Especially to represent a newly elected US House of Representative who does not appear to be wealthy?

 

Is Van Flein actually leaving a big “hole” in Palin’s circle?  You decide for yourself.  In my mind there is no hole.  This is part of the grand scheme of a very bright, savvy,  politically astute consigliere.  Consider these  facts:

 

1.  Van Flein is reporting for duty for Gasar in D.C. on  January 3, 2011.http://www.adn.com/2010/12/20/1613733/palin-lawyer-to-work-for-arizona.html.  VanFlein has recently been involved in the representation of Joe Miller.  As early as the beginning of December, it was unclear how long it would take for the Alaska Supreme Court to rule, or for the Federal Court to rule, so we would anticipate the Van Flien would need to stay in Alaska to represent Miller/Palin for the duration of that case, if none other.  Of course if he disclosed to his clients that he’d be moving to D.C. in November or before he accepted this assignment, it would be no violation of his ethical duty.  Even more likely, if Palin was actually the impetus for his representation of Miller, and if Palin was the real reason he was moving to help in D.C., then Palin would of course want him to be in D.C.

2.  If Van Flein has any other clients in Alaska, besides Palin, he would owe them an ethical duty to resolve their legal matters or ensure a smooth transition of their legal work, which would ordinarily take more than a month.

3.  Paul Gasar has never been involved in Politics, but was supported and endorsed by Palin, McCain and Jan Brewer.  In his celebratory party after the Republican primary, Gasar appeared with McCain and Brewer and repeatedly mentioned the importance of “team work.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDf6BaY8IFQ.

4.  Although Van Flein attended the University of Alaska and received a BA in Political Science, his Law Degree came from the University of Arizona in 1989.  Having gotten his training at a big firm in California, in 1995 he moved to Alaska and for the last 15 years Mr. Van Flein has devoted himself to establishing himself as the premier attorney in Alaska.   His accomplishments in the legal field are numerous and diverse.  Working in both state and federal court, he has become a proficient trial and appellate attorney.  He has handled medical and business litigation.  He is a frequent lecturer in seminars. He has obtained multi-million dollar verdicts in trial and appellate matters.  He is well published in Alaska.  He is admitted to practice in Alaska, before the 9^th Circuit Court (the Federal Court for Alaska) and is only an “inactive” member of the California bar.  Attorneys like Mr Van Flein recognize that building a client base is essential for the future of any successful attorney.  Thus, his motivation for leaving Alaska must be powerful and lucrative.  http://www.akcplaw.com/thomasvanflein.asp.

 

5.  Van Flein is smart and well-spoken.  Just one example of his eloquence is the interview given following Palin’s resignation speech.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/06/palins-lawyer-resignation_n_226552.html.  Had he been the person resigning, people would have cried for the loss of such a “good” man.

6.  US4Palin reported on the move by Van Flein saying that:

“From the foregoing we see that Van Flein’s move to Representative Gosar’s district and Bristol Palin’s move to Maricopa are not coincidences, accidents or facts of happenstance. Instead, we see a well-planned sequence of chess moves executed by a certain woman who has nearly 20 years of political experience.” http://www.theboldpursuit.com/us4palin/2010/12/26/why-bristols-maricopa-az-home-buy-could-be-significant-to-20.html.

 

It seems reasonable to assume that Thomas Van Flein, Palin’s trusted Consigliere, is not discontinuing his relationship with Palin. The perception of a “hole” is an illusion.  He may be simply positioning himself to help smooth the way to D.C. for Sarah Palin.

 

This revelation regarding Van Flein, and the Arizona connection, gave rise to an additional …frightening thought! We have been assuming all along that Palin was positioning herself to run for President.  As her poll numbers have dropped, we were beginning to feel more confident that she would remain far from the White House.  We may be deluding ourselves.  What if Palin were to run in the 2012 race as the Vice-President ???!!!  It would satisfy her need for continuing fame and fortune.  It would not require as much work as serving as the President.  She has perfected the art of criticizing the President, and that would be her primary role again as the Vice Presidential Candidate.  As the Vice Presidential candidate she could continue to maintain her distance from the media and simply give speeches.  She could raise significant money for whoever the Republican candidate might be.  Thus the move of Palin to Arizona puts her that much closer to D.C.  Her Consigliere is already there.  We can imagine that Palin might make the next Republican Candidate an “Offer He Can’t Refuse.”